High school sophomore with PR's of 12 flat in the 3200m and 5:25 in the 1600m. Hoping to become one of those who has a "huge summer" and become a low 18ish 5ker, 5 flat mile, break 11 in the 2 mile.
This summer I'd work up to 45 mile pw, 10 mile long run, lots of hills, tempos, fartleks, and all that jazz, lots of strength work.
Do you believe I can make that jump and become the next underdog?
Just need to know if it's possible for me. Any input is greatly accepted.
Absolutely doable!
I dropped from 6:00/12:30 one year to 5 flat the next. No secrets, even an untalented person like me can do it as long as you put in the miles.
Talk to your coach, tell them you want to put a lot of work into getting better. They will almost certainly be thrilled to have someone with a lot of motivation and they'll be able to give you the guidance to get the most out of your running.
Good luck!
What was your training like?
Lol.
Is it possible for you to make the NBA? Or do a mathematics PhD at Princeton?
Why do you think running is any easier? You are born with your genes, sorry. Have a talk with your parents if you feel unsatisfied.
Wait boy or girl?
In high school simply work hard over the summer and you'll dominate your little corner of the world.
Get to college, be surrounded by people who did exactly what you did, and realize you need to work twenty times harder just to remain visible.
Beyond that, if you don't have the right parents, you won't really survive. Sorry to say. Find your niche', though.
formerD1 wrote:
You are born with your genes.
and the only way to find out where they will take you is to try
okaytoelite wrote:
High school sophomore with PR's of 12 flat in the 3200m and 5:25 in the 1600m. Hoping to become one of those who has a "huge summer" and become a low 18ish 5ker, 5 flat mile, break 11 in the 2 mile.
This summer I'd work up to 45 mile pw, 10 mile long run, lots of hills, tempos, fartleks, and all that jazz, lots of strength work.
Do you believe I can make that jump and become the next underdog?
Just need to know if it's possible for me. Any input is greatly accepted.
I did exactly this back in my high school days, in the time frame you are talking about too. Put in some solid, consistent training over the summer and you'll be all set. The plan you stated would work, but make sure you always feel like you can do more, that way you'll be back to xc in shape, and ready to go...mentally and physically.
I'd refrain from calling these times "elite" though, they're far from it. All admirable times though, good luck.
okaytoelite wrote:
High school sophomore with PR's of 12 flat in the 3200m and 5:25 in the 1600m. Hoping to become one of those who has a "huge summer" and become a low 18ish 5ker, 5 flat mile, break 11 in the 2 mile.
This summer I'd work up to 45 mile pw, 10 mile long run, lots of hills, tempos, fartleks, and all that jazz, lots of strength work.
Do you believe I can make that jump and become the next underdog?
Just need to know if it's possible for me. Any input is greatly accepted.
Yes. Yes, based on what you have said I believe you will become much faster.
I have a theory too wrote:
formerD1 wrote:You are born with your genes.
and the only way to find out where they will take you is to try
Go back to runnersworld.com.
Kids with actual talent are running in the 16s and running 445 off of literally 5 miles a week in middle school.
Elite times will require a 3:55 or faster for the mile and 5k in the mid 13s at a minimum.
formerD1 wrote:
I have a theory too wrote:and the only way to find out where they will take you is to try
Go back to runnersworld.com.
Kids with actual talent are running in the 16s and running 445 off of literally 5 miles a week in middle school.
Elite times will require a 3:55 or faster for the mile and 5k in the mid 13s at a minimum.
The LRC hobby jogger gatekeeper has spoken. Gtfo.
Dude she's a girl. Please explain how the hell she's supposed to run a 3:55 mile.
I don't care what the hell you have for genes. I'm a true believer in the quote "hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard"
Work your ass off and you'll get far in life kid.
Good luck and push through.
alsowouldliketoknowcoach wrote:
Dude she's a girl. Please explain how the hell she's supposed to run a 3:55 mile.
