by Larry Eder
This is Tuesday, August 2, 2022, for day two, Week Five of the 2022 RunBlogRun Summer Cross Country Mileage Program.
Cross country season is just weeks away. You have been running. If you have followed our daily training program, you are well on your way to being ready for the cross country season. You will need about 3 races to be racing fit, and you will get that during the season.
Racing is a skill set that needs to be developed by racing. Each early race, try something different. Start out fast, push the hills, run hard on downhills, test your finish, start to kick long, then try a final burst. You will learn what works for you and how to use different tactics.
Your workout today, Day 2, is the following: We are starting tempo work. I will ask you to find a flat piece of road with no traffic or your local track.
The workout is a warm-up, 20-minute tempo run at 20 seconds slower per mile pace than your current race pace, so if you race at 6-minute mile pace now for 5k, run your tempo at 6:20 per mile pace. Keep that pace for 20 minutes, run moderately for 20 minutes, then 6 x 150-meter stride-outs, and do a nice cooldown.
