Typically there are numbers of better distance runners in Florida. This is definitely a down year. There was a Florida 4x8 team close to 7:30 a few years ago.
Typically there are numbers of better distance runners in Florida. This is definitely a down year. There was a Florida 4x8 team close to 7:30 a few years ago.
This hasn't been a particularly big year for FL high school middle distance aside from Arroyo.
Gusts* not "winds"There was not a consistent, unwavering 20 mph wind all day.
RuppNation wrote:
I agree. The winning 4x800 relay team didn't even break 8:00. That seems incredibly slow unless class 4A is a small school class.Like I said, there were 15-20 mph winds yesterday and it didn't get much better for today's meet. 4A is the biggest class and Bloomingdale's time would have definitely been sub 8 in normal weather (weather was perfect last year and they finished 7th in 8:00).
northern man wrote:
What a joke, florida not good for training? Come up to buffalo early november to early april and you'll understand. bring your snowshoes and ski goggles
come to florida anytime from june to september and you'll see. Bring an alarm clock cuz you'll be getting up at 5 to run and about 500 gallon jugs of water to replenish what you lose in sweat on a single run.
dfszdzdsfdz wrote:
northern man wrote:What a joke, florida not good for training? Come up to buffalo early november to early april and you'll understand. bring your snowshoes and ski goggles
come to florida anytime from june to september and you'll see. Bring an alarm clock cuz you'll be getting up at 5 to run and about 500 gallon jugs of water to replenish what you lose in sweat on a single run.
Are you kidding? The heat doesn't affect your stride. Snow and ice does. There is no comparison. Florida is fine for training.
dfszdzdsfdz wrote:
come to florida anytime from june to september and you'll see. Bring an alarm clock cuz you'll be getting up at 5 to run and about 500 gallon jugs of water to replenish what you lose in sweat on a single run.
Average temperature in Florida in the summer is only a couple degrees warmer than a place like Louisville.
Come to the Midwest in the summer and you'll realize it's not much better than Florida for training.
To all those asking questions:
Yes, this is a down year for Florida high school distance running. Last year's 3rd place 4x800 time was 7:43.
The weather at the state meet was crappy.
Arroyo likes to win races, hence the triple. He will have his shot at sub 4 in new york.
Arroyo is running at University of Florida next year.
There ARE hills in western metropolitan Orlando, but where Arroyo's high school is there are none. It is super flat.
The way we train for hills in Florida is bridges, stairs, parking garages, or multiple repetitions of the steepest hill you can find in your area.
Training in the heat isn't really an issue. It's hot, yes, but we train through it. Effort is still Effort.
The weather problem that gets in our way is lightning. That stuff will mess you up, but its only really in the summer (and early xc, and postseason t&f).
LOL at the excuses coming from some of the Florida people.
It's too hot: In Florida the Winter is MUCH better for training than 80+% of the nation. Spring and Fall are also good for training. Yes, it's hot in the summer, but the average high in most of Florida is only about 5 degrees warmer than Indianapolis in the summer, for example, and only a few degrees warmer than areas south of there. When taking into account the winter, Florida has BETTER weather for training than most of the United States.
Lack of hills: Hill training is not necessary or even much of an advantage. Mountains certainly are due to the effects of less oxygen at altitude, but hills don't do much. Also, Florida is certainly not unique in its lack of hills. Central and northern Indiana and Illinois produce some of the best talent in the nation and it is as flat as can be.
Football is the top sport in Florida: In every state football and basketball is bigger than track. Florida's not any different than the rest of the U.S. in this way.
Awesome splits for every distance event he did
http://www.distancepreps.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=31488&do=news&news_id=141351
Indiana1600 wrote:
LOL at the excuses coming from some of the Florida people.
It's too hot: In Florida the Winter is MUCH better for training than 80+% of the nation. Spring and Fall are also good for training. Yes, it's hot in the summer, but the average high in most of Florida is only about 5 degrees warmer than Indianapolis in the summer, for example, and only a few degrees warmer than areas south of there. When taking into account the winter, Florida has BETTER weather for training than most of the United States.
Lack of hills: Hill training is not necessary or even much of an advantage. Mountains certainly are due to the effects of less oxygen at altitude, but hills don't do much. Also, Florida is certainly not unique in its lack of hills. Central and northern Indiana and Illinois produce some of the best talent in the nation and it is as flat as can be.
Football is the top sport in Florida: In every state football and basketball is bigger than track. Florida's not any different than the rest of the U.S. in this way.
Why would anyone from any state make excuses regarding high school distance running?
It's not a real big interest relatively speaking.
Actually, it gave him more time as there was more heats between events. It was almost an hour from the end of the mile to the 800. He won all events easily.
Strength is probably the main reason he has improved a good deal in the last year. Lots of ways to get stronger. Ever tried pushing a car or throwing around a truck tire. A strength coach is great but you still have to have the talent and more importantly desire to succeed.
