Hey letsrun,
I'm an 18 year old high school senior in South Jersey. PRs of 4:39 1600 and 9:51 3200. Just came off of a good xc season where I made states. Hoping to run in college for a decent D3 program.
Last winter season I ran for my school but was frustrated by the training. Everyone on the team, regardless of event, was subject basically the same training, with WAY too much time spent on dynamics, hurdle drills, and bodyweight exercises than actual running.
Over this past summer I built up to 80 mpw on my own and enjoyed the period of high mileage and good strength sessions. As the xc season rolled around, I had to drop my mileage and my results began to get worse. On the same courses that I had ran on earlier in the season, I was getting worse times later.
I spoke to my coach about accommodating my distance needs somehow, but he was reluctant and told me that in order to run for the team, I needed to train like everyone else. I decided to not be on the team and to use this winter as a period to build up mileage, get in great aerobic strength work, and prepare for the demands of college running. I have a different spring track coach who lets me do what I need to do, so that is no problem there.
That said, I still want the opportunity to race unattached now and then. I've done some research and found a couple options for indoor races in the New York Armory. I wanted to know if there were other unattached indoor meets during the winter that I could be a part of. I've heard of adults joining college meets as unattached runners, but wasn't sure if that was a reality for high schoolers.
Thoughts are greatly appreciated. I'd love suggestions for races in the tri-state area and thoughts on running unattached. I'm also looking into some possibilities for over-distance road races, but there seem to be very few during the winter. Thanks everyone.