He chose a school and coach that was not suited to his strengths. That was obvious immediately after the announcement. There is still a chance it works out - but that is the main reason it has not worked thus far.
This is likely the answer here. It was discussed in another thread recently about why most HS phenoms don’t pan out. It’s becoming increasingly clear over time that individualized approaches to training are necessary to maximize performance (I’d say it’s been clear to many for a long time). But HSers do a HORRIBLE job at incorporating this into deciding where to go to college (I know I didn’t even consider this factor way back when I was a HS senior). They go to programs that have success, where the culture feels right, etc. Those things obviously matter but those things alone won’t help runners improve if the training isn’t a good fit. Colin probably saw NAUs success, saw Nico’s success, saw the altitude, liked the team, and decided to go there. But I agree it seemed like a bad fit from a training philosophy from the get go. Colin and Nico are totally different runners. Colin could of course turn it around after an adjustment period, and I hope I’m wrong. But this seems like one of the more likely explanations.
Could somebody talk about this more? What is Washington doing differently than NAU? More speed work and less aerobic work/mileage? Probably no double thresholds for those huskys.
Nico Young ran 7:56.97 (February 2020/13:50 (June 2020) in high school, albeit with a pandemic-shortened senior campaign and a 5k in hot weather with inadequate pacers.
He ran 13:24 as a freshman and 13:11 as a sophomore. He's improved 39 seconds in the 5000m in two years. He's run 7:51/13:15 indoor pr's as a junior this year, along with 2nd in xc, but the previous 7:59 pr was run in Bozeman, Montana and converted to around 7:45, which is about a 12 second pr from high school. In the mile, he ran 3:56 as a sophomore, which is roughly a ten second pr from high school, where he didn't target the mile his senior year.
After winning two de facto national xc titles in high school, his 4th in xc in March as a freshman was a big jump forward, the best finish for an American freshman since Ritzenhein, I think.
what was Nico's second national title besides NXN?
This is likely the answer here. It was discussed in another thread recently about why most HS phenoms don’t pan out. It’s becoming increasingly clear over time that individualized approaches to training are necessary to maximize performance (I’d say it’s been clear to many for a long time). But HSers do a HORRIBLE job at incorporating this into deciding where to go to college (I know I didn’t even consider this factor way back when I was a HS senior). They go to programs that have success, where the culture feels right, etc. Those things obviously matter but those things alone won’t help runners improve if the training isn’t a good fit. Colin probably saw NAUs success, saw Nico’s success, saw the altitude, liked the team, and decided to go there. But I agree it seemed like a bad fit from a training philosophy from the get go. Colin and Nico are totally different runners. Colin could of course turn it around after an adjustment period, and I hope I’m wrong. But this seems like one of the more likely explanations.
Could somebody talk about this more? What is Washington doing differently than NAU? More speed work and less aerobic work/mileage? Probably no double thresholds for those huskys.
Everyone talks about training at NAU, BTC, OAC, but do we know what the core training principles are at UW? It’s clearly working for their milers. Mileage? Threshold? Speed year round? Etc? Everyone’s gushing about yesterday...
He ran 1:50 mid or 1:50 high after running the 4xmile at indoor nats weeks later this time last year. He's actually in a pretty good place but people don't look at the full context
Not close to the top true Fr - WIll Sumner -> 1:47.02. Maybe he should go to a mid-distance based program, or just somewhere different than NAU.
Summer couldn’t run a sub 14 5k in HS but Colin could’ve. And hell Cade and Summer probably could’ve beat him last winter in the 800, Cade did. But a guy who can race 200-400-800 for his team is different compared to a guy who can run 800-1600-3200 and win a national xc title
This is likely the answer here. It was discussed in another thread recently about why most HS phenoms don’t pan out. It’s becoming increasingly clear over time that individualized approaches to training are necessary to maximize performance (I’d say it’s been clear to many for a long time). But HSers do a HORRIBLE job at incorporating this into deciding where to go to college (I know I didn’t even consider this factor way back when I was a HS senior). They go to programs that have success, where the culture feels right, etc. Those things obviously matter but those things alone won’t help runners improve if the training isn’t a good fit. Colin probably saw NAUs success, saw Nico’s success, saw the altitude, liked the team, and decided to go there. But I agree it seemed like a bad fit from a training philosophy from the get go. Colin and Nico are totally different runners. Colin could of course turn it around after an adjustment period, and I hope I’m wrong. But this seems like one of the more likely explanations.
