Don’t try to go behind your coaches back. Either quit the team to go all in on the marathon, or follow the program your coach is prescribed. Most people come back for a fifth year because they’re committed to a program or want to maximize their opportunities in college. Why did you come back for a fifth year if you weren’t interested in those things?
themildrunmaster wrote:
Don’t try to go behind your coaches back. Either quit the team to go all in on the marathon, or follow the program your coach is prescribed. Most people come back for a fifth year because they’re committed to a program or want to maximize their opportunities in college. Why did you come back for a fifth year if you weren’t interested in those things?
I came back to help our team win a conference title in XC. We don’t have a shot at a conference title for track.
You must be in the worst conference in the NCAA
You didn't answer how you could possibly qualify for regionals.
slow poker wrote:
You must be in the worst conference in the NCAA
Pretty sure it's the CAA. Also pretty sure this guy barely listens to his coach as it is... hammers his runs every day and wonders why he doesn't race well.
SuperSenior wrote:
It’s not like I’m going to qualify to nationals. Heck, I may not qualify to regionals even. I’m a high mileage guy and think I’m well suited for the marathon. I also don’t like just assuming I’ll have opportunities 4-8 years from now. I’m in shape to qualify now. I might not even be active in the sport 4-8 years from now.
As a guy who ran XC last fall and then ran CIM, it's very doable, especially if you're high mileage or suited to the distance. Start practicing taking gels/fluids on your long runs or workouts now though, the XC fitness can be good enough but you're almost guaranteed to crash hard without any nutrition.
The conference has several guys 13.xx so how is this guy going to win a title?
I say go for it, mainly because it sounds like your heart isn't in it for the track season.
If you add a bit of volume to your prescribed XC program and do the workouts at a little-less-than-max intensity, you should be well prepped for CIM.
You might also find that if you race it and just don't make a big deal of it -- if you create some polite fictions like you're "going out of town that weekend to see family" and then say you've come down with something (true) and need a few days to recover (true) and simply never mention CIM, your coach might just be big enough to ignore it. Will he go out of his way to check the OTQs from the race to see if you ran it? Maybe not, if you can keep your head low.
I wouldn't do this in your shoes because I loved my senior track season. But it sounds like you're kind of burned out and want a new challenge. I resonate with that.
slow poker wrote:
The conference has several guys 13.xx so how is this guy going to win a title?
he said "a chance"
You can only run in college once, you can't come back and do it after this year, you can qualify for the olympic trials in a couple years, and again several years from now, and again a decade from now.
This is coming from someone in their 30's who has qualified for multiple olympic trials. I still have dreams that I somehow have an extra year of eligibility in college and can go back and run one more season. Run in college while you can, then you have 15 more years to chase the olympic trials marathon.
I'm a former P5 Conference Champion (Steeple, XC) and Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier and my Trials qualifying comes up 1000 x more than ever being a 3 x conference champion. Go for the Trials, you won't regret it... as Goggins says - be uncommon among uncommon men.
And also, a 14:19/29:40 runner is not a guarantee to run under 2:18, especially since you haven't even been training for the marathon. It's way different than a 10k or even a half marathon. That would really be rough if you decide to run the marathon, don't get the time, and can't compete in your last college track season.
He also mentioned qualify for regionals which would require dropping 30 seconds. Has any runner ever done that in their senior year? He is either delusional or trolling. Another poster indicated that the guy doesn't listen to his coach.
You had 5 years from when you started.
OldManWithRegrets wrote:
Do not skip your senior season, you can never get that back. Train properly for 2:18 after you’ve finished school.
This is the advice to follow. You could be a conference champ and help your team out. You're giving up memories with your teammates to place 77th at the Olympic Trials or something.
slow poker wrote:
He also mentioned qualify for regionals which would require dropping 30 seconds. Has any runner ever done that in their senior year? He is either delusional or trolling. Another poster indicated that the guy doesn't listen to his coach.
He'd only have to drop 20 seconds to make it in the 10k.
Can't you still qualify with a half. You'd only need to maybe start indoor late vs miss most the season for recovery from that. The only reason to qualify now would be if you plan to give up the sport after college or at least within 4 years.
slow poker wrote:
You didn't answer how you could possibly qualify for regionals.
Please show me where I said I would qualify to regionals. I’ll wait.
No. You only have one year left to run in college. You'll have the rest of your life to hobby jog.
Yes, chasing an Olympic trials qualifier when you have no shot to make the team is just fast hobby jogging.
I appreciate all the responses. Like I said, low-tier D1. Our team has an outside shot of winning the conference, but finishing 2nd would still be a big deal. We would also be going for our highest regional placement in over a decade.
Anywho, I regularly run 100 mpw but not on race weeks. I understand my training is not marathon specific, but I decided I’m going to give it a go. I’m not on athletic scholarship, so that’s a non-issue.