(32.5 to 35) * 1500m PB wrote:
The younger one is, the more likely one will be able to train like an 800/1500 runner without breaking down. Runners race Marathon usually no better than (32.5 to 35) times one's 1500m personal best. Eg. race 1500m, 3:50, race Marathon not much better than 2:14.
Thanks, that's a pretty useful metric. I'm a sub-6 miler now and can currently bust out a 5:5x mile. But during sophomore year in high school (my best and last year of track), my 1500 time was 4:45, and my mile time was 5:07. We would run anywhere from 4-6 miles everyday, 5 times a week, which comes out to 20-30 mpw. My coach focused more on personal development and having fun rather than actual hardcore training. I definitely would have definitely gone sub-5 if I had done 4 years of track and not focused so much on academics during my junior year, which I ultimately don't regret. My favorite distance was the mile, which my coach agreed to and placed me in.
My best and last year of XC was during my junior year. I preferred the 2-mile distance, with a best time of 11:40 for a flat, grassy 2.1 mile course as an example (that's a 5:33 mile pace). I would finish hilly 3-mile courses in about 18 minutes. After cross-country season was over and I didn't train for a few months beyond doing occasional runs 1-2 times per week, I ran one local 5k in 19:10, but I definitely could have done better if I had properly trained.
I relied on the "sit and kick" approach a lot since my speed tended to be better than my aerobic endurance. My coach decided to make me the school's top JV runner, so I was always in 2nd, 3rd, 4th places and won a bunch of medals. It felt good being one of the fastest guys in races with more than 100 kids. In varsity I would have been mediocre at best.
I was encouraged to do track during my freshman year of high school, when my PE teacher noticed me regularly running sub-6 miles and always being the 1st or 2nd guy in a class of about 200 kids. I was regularly smoking the XC JV kids, who did proper training whereas I just swam in my backyard, biked around the neighborhood, played basketball, and sprinted to class when I was late.