I Need Help. (I want to quit my D1 sport)

most important, talk to your coach, if he is a half decent coach he will listen and work with you. If he doesn’t, find someone else that does.

lt sounds like you’re run down and spiralling. Make some necessary changes until you feel you’re “back on track”

many people have a tough time in first year, with a variety of different outcomes. First year can be a tough time, it’s a big adjustment. You sound level headed, don’t get down on yourself. The problem isn’t you, but these struggles are part of the process

First and foremost be honest with yourself and your coaches. See your school's psychologist. Getting help is important and something that you should not be ashamed of.

The reality is your case is not unusual. Many people struggle with the same issue. The reality is that D1 athletics is not for everyone. Think back to what made running fun for you. It may be time to explore other things. Some do very well running on a club team where the time commitment and expectations are different. Maybe running would be fun again if it was just a hobby. That's the beauty of the sport.

Being D1 also increases pressure on coaches. High profile means higher expectations. Schedule a meeting with your coach. If they won't listen, well that tells you something. Good coaches care.

Give it time! As a college coach I know it takes time to get used to the training and higher volume! As a middle distance runner and 1:58 800 guy out of HS I also struggled my freshman year. It took a couple of years before I was destroying my HS times. You will get there. I get tired of people throwing in the D1 thing. You think that just because you are D1 that your team trains at a higher level than NAIA, D2, or D3? It's not the division its the coach and program. Hang in there and do not quit! It will get better, just may take a couple of years to adjust. Take a day off each week your freshman year if you need to!

Some coaches would actually be glad to hear from you so they can adjust the training load for you. I would. If I knew you were struggling so badly, it would only make sense to try something different. You are certainly not alone. Most mid-distance runners go through this to some degree.

I had a good experience in college but even I remember my coach training me with the distance guys in practice and then racing me in the 1500/800 mostly. I had no speed because we never ran anything under about 65 practice. I just could not get out in under 60 in those 800's. Ran some 2:11's. But in the end maybe the coach knew what he was doing because by the end of season when he moved me up to the 5000, I found the pace so easy I placed 4th at our conference meet and a week later ran 15:29.

Sometimes you have to give it more time to see if it is working or not, but still don't quit without at least trying to talk to the coach.

Can you give us a few numbers on mileage in HS v. college, how much sleep you are getting, nutrition, how those have changed, etc.. It takes a lot of moving parts to make a good runner, and if you figured it out once, you can do it again.