Okay everyone,
So this is my first post on this site (I more or less just creep around the threads), but I really need some advice. I'm a college walk on junior looking to go sub 28 in the 8000 this year. I'm injury prone, so I didn't have a sophomore track season and only had an indoor track season freshman year.
My yearly progression looks like this:
HS:
1600 - 4:50
5000 - 18:14
Freshman year:
8000 - 29:18
5000 - 16:45 (indoor)
3000 - 9:41 (1st race of indoor)
Sophomore year:
8000 - 28:26
This summer, my new coach and I agreed to be cautious with mileage, having me peak at 65 mpw. This summer, training started out as sporadic, as I suffered with some tendinitis problems and recurring shin splints, after working on my form a bit. The final month and a half of summer training, including the first 2 weeks of camp have been solidly consistent. My easy runs have been anywhere from 7:05-7:30 depending on the day (I feel the most comfortable in the 7:15 range), and I was able to recently hold 6:58 avg pace for a 14 mile run. However, since coming back to school, I've been increasingly concerned with my fitness - I ran a crappy time trial in the 3k; my time was 10:24 :/ ... Also, for a 5x mile repeat workout, I was hitting 5:40's - 5:50's. Should I rightfully be worried, or will I get into the shape I want to be when the time comes? Since I'm starting PA school next year, this very well might be my last year of XC ever. My goal since freshman year has been a 27 minute range 8k. Is it still possible?