Could somebody talk about this more? What is Washington doing differently than NAU? More speed work and less aerobic work/mileage? Probably no double thresholds for those huskys.
Been posted before but- It's a totally different animal doing speed work at 7,000 ft altitude. To really train with good speed work the NAU team drops down for workouts to Sedona etc. I've even heard they drive down for long runs as they get closer to championships to ease up on the difficulty the altitude provides and allow for "easy" long run paces. It's not hard to see why they don't succeed at the 800/mile distances as much as sea level teams.
To be competitive they'd have to really focus on more travel down the mountain...
Could somebody talk about this more? What is Washington doing differently than NAU? More speed work and less aerobic work/mileage? Probably no double thresholds for those huskys.
Been posted before but- It's a totally different animal doing speed work at 7,000 ft altitude. To really train with good speed work the NAU team drops down for workouts to Sedona etc. I've even heard they drive down for long runs as they get closer to championships to ease up on the difficulty the altitude provides and allow for "easy" long run paces. It's not hard to see why they don't succeed at the 800/mile distances as much as sea level teams.
To be competitive they'd have to really focus on more travel down the mountain...
They had four men under 3:40 last year, Geordie Beamish won the indoor mile for NAU, and Luis Grijalva has consistently run good 1500m times training under Mike Smith in Flagstaff (both as a collegiate and as a pro).
Yeah maybe Washington is better at the mile, but NAU is pretty darn good at that event when their top guys actually race it.
Been posted before but- It's a totally different animal doing speed work at 7,000 ft altitude. To really train with good speed work the NAU team drops down for workouts to Sedona etc. I've even heard they drive down for long runs as they get closer to championships to ease up on the difficulty the altitude provides and allow for "easy" long run paces. It's not hard to see why they don't succeed at the 800/mile distances as much as sea level teams.
To be competitive they'd have to really focus on more travel down the mountain...
They had four men under 3:40 last year, Geordie Beamish won the indoor mile for NAU, and Luis Grijalva has consistently run good 1500m times training under Mike Smith in Flagstaff (both as a collegiate and as a pro).
Yeah maybe Washington is better at the mile, but NAU is pretty darn good at that event when their top guys actually race it.
Yes, they had 3 sub4 guys this winter. That’s one more than Cal Poly.
They had four men under 3:40 last year, Geordie Beamish won the indoor mile for NAU, and Luis Grijalva has consistently run good 1500m times training under Mike Smith in Flagstaff (both as a collegiate and as a pro).
Yeah maybe Washington is better at the mile, but NAU is pretty darn good at that event when their top guys actually race it.
Yes, they had 3 sub4 guys this winter. That’s one more than Cal Poly.
NAU produces great milers
Colin is a freshman. RELAX. He's doing just fine. He needs to learn some things, it's OK.
He went out in 51 in the first 400m of his 800m prelim at the conference meet, ran 1:49.5 when he didn't need to. He was a little gassed the next day. Freshman mistake. He's a talent and is being developed. Just give it time people.
Could somebody talk about this more? What is Washington doing differently than NAU? More speed work and less aerobic work/mileage? Probably no double thresholds for those huskys.
Been posted before but- It's a totally different animal doing speed work at 7,000 ft altitude. To really train with good speed work the NAU team drops down for workouts to Sedona etc. I've even heard they drive down for long runs as they get closer to championships to ease up on the difficulty the altitude provides and allow for "easy" long run paces. It's not hard to see why they don't succeed at the 800/mile distances as much as sea level teams.
To be competitive they'd have to really focus on more travel down the mountain...
