My coach is telling me to back off, what should i do?

Btw, your spelling and writing style are worse than an ESL student. Maybe you should be staying in HS another year, because your writing isn’t ready for the big leagues along with your attitude.

Attitude? Sense you want to be a smartass why don't you go back to grade school and learn some vocabulary again. Btw this ain't no dang essay it's a forum to get advice from, but you wouldn't know because all you do is hate on others anyway here.

Socialanxietyrunner wrote:

I have like 4 or 6 races left, my plan was to focus on getting 1:59 down to 1:55 for 800m, once i have the speed necessary then i will focus for 3 races on the 3200m to get and get that down to 9:19 to get v02 max necessary, then my final races give it all my soul and get 4:15.

I'm a strength runner too. You can train through or taper, but if you train through you need a more intense warm up. You can maintain low mileage + racing for several weeks and still improve from race to race.

Your coach knows this. You can build the emotional response and confidence with each race when you race well.

I've been through all of this many times in hundreds of races over many years. You have your natural ability which won't disappear and your fitness which lasts many weeks or months if you plan it out right.

The most important issue for the rest of the season is recovery from races. When you run more, you recover faster. When you run less you have more to give but need more recovery time. Experience is the best way to learn.

When I was a senior in high school I was also running 70 mpw and underperformed at the state XC meet due to a taper. The point of a taper is to freshen you up. If you don’t need to freshen up much, you shouldn’t taper, as tapering mileage WILL make you lose endurance especially if you are the type to do so when reducing mileage. Ultimately it sounds like you are that type of runner as was I, and you should try to keep your mileage up, even if you cut back on your workouts. Your coach is trying to apply a one size fits all method of tapering which likely doesn’t work for you. It’s your body and your future.

Are you doubling? If so, I would just drop to whatever mileage h e says to at practice, but maintain your doubles, that way you still taper a reasonable amount, but not so much you feel lethargic.

Sounds like you need to talk to your coach, dude! What evidence do you have other than you bombed at states for XC? Plenty of great runners have "bombed" at state. How do you know it's you who is working great, and not the training program your coach has set up? Riddle me that, Dr. Suess!

It sounds like you have already made up your mind on what you want to do, you are just waiting for someone to say, "You do you, bro! No way a coach knows better than some high school kid! That bogus! Run with heart and show the world! Get that scholarship! College coaches love when they have runners on the team that don't listen to them! It shows independence. Be like Pre! Be like Pre!" What have you done lately to show you are ready to run a 4:15? Sounds like your coach has developed you into a decent runner, 4:40 to 4:18 in 4 months! That pretty incredible! Sounds like your coach knows what he is talking about! That is some serious growth in 4 months. Or... You are just doing your own thing this whole time and now you're scared that you really don't know what you are doing and looking for excuses on why you might not race well.

Also what is a v02max workout? Do you really need to work the v02 engine for the mile every single week? Maybe a little, but weekly, sounds like you burnt yourself doing too many hard workouts.

If you are a 4:15 miler and you can say with 100% certainty my coach has never helped or guided me to where I am, then cool! Do what you want, you will anyway! But if your coach has helped you probably should listen.

I never said the coach never helped me, but had i would've relied on just my coachs program, i would've never been close to where i am now we are a low mileage program and ever since he saw the success all the sudden last season when i have been running doing lots of miles he started introducing way more miles to my teamates, (which im glad) but it proves he dosen't know everything and learns as he goes. Now we are alot more solid of a team.

The workouts in the beginning of the season are fine, but as we get more into post he just seems to shut all of the intensity off. It explains why even before i learned my senior how to actually train are team would be strong in the beggining but then fade into post.

A typical v02 max session would be like 3x 800m at 3200m pace on grass.

Or 6x600m @3200m.

I already mentioned he is a good guy, i feel guilty even posting this, and yes i have talked to him but it's hard not coming across as a douche especially when the team is ease dropping. I mainly posted this thread to see if anyone else had similar issues and what they did.

Does your coach plan out the weekly long run, tempo, v02 max and you have a race? That's four hard workouts in 7 days. Either your mind or body will crack first, and it sounds like during xc it was both... If you coach has you doing all of that, he is dumb, if you are doing all of that in addition to what your coach has planned, well then I think we all know the answer.

No i cut out the tempo stuff as soon as i do v02 max training, the tempo is for 1600m down to 800m workout sessions to keep me strong, and the longrun doesn't count as a workout imo because it is easy and not that taxing.

