Quit college team.

I thought you figured this out already, went back to your high school coach, set some American records, bombed for a couple years and then recently to moved to Portland to train under Al Sal.

0/10

-THE BATMAN

What would lead you to believe this is a troll attempt?

you sound like alan webb.

If this is a genuine post, your situation is similar to what mine was, except my HS coach tried to destroy me and the only two seasons I ran well under him were the ones he loosened the reigns and let me have a little say in what I was doing, so I had no desire to ever go back to him. I went to a major D1 school who's program is considered one of the best in the country. However, I found out very quickly the coach intentionally deceived me just to get me to go there and then didn't give a rat's ass about me once I WAS there. He used the "eggs against the wall" method and after 9 months of being chronically exhausted and harrassed for my poor fitness, I felt enough was enough. Running there was so miserable I couldn't chance experiencing anything like it again, so I transferred to a school but never joined the team. I've been running on my own since.

Let me tell you, I am somewhat bitter and disappointed with myself and how my running has turned out. Guys I was running alongside in high school are now some of the best in the country, some have even made USA teams. I haven't done shit. The thing is, when I left college running, I went through a strange period where I didn't really know what to do with myself. I had a few lingering injuries for 3 months after college running, and every time I started to get in shape, I would hurt something else. I kind of learned how to live life without running and then lost the deep passion to run I once had. I've recently gotten some of it back after 1.5 years and have put in as many as 85mpw, but running now isn't the same as it used to be. In some ways it's much better, but I miss the comaraderie and the free health-care and gear (very important as I don't have much money and am injury prone). I hope to get back into shape and possibly make the Olympic trials in 2012, but that's kind of just a fantasy right now. If I had it to do over again, I obviously would have gone to a different school, but beyond that, I wish that when I had transferred I had just switched programs rather than abandoning college running programs altogether. My experiences with my HS and college coaches just left me very untrusting, and I couldn't chance being in that situation again.

My advice to you would be to look at other schools who recruited you in HS, or even some DII schools. They can't really talk to you unless you get released by your coach, and if you wait long they won't have any money to give you, so the sooner you get organized and make your decision the better. I mention DII and smaller schools because being a big fish in a small pond usually means the coach will listen to you a lot more and be more willing to accomodate your needs.

btw, Jack Daniels explains the "eggs against the wall" method here in case you didn't know what I was talking about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ug9S6umlPs

Yeah I'm kind of worried about the "not knowing what to do with myself" part also since all my college friends are running related I know if I quit the I'll be pretty isolated. But I would really not like transfering since this is one of the better public universities in the country and the university I would transfer to would not be as good academically. I'm not concerned so much training and racing on my own since this is what I did in high school for the most part

how about following your coach's advice "to a T" for a season? just give it a shot- nothing to lose at all.

i like.... wrote:

how about following your coach's advice "to a T" for a season? just give it a shot- nothing to lose at all.

I'm guessing you're retarded. If not, please ask someone to help you pull your head out of your ass.

The truth is, MOST coaches don't know wtf they're doing. People automatically submit to their authority just because of the title "Coach," but that doesn't mean shit. I've had four coaches, two of them sucked ass. My first two coaches were great and really knew their stuff, and I did anything they told me. After those coaches I just had the mentality that I'd do whatever my coach said no matter what. Big mistake. My next two coaches knew less than I did about running, despite having ~30 years each under their belt. I followed every word they said, and it caused me to continually bomb for two years until I figured out they were idiots. I've been coaching myself since and now run 12 mile tempos at a faster pace than I was running 4 mile all-out runs under them (running all-out was their idea, not mine).

Some coaches just suck. You'd be better off following as LITTLE of their advice as possible.

I ran for a D-I team and quit. The program was pretty good, but not really for XC/Distance, and I wasn't on a scholarship. So I guess you'll have to take my advice with a grain of salt (as you should do with ALL advice you receive on the internet, obviously).

It really sounds like you're burned out. It's not that you aren't working hard enough; you're working too hard. Plus, the stress of seeing your teammates excel while you struggle is probably contributing to the burnout. Then there is the possiblity of losing your scholarship, which obviously complicates the quitting option. Of course, there are always student loans, which shouldn't be too much if you only have a couple years left.

If I were you I'd tough out the rest of this season, and take a serious break over the summer. I mean, get your mileage in, but take it easy and let your body/mind recover for a couple months. If things are still bad next season, quit. There is no sense in running slow and being miserable while you do it. Try something different and it might just help get you out of your slump. Of course, you'll miss your teammates, but if they're really your friends I'm sure you'll get chances to run with them.

