Aug 26, 2022

Joe Sapone enters the 2022 cross country season with high expectations. The senior from Holy Innocents' Episcopal School in Atlanta is the defending GHSA Class 1A Private champion in cross country and a fifth-place finisher in the silver race at the Garmin RunningLane Cross Country Championships, where he ran a 5K PR of 14:58.09 at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama. This outdoor season, Sapone also ran a PR of 1:52.69 for 800m and 4:09.64 for the full mile. Sapone will provide a training blog for MileSplit over the next four weeks.

Week 2

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Week 1 l Week 2 l Week 3 l Week 4

Week 2 (August 22 - August 27)

This week I brought my mileage back slightly because my past couple of weeks were in the mid 50s range.

Sunday, August 21: 11 miles at 6:58 pace

We had a breakfast with all of the team captains where we discussed the season and our goals and we pitched ideas for practice. After this, I ran 11 miles easy at 6:58 pace. It was nice run.

Monday, August 22: 5 miles

We had another core day at practice. I ended up getting around 5 miles, very easy.

* Sapone's sartorial choice on Monday

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Tuesday, August 23: 5.5 miles + 4x1-minute hills at 5K/2-mile pace + 4x45-seconds at mile pace

Workout day. I ran four miles before easy, just for some slight miles, then we had a 1.5 mile warmup into 4x1-minute uphill at 5k/2-mile pace. Then we did 4x45-seconds uphill at mile pace. It was one of those workouts where you don't realize how hard it is until you're cooling down and your legs aren't under you all the way.

August 24: 5.5 miles

Core day No. 2. I ran roughly 5.5-ish miles. Due to some rain, our core session got extended longer than I ever would've wished but it was good to have. After core, I went home and did a little bit on the treadmill.

August 25: Day Off

August 26: 1.5 miles + mile fartlek + 2-mile fartlek + half-mile cool-down

Workout day No. 2. We had a 12-minute warmup-up, one mile of 100 meters on, 100 meters off, then two miles at 5:25-ish pace. Then, we did three miles of 200 meters on, 200 meters off. The "ons" were in the 37-34 second range with cool-downs in the high 40s or low 50s range. Then, we had a half mile cool-down. This was another hard workout. The 200s just felt longer and longer each time. It was a tough but good workout.

August 27: 6 miles

Six miles, very easy. We ran on a nice soft surface trail. It was a scenic run, with some light humidity.

Overall, it was a solid week of running, with two hard workouts and comfortable maintenance days to get my mind and legs right for my first race next week.

Mileage ≈ 44