Sounds like you got it figured out! Best of luck, kid.

Socialanxietyrunner wrote:

Thanks for helping btw, you guys are telling me to trust my coach yet the evidence says otherwise, even if i was training to hard i was doing so well for the entire season that it wouldve been worth maintaining, i dropped from 60 mpw at that time to like 35 and i went from being a sub 16 guy to 17:10 in just 2 weeks of doing no workouts, barley mileage and no longrun im a strength runner so if i don't use it, i loose it.

Thats to much of a taper you still need to do workouts just not as hard ones only really taper the workouts down a week out and same for your long run only 2 weeks out at most start slowly tapering it down by reducing not getting rid of it all together but you dont always have to do three workouts a week only when you feel good or you will burn out

Socialanxietyrunner wrote:

Thanks for helping btw, you guys are telling me to trust my coach yet the evidence says otherwise, even if i was training to hard i was doing so well for the entire season that it wouldve been worth maintaining, i dropped from 60 mpw at that time to like 35 and i went from being a sub 16 guy to 17:10 in just 2 weeks of doing no workouts, barley mileage and no longrun im a strength runner so if i don't use it, i loose it.

Lydiard always said that ultimately a runner is responsible for his performances. I'm not sure that running less and more easily is why you ran poorly but it is possible, even if it was because you had no confidence in your easier training. If you've gotten yourself from 4:40 to 4:18 you were doing something right and if I was coaching you I'd let you do what's worked for you. So I'd say to do what you think you should do but understand that if it goes badly you will get an earful from your coach. But if you listen to your coach and run badly you will always regret not trusting yourself.

listen to your coach 2 wrote:

Another high schooler that thinks they know more than their coach and asking a bunch of strangers will net better results. Good luck, kid. You seem arrogant and that’s probably why you’ll fail.

Based on a small sample size I would venture to guess that 80% of distance coaches in the US either have no clue what they’re doing, or worse, have an outsized ego that prevents them from having a clue.

So a knee jerk reaction to default to the coach will be as effective as playing Russian Roulette.

dont listen to your coach he sounds really dumb

Sounds like you are the best runner your coach has ever coached.if anything, you should just take over for the whole team give them workouts. Obviously running 70 miles a week( no problem) and tempo, long run( no taxing) , VO2 workouts on grass is the best training ever!!! Big scholarship No need to listen to them.

I heard mike smith, vin lannna , eyestine are calling you later today to get your input on training since you have it all figured out!

Is Biden giving you the title of president also? You seem to know!

I was in similar situation I held 60 mpw for months on end, then dropping to 55 mpw for a month, then around 50 for another month and 45 for the last week. So not a insane taper, but I think it worked solid for me as I ended up tying my pr, but without killing my self doing it, so I was super fresh for that race. I think 1 east workout per week is a good idea, like a mix of 1k at interval and at tempo with a good sized rest. It should be a easy workout because that is part of your taper. Dropping mileage and intensity too much is the issue but dropping them both a little is way better. I would run 60 mpw 2 weeks out, then 50 the final week, with 1 way workout, and still do long runs but make sure it is VERY easy. Essentially I am offering a compromise between your ideas and your coaches, and I think this is the best idea, as it is the safest for sure. Good luck and try to relax sometimes.

1:42x3 wrote:

Sounds like you are the best runner your coach has ever coached.if anything, you should just take over for the whole team give them workouts. Obviously running 70 miles a week( no problem) and tempo, long run( no taxing) , VO2 workouts on grass is the best training ever!!! Big scholarship No need to listen to them.

I heard mike smith, vin lannna , eyestine are calling you later today to get your input on training since you have it all figured out!

Is Biden giving you the title of president also? You seem to know!

This

Sometimes you just have an off day and it has nothing to do with the program. It is tough in high school because kids are often way over raced and it is tough to peak at the right time or maintain a peak for several weeks in a row.

there could be a variety of reasons why things didn't work out for you, but you can't go right to the coach. The sample size is not there.

on the other side of the coin, I'm not sure it's necessary to go from 60 all the way down to 35 for 2 straight weeks. I would probably do something like 50 two weeks out and 35ish the 2nd week. BUT, if you were not a shoe in to get from regional to state, that is potentially your last week, so it makes sense in that case.

yup. drop mileage. NOT INTENSITY