discouraged hs girl

That looks like a pretty intense summer. I could see something like that being the peak of an HS girl's summer but not really the beginning. Not that it couldn't work for you (you have the distance PRs to back it up), but you've got to be careful.

I'd say stick with that plan, but watch your body often. Have someone you can consult with when any sort of kinks start to arise and make sure to work in a lot of flexibility and ice baths. If you feel something's not right one day, ignore the schedule and be sure to take the next day easy. Also be sure to eat a lot of healthy food (think steaks) because ultimately even distance runners need strength to not get injured.

Good luck; mind sharing your identity with us?

Can you use some capitalization and punctuation with your next post? Thanks

Haha... yeah, sorry. I knew someone was going to get pissed about that.

habs wrote:

Good luck; mind sharing your identity with us?

Why the hell would she want to share her identity?

Thank you. I would share my identity but there are too many trolls on here so I'll have to abstain. Do you have any suggestions as to how I could step it up a notch? Consistently being "up there" but never winning big races, getting to nationals, running fast PRs, etc is honestly really aggravating.

Based on your description, let me suggest a coach for you. Go to

http://www.JimSpivey.com

and see what you think. Jim coached one of Tennessee's best HS female runners a few years back and is currently coaching some very good young runners. In case you're not familiar with the name, Jim Spivey is a three-time Olympian.

He coached me for several years and helped me medal several times in the USATF Masters Championships. Spivey is not a "high mileage" coach, so that is why I thought he might be a good fit for you.

I think my name is clickable if you want to contact me for more information.

wow, thank you so much!!! I will look into that. Thanks for a helpful reply!

lglr wrote:

Thank you. I would share my identity but there are too many trolls on here so I'll have to abstain. Do you have any suggestions as to how I could step it up a notch? Consistently being "up there" but never winning big races, getting to nationals, running fast PRs, etc is honestly really aggravating.

I would stick with your basic program, and learn to tweak it to progress. Primarily, learn when to back off and recover.

You can accomplish great things in this manner. Small adjustments can result in nice improvements. Perhaps keep a journal of adjustments you do, and how they are working.

The same goes for your diet. As long as your diet is working for you and is healthy, and it sounds like it is, don't change it at all.

I don't know which races really matter to you, but if you would already consider yourself "up there" and can see yourself getting 5th-10th in a race you'd like to win, I think adding more intensity to this already intense summer isn't the way to do it.

We've all heard the cliche that XC is a summer sport that's played out in the fall, but I think that how a race is played out can mean a whole lot. You already have and will have the fitness to compete; now you've just got to work on racing strategies to win. Network with other really good runners in your area, visualise races before they happen, know your courses, etc... You've got the physical part covered but now you just need to trust this plan enough to make moves at the right time to win races. Without knowing your state I can't say your chances but you seem confident.

Thanks. I do have some advice, though.

Your workout intensity is on the high end already but you could add some more volume by turning those 6 mile runs into 8 mile runs and the long run into a 12 mile run or more.

I would drop the 400 or 800 workout for the summer.

During the summer you want to build volume with low intensity in order to be ready for workouts in August/September. Since your season will go until November or even December you won't be able to knocking out 3 workouts a week for 5-6 months.

I don't see a whole lot of recovery "6 miles *easy* (7:10 pace and strides". Given your PRs 7:10 is not "easy", 7:10 is medium. My definition of medium "not fast enough to do any good, too fast to allow for recovery" medium >> mediocre. Hard days hard, easy days very easy. Real easy days allow you to go harder on hard days. Breakdown, recovery, breakdown, recovery. If you don't have recovery, you do not adapt, or you do not adapt as quickly.

Okay, I can do that. I just have a question though. If I do longer easy runs, will my body still recover doing them? Like my 9 mile long run obviously feels harder on my body than my 6 mile easy run, even though I run them both at an easy pace. What I could do, also, is add a morning run on my easy days. It would get more mileage in without having to do it all together. That being said, I don't know if running 2 miles easy in the morning would really do anything.

Ok, I can definitely work on doing my easy runs slower.

Summer is not the time for workouts, it's the time for base. If you feel the need to supplement and avoid injury, get on a bike or get a belt and do some aqua jogging (more effective than lap swimming - you don't really need shoulder muscles).

Go research interviews with the elite girls and 9/10 they're not getting on the track or doing any kind of speed work during the summer. That comes later.

Your English Instructor wrote:

I would drop the 400 or 800 workout for the summer.

No, that's her only workout for the week.

Everything else is support.

I would keep the program balanced as it is.

What do you suggest I do during the summer then? I have tried aqua jogging before. I can not get my heart rate up when aqua jogging. All it does for me is tire out my legs and nothing for my aerobic system. I see that a lot of great runners also swim, so thats why I have been doing some of that. I also like the elliptical. I can not get my heart rate up on a stationary bike either unless I am on a very high gear, and I do not like to do that because I would be using the bike for easy base "mileage", and I feel that tearing up my legs while trying to accomplish that is counterproductive.

Do you think what I have right now is a good plan? Which example that I provided do you think is better?

I don't see anything in your routine addressing strength training. I am a long-time HS coach and believe that strength training has as much to do with regular progression of a HS girl as anything else including mileage, intensity, and consistency.

Thank you. I do agree with all of this, but I feel like I need to find a way to become more physically able. I have a very high discomfort tolerance and I thrive on the pain felt during a hard race. I think becoming more fit/ in shape is what I need to work on.