I don't care what the hell you have for genes. I'm a true believer in the quote "hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard"
Work your ass off and you'll get far in life kid.
Good luck and push through.
+1
okaytoelite wrote:
High school sophomore with PR's of 12 flat in the 3200m and 5:25 in the 1600m. Hoping to become one of those who has a "huge summer" and become a low 18ish 5ker, 5 flat mile, break 11 in the 2 mile.
This summer I'd work up to 45 mile pw, 10 mile long run, lots of hills, tempos, fartleks, and all that jazz, lots of strength work.
Do you believe I can make that jump and become the next underdog?
Just need to know if it's possible for me. Any input is greatly accepted.
It is possible, but there is only one way to know. However -- why don't you set your first goal of the summer to be getting out to run every day. Don't worry about hills, tempos, fartleks, and all that jazz, lots of strength work, because none of that matters if you aren't putting in consistent mileage.
If you run every day this summer, I guarantee that you will get a lot faster by the fall. Don't be one of those people that spends more time writing schedules than training.
alsowouldliketoknowcoach wrote:
Dude she's a girl. Please explain how the hell she's supposed to run a 3:55 mile.
I don't care what the hell you have for genes. I'm a true believer in the quote "hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard"
Work your ass off and you'll get far in life kid.
Good luck and push through.
Former D1 likes to throw his weight around on this board calling everyone hobby joggers and acting like running at college makes him a professional athlete, an expert on everything and generally better than everyone else.
Only problem is, talent works very hard. Especially runners. The problem with US runners is they run too hard too much.
Yes go for it! You can certainly have a "huge summer." Your degree of success in your plan depends on what you were doing before though.
I have a few specifications that will clarify this situation much more:
1) What summer training did you do before last XC season and what time did you hit in the 5k by the end of it?
2) What training did you do prior to track? During the season?
3) Have you trained year-round before?
4) Please post a pic of you running (preferably 5-10 seconds of video footage) so that we can see your build, form, etc. and recommend which events you have the most D1 collegiate potential in.
The truth is that "Elite" is entirely relative. Does "Elite" mean competitive for an olympic medal? In that case, there are no Elite American marathoners and a handful of T&F athletes overall. So, it doesn't matter if one runs in the 16s in middle school off no training, as they really need to be born Kalenjin, right?
The OP seems to be using the term "elite" to refer to very competitive HS runners (if female) or (if male) a strong runner in a small league. The point is that you and the OP have very different definitions of elite. You're thinking about top-tier D1 NCAA runners (who, by the way, are probably similarly less than elite to those in Iten/Bekoji); the OP is thinking simply about a tier or two above current level.
So, to the OP - yes, you should definitely do it and you will almost certainly improve. How much you improve and how "elite" you become is eventually going to be determined by your genetics, but you probably won't find that "ceiling" for many years if you continue with steady and consistent training.
And, by the way, I had very similar times to you in HS - 20 min 5k which I brought down to 18 min after a first season of real training. I also wanted to get better and find my ceiling and - though I'm sure formerD1 wouldn't consider me elite - I've now been at the Olympic Marathon Trials, World Championships for USA, and have a shoe contract (9 years later).
Stick with it for the sake of getting the most out of yourself, not necessarily because you want to become "elite". As you've seen, everyone has a different definition and as you get better, your own definition will get harder and harder to meet anyway.
Good luck!
mehmeh wrote:
The LRC hobby jogger gatekeeper has spoken. Gtfo.
No way. This is the place where your dreams become reality.
Op, your goal should be to get better every year. Impossible to say without more info on current training whether you can make the leap you describe. But I have never seen a girl drop that much time in a single summer. It takes years of work, or natural talent, and usually both. (A boy could drop that much time with a growth spurt, but those wouldn't be elite times for him).
Honestly, if you want it all in just one summer, this might not be your sport. But if you're willing to put in the work and improve every year, even if not as much as you'd like, then you should get started.