17:30 5k to sub 16:00 5k possible?

'Only ran about 250 miles in the summer leading up to that'

WTF sort of BS is that

Put your weekly mileage up like everyone else

how the heck should we know

just run what mileage you can, maybe get up to 50 miles / week or more (miles per week is a much better measurement than miles per "summer") and see what happens. most (but not all) sub 16 XC guys are probably running 60-70 a week but that is a lot for HS so don't feel bad if you can't handle the mileage, especially after a summer with only 250 miles. even with all the info in the world we can't accurately predict what you'll run, could be anywhere from 15-17. good luck

4:45 for a sophomore is promising, and it shows only a slight drop off from your 800 time (4:41-42 is more of an equal performance.) That kind of thing will come about naturally with consistent training.

Some things to keep in mind for a 16:00 5K.

That's about 5:07 per 1600. That's probably a hair better than you can hold for a 3200 right now, so you're talking about adding another 1800 meters at that same pace.

You'll definitely want to run a little at that pace about a month before the season starts. 1000m and 1200m repeats at that pace (3:24 and 5:07) will get you ready for whatever workouts your coach will give you during the season.

Getting to that point is going take a little increase in your mileage. You definitely want to shoot for a long run of at least 60 minutes once a week, but I would cap that out at around 75 minutes or so. Also, your best friend early on will be your tempo work. Tempo pace for a 16 minute 5K runner is about 5:36. Of course, if your goal is to run 16:00, then you'll probably open the season closer to 17:00. Since that's the case, your tempo work should be more around 5:54 per mile. Ideally, you'd work up to running 20 minutes at this pace and have it feel hard, yet not like a race effort. You will most likely not be able to handle this run properly at the beginning of your summer, so I would recommend running 3 miles worth of tempo pace in repeats with a 1-minute rest (i.e. 5 x 1000 at 3:41 or 3 x 1600 in 5:54).

A lot of people might tell you to not do workouts during your base training. But there is a big difference between working out for races and using interval workouts and tempos to get you ready for a competitive season. From early September to mid-November is really only about 13 weeks, that's not enough time for a coach to take you from your base phase to peaking for championships.

Good luck with everything. The best advice I can give you is , once the season starts, put your faith in your coach. You've obviously got a pretty good one because your times are legit, and as long as they are not a complete idiot I gotta believe you'll run faster than 16:30 this season. You just need to come into the season ready to do work.

My experience.

Freshman summer -> average of 30 miles a week, not really sure what I'm doing.

Freshman school year --> pr of 18:27, no indoor, 10:37 and 5:00 outdoor.

Sophomore summer -> average of 40 miles per week, a few 50s, a few fartleks, organic tempos, and hills sprints.

Sophomore school year -> 17:21 pr, 10:17 and 4:42 indoors, 9:59 and 4:42 outdoors.

Junior summer -> average of 55-60 miles per week, same type of workouts as last summer.

Junior school year -> 16:31 pr, injured indoor (stepped in a pothole, not training related) then 9:44 and 4:37 outdoors.

tl;dr, yes it's possible but you need to run a lot more miles.

I went from 17:08 to 15:44 in 2 years after I got my act together...

I'll do the honors this time ...

http://pih.bc.ca/summerofmalmo.html

Okay sorry for not being more specific, but two years ago going into my freshman year I really was unorganized and probably averaged 15mpw and ran 5:00 and 11:00 for the 1600 and 3200 respectively around April 2009.

Summer going into sophomore year I had goals but just really did not stay consistent with my training at all. I didn't throw in any tempos or intervals and averaged between 15-20mpw for 12 weeks. Pretty pathetic now that I look back on it. Then going into track for sophomore year, the winter I got in about 300. Still low. Looking back on these past 2 years, I have barely worked. I have never hit a 40 mile week.

So I have a new attitude, I have new goals, and I have more determination now. I'm willing to work hard and get into the 50mpw range. I plan to work in tempos and a long run and all that stuff, just need some guidance.

Thanks for the replies so far. It's encouraging. When should I progress from the mile repeats into a continuous 20 minute tempo run? Also, how often per week should I have a tempo/workout/long run? Is it one long run, one tempo, and one workout per week?

My first race will be around September 7th and I will do a 5k August 1st to see where I'm at. My base building will begin June 2nd.

hey im willing to give you a training plan if you want one. i have gotten guys from 17:30 to sub 16 in one year so why not

It's possible but don't make it the ultimate, non-negotiable goal. It is a huge increase in performance. So if you don't run 16:00 this year it doesn't mean you failed or that you won't ever do it. Just stay consistent and gradually build up. 40 or 50 mpw is more than it seems the first time you do it.

I have never run faster than a 4:50 mile, but I have pr's of 15:48, and 32:11

15:48 32:11 wrote:

I have never run faster than a 4:50 mile, but I have pr's of 15:48, and 32:11

your mile pr should be considerably faster though...i bet if u were in ur 15:48 shape u could break a 4:50 mile...

About a year ago I was running in the low 17s. I pretty much stuck with the same workouts, but upped my mileage from 40 to ~70, with weeks as high as 80, periodically. I can consistently break 16, now, and generally run 15:5x. Pretty much the only thing i changed was running more mileage, and running at a slower pace on easy days (which helped me get in consistent training week in week out.)

Hope this helps!

15:48 32:11 wrote:

I have never run faster than a 4:50 mile, but I have pr's of 15:48, and 32:11

I would love to know your training schedule.

Do you ever win any races? Your kick is what, a 37 second 200?

My PRs in HS were 4:52 for the mile and 9:55 for the two mile, 15:30 for 3 mile xc

psychotic, I know

I'm a little faster now at age 40+ but not a whole lot - I tie up very quickly running at sub five minute pace. I ran a mile last year in 5:00 but couldn't get below 2:22 in the 800.

This sort of thing is rare and can be coached out of, I am sure, but it exists.

15:48 32:11 wrote:

I have never run faster than a 4:50 mile, but I have pr's of 15:48, and 32:11

Run the marathon.

My expierience.

Sophomore PR: 17:49

Sophomore PR (College): 15:47 *

* First time under 16:00

It's doable, but depends on a bunch of things.

I first ran a 5,000 in CC as a Junior in high school because that's when Ohio switched from running 2.5 miles to 5,000 meters. My very first 5,000 as a junior was 17:28. I got down to 16:35 by the end of that year though. Senior year I got down to 15:48.

So, is it possible? Yes. Kind of depends how fit you were when you ran your 17:30 and how much another year of physical maturity helps you. Running sub 16:00 for a high school kid takes some decent talent though along with decent injury-free training.

Good luck.

Is it possible to go from 17:30 to 16:00 in one year? Yes. Many have done it and you can too. Especially if you run over the Summer.

My personal experience: 17:20 to 15:58 in one year. Only difference (other than being one year older) is that I ran over the Summer/Winter leading up to that improvement where I didn't run in the Summer/Winter before.

My pr's went like this.

5k: 17:20 cc

3k: 9:18 track

1.5k: 4:21 track

800m: 2:08 track

400m: :56 track

Next season:

5k: 15:58 cc

3k: 8:57 track

1.5k: 4:02 track

800m: 1:57 track

400m: :53 track

Next season I didn't run over the Sumer/Winter and ran basically the same times.

Next season I did run over Sumer/Winter and once again experienced drastic improvements across the board.

So run over the Summer/Winter and see what happens. Focus on tempo's and milage as well as consistency as in run every day or 6 days a week the entire summer.