This was his first year running. He also ran an 800 in 2:30.5. He is the only 8th grader on our team and is the worst distance runner. Our worst 10th grader ran about 5:15.
This was his first year running. He also ran an 800 in 2:30.5. He is the only 8th grader on our team and is the worst distance runner. Our worst 10th grader ran about 5:15.
Something doesn't add up. Even for a newbie, a 2:30 800 is a lot faster than 6:05. My first year I ran 2:31 and 5:35. What were the splits on the 1600?
For an 8th grader, don't worry about specifics too much. Just make sure he runs 5-6 days a week and gets in 30mpw. For one or two runs a week, ask him to push the pace for about 2-3mi or so. I don't know what kind of tempo pace he would do, so that's good enough. Try to make one of the runs 7-8mi.
Respond with any questions.
Just let him do what he wants. Who knows how much he will develop coming into high school as a runner. Just don't pressure him into doing high mileage and keep him in good shape with other sports such as soccer and such, maybe running occasionally. A lot of growth is gonna occur during high school where he will be able to improve more and get his times down so don't rush anything.
6:05 at 13-14 means he should just do whatever he wants. Even 10 MPW of any pace more than jogging should see big time drops.
Runnah1101 wrote:
Just let him do what he wants. Who knows how much he will develop coming into high school as a runner. Just don't pressure him into doing high mileage and keep him in good shape with other sports such as soccer and such, maybe running occasionally. A lot of growth is gonna occur during high school where he will be able to improve more and get his times down so don't rush anything.
^^horrible advice
Then what's your advice?
At least 60 MPW...maybe one tempo session a week. This kid needs a bigger aerobic engine.
He's just an 8th grader going into 9th grade. If you want to see constant improvement from him and not see him reach his peak as a sophomore you should start him out at lower mileage. This isn't some high school senior we are talking about here.
on pure hate
alabama runner wrote:
Something doesn't add up. Even for a newbie, a 2:30 800 is a lot faster than 6:05. My first year I ran 2:31 and 5:35. What were the splits on the 1600?
For an 8th grader, don't worry about specifics too much. Just make sure he runs 5-6 days a week and gets in 30mpw. For one or two runs a week, ask him to push the pace for about 2-3mi or so. I don't know what kind of tempo pace he would do, so that's good enough. Try to make one of the runs 7-8mi.
Respond with any questions.
Your advice seems reasonable.
Perhaps race strategy is a problem. He is usually out front in the middle school races and tends to fade during the third lap of the 1600.
How can I teach him race strategy?
Never start in the front. What I do is I do the first lap at 1-2sec per 400 faster than goal pace. If my goal is 4:40, then the first lap is 68-69. On the second lap, you try to hold the pace as best you can. If you slow down a bit, then that's okay. For me, that ends up being around 70-71. On the third lap, you really have to push. Sometimes at the beginning of the third lap you have to pretend that it's a 3 lap race. Even if you work really hard, you'll still probably slow down a bit. I'd try to do 72 here. On the last lap, it's just about holding on for dear life. You surge a bit with 400 left, hold on, and with 200 left you sprint all out.
That's the best strategy for running the best possible time. For winning important races, it's more about reading situations and reacting to other runners. Not to be condescending, but that's a ways off at this point.
i second this, i ran 1:07, 2:30, 5:05 all in one season as my pr's