The Mid-July Checkpoint: What Your Training Should Look Like Right Now

We're at the halfway point of summer, and this is exactly the week I want every one of my athletes to stop and take stock. Not a rest week. Not a break. Just an honest look in the mirror before the next three weeks decide how your August goes.

Here's the thing about summer training nobody wants to hear: the runners who show up to preseason camp fit didn't get there by accident, and they didn't get there by panicking in the last two weeks of July either. They got there because they built steadily from June and made small corrections along the way instead of waiting until it's too late to fix anything.

So let's take stock together.

Where should your mileage be right now?

If you're a varsity-caliber runner, you should be sitting at or near your peak summer mileage by now, not still ramping up. If you're still building week over week in mid-July, that's not a crisis, but it does mean you need to be smart about the next month. You don't have time to keep adding volume AND add intensity. Pick one. For most kids at this point, that means holding mileage steady and layering in a little more quality. Note: If you are an athlete who raced track events until mid June and plan to compete more late October through December, then you still have time to be building.

Have a specific situation with your runner you want to talk through? Reach out directly — I answer these myself.

Are you still just running easy?

If every run you've done since June has been the same comfortable pace, you're leaving a lot on the table. By mid-July I want to see one day a week that includes some form of controlled effort. Strides after an easy run. A fartlek. A tempo effort. Nothing crazy, but something that reminds your legs what it feels like to move with purpose. Racing fitness doesn't show up in August out of nowhere. It gets built now.

How's your sleep and your eating actually going?

I ask my athletes this every summer and I get a lot of sheepish answers. Staying up late during summer break and living off whatever's easiest to grab isn't a moral failure, it's just normal teenager behavior. But it's also the most common reason kids arrive at preseason camp tired and behind where their mileage log says they should be. If you've been slacking here, this is the week to fix it, not the week before sectionals. Keep it simple. Sleep 8-10 hours a night. Fuel your body like you do during championship season all summer long.

Any nagging pain you've been ignoring?

Be honest with yourself. A tight IT band or a sore shin that's been "not that bad" for two weeks doesn't heal itself just because you keep running through it. Mid-July is a great time to back off for a few days and let something small stay small. Waiting until August practices start means you're trying to fix an injury while also trying to make the team.

None of this is complicated. It's just the stuff that's easy to let slide when school's out and the season feels far away. It's not far away. Three weeks from now, preseason camps open across the state. The runners who used this exact week to check in on mileage, intensity, recovery, and nagging injuries are the ones who show up ready instead of hoping they're ready.

Take the checkpoint seriously. Your fall season starts now, whether it feels like it or not.

Have a specific situation with your runner you want to talk through? Reach out directly — I answer these myself.

Coach Justin Roeder · Westfield, IN · Former NCAA D1 Head Coach & Indiana State Champion.