Vestavia Hills senior Ethan Strand has a big season ahead of him. The No. 22 ranked runner in the preseason MileSplit50 rankings is a two-time AHSAA Class 7A Cross Country Championship whose career has been continually ascending upward. A 2019 Foot Locker Nationals finisher and school record holder in the 5K, Strand is hoping to continue his tradition of success this fall. We've asked the Alabama native to give us some insight into his training, and this is the first of four parts heading into the season.
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Week 2 (August 24th - August 30th)
Monday, August 24: 7 miles
I felt pretty good today. I got in 7 miles at an average of 6:55 pace. The day off I took yesterday definitely helped. This week I plan on hitting 50 so we will see how it goes.
Tuesday, August 25: 2-mile warm-up + 6x 1,000m w/ 200m rest + 1.5 cool down
Today was a workout day. It's basically the exact same workout I did last Tuesday. I started with a two mile warm up and went into 6x 1,000 with 200m jog rest. I was 3:06 average. I finished up with a 1.5 mile cool down for 8 on the day.
Wednesday, August 26: 5 miles
We did not have a good run today. Everyone on the team was pretty tired from yesterday's workout, but it didn't help that the heat index was 102. I got in an easy 5 around 7:15 pace.
Thursday, August 27: 7 miles
Today practice got cancelled due to storms, so the team all met after school for a run. It started pouring on us as soon as we started, but the rain was better than the heat. It was a pretty good day, so I got in 7 miles at 6:40 pace.
Friday, August 28: 1.5 mile warm-up + 5x 1,600m w/ 400m rest + 1.5 mile cool-down
Second workout day of the week. We had 5x1600m with a 400m jog rest. I started with a 1.5 mile warm up. I then hit the first three reps at 5:20 average and the last two reps at 4:57 average. The team had a good workout and we all finished the day up with a 1.5 mile cool down. This got me to nine miles for the day.
Saturday, August 29: 10 miles
Today was an easy long run day. I didn't make it the full 12, I only hit 10 at an average of 6:55. I also committed to the University of North Carolina today!
Sunday, August 30: 4 miles
An easy four at 7:00 pace to finish up the week. I hit 50 miles, and next week I'll hope to hit between 50-55.
Total Mileage: 50 miles
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