by Larry Eder
This is Week Three, Day 2 of the 2022 RunBlogRun Fall Cross Country Training & Racing program provided by RunBlogRun. We will provide cross-country training suggestions until late December 2022 (21-22 weeks).
Today is September 13, 2022. It is a tempo day and the second day of week three of our 2022 Fall Cross Country program.
Our picture today is of Karsten Warholm, one of our favorite Norwegians, who had just taken the European title at 400-meter hurdles. He is the Olympic champion, two time World Champion and he dealt with the indignities of being hurt early season, and it took him three solid months to get really fit. Look at his face! Think that he is relieved? Oh, yes, 400m hurdles and 400m runners should run cross country! Makes them Tough!
Tempo days are essential in your development. We use the K.I.S.S. principle every time we can; keep it simple, silly. So we do twenty-minute tempo runs and ask you to run on flat, no-traffic roads, or preferably, on a track. Warm up well, and then, 20 minutes at your current 5k race pace, broken down to mile splits. So, if you run 6-minute pace for 5k, then run Tempo at 6.20 pace. If you make a big drop, say to 5:30 pace, then your tempo pace moves down to 5:50.
Today’s workout, warm up, 30-minute moderate pace, then, 20-minute Tempo run, followed up by 4 x 200m cut downs, and then, a cooldown.
