IS THIS RIGHT?????

The best runners should be rested for the biggest meet. I doubt the meet this weekend is as important as prenationals. This is a gross misuse of power. He probably gets shoved around by the AD and perhaps his wife (who knows) and cannot find a healthy outlet for this inferiority complex so he tries to shove you around needlessly. That, or he is just a mean dictadorial coach who does not have the best interest of his athletes in mind. Tough break.

One Word: Transfer.

It's fair enough, a coach should run only the runners he knows he can count on, that won't puss out and jog it in or DNF when push comes to shove in the heat of a big race. On the same token, he's probably right and if you need a break then you're probably better off at this point taking an extra week off from racing than just the one. Besides, Pre-Nats is probably not the biggest race on your schedule, probably only about 3rd biggest or possibly 2nd. It's a really competitive meet and doesn't end up counting for much except to preview the course for nationals and to possibly boost the stock of teams looking for at-large bids. So, if you did go then you might end up beating yourself up a lot (especially considering your current state) for very little gain. Stick with it, muddle through, if the coach hurts the team's fortunes by leaving you home then that's really his worry and responsibility, not yours. I tend to think that he put it that way to make sure you really needed the break, not as any kind of perverse form of 'punishment'. Besides, it's all about how you're feeling and racing for the conference meet and after and a lot less about what you 'miss out on' in early October.

Hard to believe that such an individual sport such as running can be screwed up by a coach, but yours seems to be doing a good job of it.

voice of experience wrote:

I tend to think that he put it that way to make sure you really needed the break, not as any kind of perverse form of 'punishment'. Besides, it's all about how you're feeling and racing for the conference meet and after and a lot less about what you 'miss out on' in early October.

You might be right, and if that is the case then for some reason the relationship is screwed up b/c the coach doesn't trust the athlete.

Not necessarily, it depends on each person's personality. Maybe the coach knows this person to be a bit of an exaggerator or on the other hand sometimes a bit of an understater. Maybe that's simply the coach's most effective way of dealing with something as subjective as perceived fatigue. Motivation comes in many forms, sometimes it's a lot more sublime and profound than rah-rah cheerleading.

There are two ways to look at this.

One is to examine industry standard. You won't find a top program in the nation that would have already raced their #2 man 5 times with plans to run back to back ending with pre-nationals. You must be tired from racing (or non running reasons) because your mileage would be considered very average.

Another is to consider what a reasonably prudent person would do. He must be seeing something I don't see. He must be pissed at you for something because I'd want my #2 guy to run on the Pre Nat course - unless he's not planning on making it to Nats anyway.

That must be it. He figures he'll never make it to Nats because his #2 is a wimp.

Sorry, just joknig.

First, the volume doesn't seem to be unusual for a DI program, though you're a little vague about it.

Second, maybe your coach just has a conservative approach (as all should) to his athletes that are not 100%. If you're tired/struggling, then lets not push it for the next few weeks. You're going to pre-nats, that should mean that you're a decent team. He wants you healthy for the end of the season and for the rest of the year. What's more important to you, running pre-nats or running the real deal in November? You may have a point though if you're a bubble team that needs to beat some teams.

You should notice that the better programs out there often have guys absent from races throughout the season. This is not because they have some injury that prevents them from running, they're simply not feeling 100% and they (coach and athlete) don't want to jeopardize the rest of the season/year just for one midseason race.

Gotta think big picture buddy.

Well, I've read your responses, and I can see both sides of things. Based on how it was said to me, I feel that my coach doesn't believe me when I tell him that I'm tired. I missed our morning run on Tuesday because I over-slept and I feel that he thinks of me as a slacker of sorts. I wish I could get him to understand that I'm not one of those people that can run 80-90 miles a week. My body just can't handle it. It's not like he sat down with me and explained his thinking to me and everything. He simply told me I could have the weekend off and then I have to find out from a teammate afterward that Coach isn't planning on taking me to Pre-Nats.

That teammate could be lying. He is probably jealous that you are the second guy.

Actions speak louder than words.

That said, have you and your coach never discussed training? If you don't raise these issues, he will continue to operate on the assumption that you're fine with the training model. If you went to him (though it would have been best if you had discussed this sometime before the season, like during the recruiting process) I bet he'd make the time to sit down with you and listen and discuss. Going to him shows that you care enough to take the initiative.

Here is my deal with these questions... Both this one and the one about running sub-7:00 on recovery days:

They can be viewed both ways. When I was in school, we instituted morning runs for the team, if you were top 7, you could run, swim or lift in the morning, but if you were not top 7, you had to run. We had these morning practices on M, W, and Fri.

You would not believe the amount of complaints we got from the guys NOT on top 7. We even said that if you were tired, you could come and stretch out instead of run. We met at 8am. If you had an 8am class, you could skip it. Since everyone makes their schedules prior to the cross season, no one had an 8am class. We got complaints from everyone under top 7, and we were a D1, nationally ranked team. These guys never ran fast, and were lucky to be on the team. A lot of them were dismissed shortly after.

Sure, your coach might be a ditz, but if you want to compete on a collegiate level, you need to work hard. So are you being an ass, or is your coach really a moron? I think you need to look at this situation from his perspective as well.

Additionally, I think we need to answer these posts from both sides. These guys are collegiate athletes. If Bobby Knight or Roy Williams tells his team to do something, they do it. That is why they are successful. There is nothing wrong with morning runs in freaking September! They should be done, end of story. Pre-Nats is not the most important meet of the seaon, it doesn't really matter at all to be honest.

Your case might be different, he (your coach) might be a moron, I don't know, but just look at it from both ways.

If you are running pre-nats, you are most-likely a decent program, right? If that is the case, this is not for s***s and giggles, or simply so you can sport the T&F shirt to class, this is for real. Want the respect? Pay the price. It ain't easy my friend. Train hard or let someone else have the spot, who WILL train hard.

BallsHarry wrote:

Want the respect? Pay the price. It ain't easy my friend. Train hard or let someone else have the spot, who WILL train hard.

Amen

Call the coaches bluff....

or go easy today race tomorrow and take steps to have a recovery week before pre-nats.

The plot thickens

Now you've said to coach that you don't think you can run this weekend AND you missed the morning run on Tuesday. If I were the coach I'd mave huge concerns.

You are a college athlete!!! You have no excuse for missing a practice - none!

Its time to start over and prove yourself or join the art club.

BallsHarry wrote:

Pay the price. It ain't easy my friend. Train hard or let someone else have the spot, who WILL train hard.

Not a very intelligent response. Training smartly and effectively is much more desireable than training hard. Many times what some consider training hard is going to cause worse race performances. The spot should go to the fastest guy. These people should do what they can to be the fastest they can. Too much male ego floating around. Training is merely a means an end for competitive runners.