Yeah all those Kenyan training at altitude suck at the mile😃 It is a lot more training focus than altitude.
Now adjusting to living and running at altitude is a different story.
He ran 1:50 mid or 1:50 high after running the 4xmile at indoor nats weeks later this time last year. He's actually in a pretty good place but people don't look at the full context
Not close to the top true Fr - WIll Sumner -> 1:47.02. Maybe he should go to a mid-distance based program, or just somewhere different than NAU.
0.49 sec slower than he ran outdoors last year. What a failure.
How many times does the above average varsity athlete finally make it to the state meet and then run poorly?
The Sahlman's and Young's have had exceptional careers and could stop running today being better than 99.99% of people who attempt competitive running. At Newbury Park they had the perfect conditions and those guys were probably so happy every day. That platform was sensitive so even the slightest changes to that layout could hinder his performamce. Perhaps he is high strung on being the best ever and it boils down to a confidence thing.
Much like Robert Plant claimed to not be a jukebox, Sahlman isnt a pin ball machine where you pump another quarter in and set a record.
How many times does the above average varsity athlete finally make it to the state meet and then run poorly?
The Sahlman's and Young's have had exceptional careers and could stop running today being better than 99.99% of people who attempt competitive running. At Newbury Park they had the perfect conditions and those guys were probably so happy every day. That platform was sensitive so even the slightest changes to that layout could hinder his performamce. Perhaps he is high strung on being the best ever and it boils down to a confidence thing.
Much like Robert Plant claimed to not be a jukebox, Sahlman isnt a pin ball machine where you pump another quarter in and set a record.
Did you make up that last paragraph on the spot? Ugh.
I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but 3:38.3 converts to a 3:55.76 mile. In high school, Colin ran a 3:56.24 mile. So after nearly a full school year at NAU, Colin has improved his best 1500/mile performance by less than half a second. While I’m glad to see he’s no longer running slower than he did in high school, he’s still not running significantly better than he did in high school. He’s basically at the same level. Here’s hoping he can get to a higher level.
I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but 3:38.3 converts to a 3:55.76 mile. In high school, Colin ran a 3:56.24 mile. So after nearly a full school year at NAU, Colin has improved his best 1500/mile performance by less than half a second. While I’m glad to see he’s no longer running slower than he did in high school, he’s still not running significantly better than he did in high school. He’s basically at the same level. Here’s hoping he can get to a higher level.
Yesterday was only one race and maybe he runs 3:32 later this year. He doesn’t need to retire just yet.
I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but 3:38.3 converts to a 3:55.76 mile. In high school, Colin ran a 3:56.24 mile. So after nearly a full school year at NAU, Colin has improved his best 1500/mile performance by less than half a second. While I’m glad to see he’s no longer running slower than he did in high school, he’s still not running significantly better than he did in high school. He’s basically at the same level. Here’s hoping he can get to a higher level.
I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but 3:38.3 converts to a 3:55.76 mile. In high school, Colin ran a 3:56.24 mile. So after nearly a full school year at NAU, Colin has improved his best 1500/mile performance by less than half a second. While I’m glad to see he’s no longer running slower than he did in high school, he’s still not running significantly better than he did in high school. He’s basically at the same level. Here’s hoping he can get to a higher level.
It’s not just the time. I watched the race and his close was really strong. I don’t have his splits, but he accelerated well and took down a lot of guys in the final 100m. Right after the race, he looked comfortable and not overly taxed, like he had more to give. If you’ve been watching him this year, he’s looked kind of sluggish, not just his times, but no spring in his step, but not last night. In HS, he always finished races with an amazing burst, and he had that last night. I think this was a breakthrough race for him and expect he’s going to post some more impressive mile/1500 performances this summer. I do wonder if running the xc season at NAU is in his best interest. I get the strength part and all the team comradery, but still…..
He is losing interest. He may get a couple seconds faster in college, but that's it. In a couple years he will throw in the towel, and start looking at his job career more seriously. He would be great in dealings with the stock market, but we'll see.
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