Child's Play?

Before I start today's post I want to let readers know that I have been experiencing some minor difficulties with this site. To begin with, I can't access the section that allows me to respond to reader's comments but I hope to have that fixed shortly. Also, for some reason Sunday's article was listed as being published this past Friday(July 1). Some have asked if that was me pictured above the last article entitled,Live Like An Athlete. Yes it was. I was running the Cape Cod Marathon and probably at the time this picture was being taken I was wondering, where did all the hills come from? In retrospect I recall that it was a beautiful course but surprisingly hilly. Somehow I wrongly assumed that since the race was in Cape Cod and near the ocean it would be flat. Today I am going to post a pre-Cross-Country season schedule and then ask a question after.Here goes: Monday: 12 miles at 1/2 effort--32 110's (jog 50 between). Tuesday: 13 miles at 1/4 effort (32 110's). Wednesday: 2 hours Fartlek. Thursday: 13 miles at 1/4 effort. Friday: 11 miles at 3/4 effort. Saturday: 16 miles at 1/4 effort. Sunday: 12 miles of accelerations. You are probably thinking this is a schedule from a major college team like Oregon or Arkansas. No,try the "veterans" training schedule for York High School in Elmhurst,Illinois. This schedule is from Coach Joe Newton's classic book,The Long Green Line. If you recall the May 1, 2011 post I did on Character you read about Joe and the incredible success he's had as Cross-Country coach at York.I would assume that by specifying it's a "veterans" schedule he is referring to his juniors and seniors, guys that have a few years of his kind of training under their legs. From time to time I used to think of that schedule when I thought I was training hard. Articles to follow: Thoughts For Before and After a Race, One Last Comeback.