The series “A Week In Training” follows what a week looks like in spring sports.
Track is one of the many spring sports starting this spring at Olentangy Liberty. Their training schedule gets them in peak shape for meets, which will begin in early April. I interviewed Wilson Griffiths, a two-miler who is a member of the distance squad, to help give us a breakdown of what a week looks like during track training.
Monday:
The runners open the week up with an easy run, to ease into the week. It’s a nice way to set up for a week of intense training. “Speed and mobility are a big part of it, doing ladder and hurdle drills to get faster and stretch ourselves out and loosen up,” said Griffiths ‘27.
Tuesday:
Tuesday is the first workout of the week, building aerobic fitness. Coach Brad Wiemels provides an array of workouts strategically placed throughout the training plan to continuously build fitness. Sometimes a workout may be replaced by a meet.
Wednesday:
Wednesday includes a short easy run, in order to keep the legs moving but also to provide time to recover for the weeks’ hardest workout coming on Tuesday.
Thursday:
Thursday is the weeks’ hardest workout, in order “to really build fitness and get better,” said Griffiths ‘27. Training groups are formed based on speed to help runners pace and push themselves through workouts.
Friday:
Easy run to recover from a workout. Varsity athletes often will need to prepare for an invitational that will await them on Saturday.
Saturday:
In the weeks leading up to meets Saturday “Is an easy run or cross training day to keep the body moving without exerting too much energy,” said Griffiths. However during the season, this is often a day for a big invitational, often consisting of multiple of the top teams competing from around central Ohio.
Sunday:
A long run, which “builds endurance and also acts as another workout that helps (with) pace perception,” and is a great way for athletes to flush their legs after a hard day of racing.
