Dalton Hengst is one of the top returning cross country runners in the nation. And he has an interesting story! The rising senior at McDonogh (Maryland) School actually resides in York, Pennsylvania, but during the school year in Maryland he boards on campus at McDonogh. Hengst, who finished the spring track and field season with national-caliber performances in the 1500m (3:54.90) and 3200m (8:56.96), has been ripping off superb performances in cross country since 2014 and a year ago placed 21st at Foot Locker Nationals. His season best 5K from 2016 was 15:11.20. This year, Hengst is looking to hit under 15. Check out his weekly training blog as he prepares for his final high school season before college.
Week 2 (July 24-30)
After getting back home from the Nike Elite Camp, my family and I took a vacation and headed to Ocean City, Maryland, for a week-long trip. All the runs this week were done on pavement, which usually isn't my style. Hard on the legs.
Monday: 7 miles at 6:40 pace
Tuesday: 8 miles at 6:05 pace
The plan for this run was just to stay between 6:00 and 6:15 pace to make it a solid run. My dad was on the bike next to me.
Wednesday: Easy 4 miles without a watch
Thursday: Workout - 8 miles total
I wanted to complete some sort of Fartlek today. To make things a little more fun -- and get off the pavement -- I went to a park and found a 400 meter grass loop where I did 12x400 meters at 73-75 seconds. The first four reps I had a minute jogging rest and the next four I had 45 second rest. On the last four, I had 30 seconds rest.
Friday: 5 miles at 6:40 pace
Saturday: 8 miles
We drove back home to York, Pennsylvania, from the beach. I ran an hour through some trails near my house.
Sunday: 10-mile run at 6:10 pace
Moving forward, my long run will get longer and faster
Total Mileage: 50
Overview: It was a solid week of training. The long run felt a bit rough, but other than that the workout, along with the regular runs, felt very good. The season is nearing!