I completely regret my decision to quit my college team, but my reasons were different. It sounds like you have valid reasons to consider quitting.

Sounds like you didn't spend much time in class. Let me help you with this - get yo a$$ in class.

Believe me I've been following this guy's advice "to a T" for almost two years now and it has led to me being 5 or 6 seconds off of my high school mile pr.

If you're 5-6 seconds behind your high school PR, and it's not because you're being lazy or partying too hard, your coach is blowing it. Of course, coach's methods aren't always going to be benificial for every athelete on his team. Maybe what he's doing is working for everyone else, just not you. In which case you could talk to him and see if the two of you could work out a more tailored strategy for you, but I wouldn't count on that. He either won't have time to design a specific plan for you, or he's too arrogant to admit that his methods are flawed. Again, take it easy over the summer and relax a little bit. It almost certainly sounds like a case of burnout.

Your writing is pretty miserable, too.

If you are running for a "Major DI Team", I'd be surprised if you had a coach that had no idea what he/she was doing. How are other people doing at this major program? Is anyone improving, or is everyone running worse than high school.

I have run at the Division 1 level and also at the Division 3 level. I firmly believe that one is not better than the other; it comes down to how good the coaching and athlete:coach ratio is.

My experience at the D1 level was just as terrible as the one you are describing. My coaches had no concept of personalizing training to an athlete's needs as an individual. They were not sympathetic if you did not run well or show improvement. They had no plans of wasting their time trying to figure out what they could change in their coaching/program/training to better you as an athlete. They knew they'd just get a new squad of talented freshman and if you didn't make the roster nobody cared. I transferred to a D3 program and was lucky enough to have a coach who loved nothing more than taking poor-mediocre athletes and making All-Americans out of them. Granted, D3 AA is generally not as great as being a D1 All-American, but my point is that he had the patience to work with me and recognize my needs as an idividual. I was never ridiculed or ripped into if I didn't perform well. I realize there are some amazing and horrible coaches at all Division Levels. It's different at every school.

But to get to the point, I think if you truly love running, you should put more thought into it before you quit. You are only a sophomore. You have 2 full years left to enjoy your experience as a collegiate athlete and believe me they will go by fast. I completely understand the current situation you are in and that being miserable is not where you want to be. I think you should consider the following:

If you have not already done so, sit down personally with your coach and have more than a 10 minute discussion about your training. How do you feel after specific workouts that your coach gives to you? Which ones feel good? Which ones feel like they hurt you? What does your mileage feel like? How do you feel about your mileage? Is it too high/low?

I think that SOME coaches at the Division 1 level are defensive of their coaching abilities and don't like to be questioned or feel like they don't have 100% control over what you are doing. Maybe your coach is a really smart guy, or he might be a complete idiot. BUT, no matter what, if you want to have a better relationship (which is very important to your success as an athlete) I think it would be wise to make sure when you approach him on these topics you raise them as questions/suggestions and not demands. Make him feel like he's the one making the decisions still. Discuss some new ideas that you would like to try. Make sure that you reinforce how much you love to run, and race, and how important it is for you that you are successful. Ask him if there is any reason for him to believe you aren't a dedicated athlete. If he says no, then I cannot find any reason why he would not be willing to work with you and make some adjustments. But if you've only had some scattered 5 minute meetings in his office that usually entail an argument about training and you leaving his office upset/discouraged....you need to go back and have a more productive meeting. Don't give up and quit just yet. Hang in there...

You thought of quitting. You're a quitter. Give it up.

Most of the people on the team are improving, which while I am really happy for them I am also very discourged since I am getting worse. I'm not sure if them improving is a testment to my coaches training though, in high school I was trained at a pretty high level (100 + miles a week, college type workouts) while most of my teammates were doing a much lower level of training. It is also pretty discourging because I believe I work harder then my fellow teamates, an example is that they are out partying and drinking alot while I don't do that, mostly because I'm in a very hard major (aeronautical engineering)and I am always studying during the weekend.

I'll chime in one more time here. Everything you are saying points to stress and burnout. You ran 100+ mpw in high school. You are an aeronautical engineering major. You claim that you work harder than your teammates, who must be putting in a decent amount of work themselves if they are performing so well. You don't party.

Your mind and body are screaming for mercy.