What do you think you could have run

I was injured my senior year of HS. Here's my progression in the 1600m with peak mileage:

Freshman: 4:57 - 30 mpw

Sophomore: 4:39.9 - 42 mpw

Junior: 4:28.3 - 48 mpw

Senior: 4:41 - 0 mpw running, 1 hr/day biking

I think I'm capable of 4:15, give or take a few seconds. I'm still young, and this season I'm going for some new p.r.'s :)

800 - 1:57. Think it could have been 1:55

1500 - 3:47. "..." 3:50 (ha ha ha. that's right. 3:47 was a very good day thanks to Penn Relays)

3000 - 8:19 "..." 8:15

5000 - 14:19 "..." 14:10

10k XC- 31:30 "..." 30:00 on the track

My best times were things like 2:35 or the marathon, 32:20 or 10km, 15:33 for 5km. Honestly, I'm surprised I manager those times. For years I thought that if all went well snd I trained really hard I MIGHT get a bit under 3 hours for the marathon.

this is a no brainer question for a distance runner. I don't know of anyone who ran their entire career, thinks that they did everything right, no injuries, etc. and don't think that they should have run faster. That is my theory on why so many distance runners from high school and even college don't support or follow the sport when they are into adulthood 10 years or so. Everyone left the sport with a bitter taste in their mouth, thinking that they SHOULD have run faster; it not for: bad coach, unsupportive spouse or family, injuries, lack of commitment on their part, etc, etc. It appears from your PRs that you did NOT even run in college? (if you did, then I apologize)

I ran a 9:08 3200 my senior year,

I think I could have run faster if I didn't miscount laps and stop one lap early...

yeah, I'm an idiot.

all set in college-track only

pr-----realistic wish- do over

153---151 (didn't run 800m after frosh year)

347---342 (pr from soph year-before injuries took over)

1439--1405 (only ran a couple of them-soph year-won both)

no prs- jr, sr and even redshirt year....@#%@#$^ plantar fasciitis!

1500- sub 4

3000- low 8

5000- mid 14's

10000- 29's

Marathon- 2:20

Actual-

1500 (4:07 in HS)

3000 (8:17)

5000 (14:47)

10000 (29:35)

marathon (2:26)

I think I reached my potential in some events, others I missed the mark due toover-trianing. Oh well...

post of the day! I got stopped a lap early, (the whole field did), in an indoor 1000 at nationals. It was the prelims. they lost track of a lap and gave us the gun lap, 1 too soon. we sprinted and finished then they tried to tell us 1 more lap after a 15 second pause, some of us tried to start up and 1/2 heartedly run the last lap (10 lap banked boards). then they called us off about 1/2 way thru it....crazy

why ask why wrote:

It appears from your PRs that you did NOT even run in college? (if you did, then I apologize)

Nope, ran half an indoor season in first year. PR in all three events and then got injured and never really raced again. Hard to even speculate as to how I might have run with more than my standard 40 miles a week of highschool training. I have no concept of how much high mileage helps.

I personally feel that I am a talentless runner who worked hard and found what worked for me and I very nearly reached my full potential in several distances, especially 1500m.

However, I always thought my 5k was especially weak, and could have been 10-15sec faster, and I'm always peeved that in my fastest 20km ever I had to stop briefly at 16km for cramping, and run cautiously after that (66:23 - coulda woulda shoulda 65:50), and I always thought that I was in sub 2:30 Marathon shape in 98-00, but life conspired to prevent me from doing a serious Marathon during this period.

But my 1:58.8 / 3:57.9 (perfection for me) / 8:37.2 / 31:09.2 for 800m / 1500m / 3000m / 10000m are very close, imho, to my full potential, and I'm eternally happy about that.

Hard to even speculate as to how I might have run with more than my standard 40 miles a week of highschool training.

I have no concept of how much high mileage helps.[/quote]

right on target

I was shocked when in the December time trials for indoor track my freshman year in college, I ran the mile 15 seconds faster than I did at the State meet 6 months before! And it felt alot easier. Running those 80-110 mile weeks during the fall made a huge difference. Strength was the key...not speed.

I only started running at 45 and my PR's were set at 51:

10 miles 58:08

half 'thon 1:15:57

full 'thon 2:39:51

If I'd started 25 years earlier I'd like to think I could have run 50, 1:06 and 2:20 - well the age-grade tables suggest I would not have been that far away.

what you've done as a masters is very comendable. good job....but: do you know how many masters guys I've run into that say they could have been a national class runner with top times if they only would have run in college? If it was that easy, everyone would have done it. It's impossible to really say.

800m-2:05 (2:00)

1600m-4:29 (4:23)

3200m-9:40 (9:25)

5000m-15:28 (15:15)

10000m-32:36 (32:00)

800m: 1:57-->1:54.high

1500m: 3:50.2-->3:49.high

3000m: 8:24-->8:16

3000mSt: 8:57-->8:48

5000m: 14:56-->14:25

1/2 Mar: 1:09:49-->1:07:58

Marathon: 2:24:12-->2:19:57

Living in the past wrote:

why ask why wrote:

It appears from your PRs that you did NOT even run in college? (if you did, then I apologize)

Nope, ran half an indoor season in first year. PR in all three events and then got injured and never really raced again. Hard to even speculate as to how I might have run with more than my standard 40 miles a week of highschool training. I have no concept of how much high mileage helps.

Yet you're plenty qualified to say Jim Ryun was trained improperly, go figure.

800 1:42.7 but it was in practice. Perhaps I could have gone sub 1:42. I had the speed. if I can run 55 quarters without moving my T-rex arms then I can run 51's for a couple laps.

1500m I have always felt I could have ran 3:24xx

Mile- sub 3:40 was possible but that lil biotch noah clipped my heels like 3 times during my 3:43

3000m 7:21

5000m 12:40 would be nice but i have olympic gold over that ethiopian kid so I'm happy.

marathon-2 hrs flat duh

praise allah.

actual should'a

2 mile 9:08 8:55

5k 14:36 14:15

8k 23:36 not much faster. My best race.

10K 29:56 29:30

10 mile 50:08 49:15

I never trained over 60 miles per week. With more miles who knows...?

In running, NO ONE CARES what you may have run. The reality is there are many runners with potential and talent that for one reason or another did not run as fast as they could have.

I've run a 4:01, however, if my mother had exercised more and done more base mileage when I was in the womb, I think I would have been well under 3:45. (Also as a three year old I had personal issues and stupidly stopped running for 6 months. I am still feeling the consequences of that mistake.)