This is no "Monster Triple" alla German Fernandez Style, but darn pretty close! It was just a work out for him - No Challenge at all! I can't wait till he races Montoya in the Mile! Now that's going to be something worth watching. In fact, if you can get McGorty in there too, all three could break 4! It needs to happen!!!!
R
jjjjjjj wrote:
You can find short steep hills in Florida and there are places with rolling hills of some size like San Antonio, FL or Clermont, FL not too far from Orlando, where Arroyo is. But honestly, the weather is far harsher than in the northeast in the spring and summer, and for distance running the humidity and the intensity of the sun are tough unless you run prior to 8:30 a.m. But it is a fine place to train in the winter and not too bad even in March and April some years. The real reason that distance running is weak in a state where there are tremendous, nationally elite athletes all over the place in football is that that sport is king and distance running is not a consideration. In a lot of places in Florida too there are not a lot of even safe places to run. I almost get hit by cars on a daily basis in Tampa, though you can get to parks with safe roads and trails. Sprints and field events aren't too bad here, with some great ones, but there are dozens of elite national prospects in the Tampa Bay area alone in football, all of them prototypical size and weight and speed, many of them headed for places like Auburn, LSU, Alabama, and the gators.
This ^ I live in miami and I know of a couple 60-80m hills to do sprints on. As far as weather I just run at night or any time before 11 AM, atleast it's not raining everyday and in the winter it's great because it just gets chilly no blizzards or anything. So florida is actually a great place to train unless your out everyday at 2 pm in June. And it's true distance running doesn't get much love down here in comparison to other states football, basketball, and baseball are the most important and popular sports.
Kanye North wrote:
Average temperature in Florida in the summer is only a couple degrees warmer than a place like Louisville.
Come to the Midwest in the summer and you'll realize it's not much better than Florida for training.
I've lived in the Midwest for 10 years, and in Florida for 20, and this statement couldn't be any more ridiculous. How Florida's temperatures relate to other states' temperatures is totally irrelevant. Tampa/Orlando regularly has morning dew points in the 80s in the summer -- that would be a 100-year event for a city in the Midwest.
Also, our "summer" is May through November. Halloween dew points are typically in the high 70s in Central Florida.
That being said, I think that Florida is a great state for good training, but not a good state for great training. In other words, we have good weather for year-round training, but certainly not the conditions that would let someone excel in a fall cross country season. It's just way too hot here during October and November afternoons to put up a good time.
Raysism wrote:
Tampa/Orlando regularly has morning dew points in the 80s in the summer -- that would be a 100-year event for a city in the Midwest.
Also, our "summer" is May through November. Halloween dew points are typically in the high 70s in Central Florida.
That is definitely tough weather to train in.
Raysism wrote:
That being said, I think that Florida is a great state for good training, but not a good state for great training. In other words, we have good weather for year-round training, but certainly not the conditions that would let someone excel in a fall cross country season. It's just way too hot here during October and November afternoons to put up a good time.
That is bull. Florida has two nationally ranked NCAA cross country teams
I don't really know dewpoint, but I sure know HUMIDITY. Yes, average high temps in Florida during the summer are not extreme. I lived iand trained in Miami for 36 years. I'm pretty sure it never got to 100, BUT in the loooong summer, at least May-September in South Florida, highs are always 88-97 and, more importantly, lows are 78-82. And most importantly the humidity is highest in early morning. So getting up before dawn gives you those "cool" 78-82 temps - and 80-90% humidity.
I used to go to Seattle for a couple of weeks every summer. In Miami it seemed like ten miles was the most I could possibly do. Then on my first day in Seattle I'd run over to Green Lake and do a fast - and easy - 17. I wasn't washed up after all.
In 1978 I ran 2:33:55 to get 7th in the Masters at Boston. Temps in the low 50s and no tailwind. In mid-May, well-recovered, I ran a 20K in Miami in 1:16. Less than half the distance of Boston - and 20 seconds per mile slower. And I ran my tail off. Only 8 cups of ice water, cubes and all, over my head at 9 miles got me through it.
In Feb. '73 I ran the West Valley Marathon in San Mateo CA. Ron Daws, the '68 Olympic Marathoner also ran it. I commiserated with him about having tomtrain in his Minnesota winters. He said he'd take Minnesota any day over Miami for training.
hgkkgkjg wrote:
That is bull. Florida has two nationally ranked NCAA cross country teams
You're right -- I forgot about how many NCAA XC titles have been claimed by two of the top 5 track programs in the country in the third biggest state in the country. And watch out for Miami!
Look, any folks here who don't think that Florida's weather is a big deal are invited to come run a PR at one of our "pleasant winter" marathons. Or run that October 5K in an 80 degree morning that you always read about in Runner's World.