How can I avoid the typical mileage drop that occurs during the season due to things like poor coaching? Thanks

This might get a little off topic but I have always encountered this same problem and thus looked for many solutions.

I agree that your mileage should remain closer to if not more than your base phase. When I was in college I talked with Ritz (he was at Colorado at the time) about their method of mileage increase throughout a season and "peaking." (they did no traditional mileage cut taper) He told me they would run a certain amount of minutes each week, and while these minutes would stay relatively similar, as the season progressed the intensity would increase, thus resulting in more mileage, but without focus on it. In the end, they would cut the intensity dramatically while sustaining higher mileage for aerobic purposes. This same idea has always worked for me.

I think you should focus on maintaining stability and consistency through the week. I was lucky to have a "day off" in which I always ran, giving me 10-14 more miles, and I would often run longer than prescribed, sometimes before or after practice and sometimes I just wouldn't come back...I had the freedom to do that, however. The problem with trying to bunker your mileage into a couple of days is that your cycles get messed up and the program you're on won't yield optimal results. To be honest, however, the final phase takes some personal tweaking based on what you're REALLY doing to run your best anyway, so your problem is probably more than a drop in mileage now. If you stay consistent from now until mid-November and don't take a huge cut in mileage for a "taper," you'll probably still be just fine.

Define what makes this "poor coaching." The decrease in mileage in itself is not necessarily a bad thing, particularly for most high school girls, and particularly when trying to tailor workouts to a group (as opposed to an individual).

Not being able to individualize training for athletes of different abilities (esp. when not doing so becomes harmful) is poor coaching.

So I'll recap the 5 days of school we had practice on (2 days ran by myself but I'm only including the official practice days):

Day 1 - ~4.5 miles - hilly run and then intervals

Day 2 - 1-2 mile warmup, 1 mile hard tempo, 1-2 cooldown

Day 3 - ~2 miles warmup, ~3x800 intervals

Day 4 - .5 mile warm up, 1 mile tempo (here I did a few more miles afterwards)

Day 5 - ~6 miles, hill repeat up this .75 mile hill x 2 (+ running to the hill etc). Ran ~1-2 miles before practice to get 7-8

Day 4 and 5 were extremely hot.

But that's what this schedule looked like. This also happened last year, where early on in the season (not even September yet..) there were already a bunch of tempos/intervals, so on. Almost every run is treated as a "tempo", hardly any easy days in between. Maybe some easy days would include ~3 miles.

The thing is that hardly anyone on the team trains over the summer.. so a lot of people on the team are happy that there's "only a 3 mile run." However if I asked the coach etc. on if I could run more, it would be more like "Okay, do a 2 mile tempo".. when I just want to get in a few more easier miles.

I've been trying to take the intervals a little easier, etc... but I was running 40-50 mpw the previous weeks, and this week will end up being only 30-35 mpw.

For me, I really feel like I respond better to higher mileage, at least at this point.. basically still running 40-50 mpw, throwing in a tempo a week, a hard hill workout a week, and maybe intervals/hill repeats a week (so 3 runs of the week). And then, a long run and 3 easy runs to make up the week. However, it seems like we're only going to be running tempos/intervals. The easy days really helped me out and helped me recover for the next day as well. It was doing this slightly higher mileage over the summer that I feel like I have improved a lot so far.

So I'm not really sure what to do... get in a long run on the weekend (our coach doesn't assign a long run)? If the meet is on Saturday, maybe get in a long run on Sunday? Usually Monday as the season goes on will probably be around 8-9 miles (because almost everyone takes Sunday off..), but I could take that easier and do a long run on Sunday in the morning and the 8-9 miles Monday afternoon.

Basically since my season will go on to mid-late November, I think I should be staying around 40-50 mpw with that typical format 1 tempo/1 interval/repeat/1 hill run/1 long run.. lowering at maybe the end of September?

Thanks for the posts so far. Any suggestions on what I can do? Maybe take runs easier (though a little hard sometimes with the coach watching etc)? Do some mileage before and after? Anyone ever been in this situation? Thanks.

Your own idea to do a long run on Sunday in the morning and the 8-9 miles Monday afternoon is a good idea if Sunday is not going to be a team training day. You will get in the miles and have a good amount of recovery between the two runs.

Another alternative is to add easy morning miles. They should be added gradually if you are not used to the stress. You also want to ensure that it does not cause you to sacrifice rest.

I agree with Not a coach, but be careful that your run your additional miles nice and easy. You are not getting much rest and recovery based on what your coach is having you do, and adding more mileage may exacerbate fatigue. If you have a good relationship with your coach you might want to talk to her/him about aerobic endurance, and how nice long recovery runs will help increase your heart stroke volume, build densitiy in your capilliaries and recruiting mitochondria-all of which will help you be able to perform at optimal time, (sectionals, state, nationals). At your level, your coach is your coach, but hopefully they are open to discussion about training. If you approach him from a "coach, I want to learn how our workouts benefit us and make us better runners," as opposed to "coach, I know what is better for us" they might listen. If they don't, add the mileage, but really watch yourself. Take your heartrate EVERY morning and see where it is at. If it fluctuates too much, you need more rest. Talk to your mom and dad about supplementing with an iron supplement or multi-vitamin. Good Luck and run for fun and personal best!

I agree with some of the other replies about doing a Sunday long run after Saturday meets, as long as you're careful to take it nice and easy. You may consider seeing if any friends or teammates want to join you to make it a little more fun. If your school starts as early as do the ones around here, a morning run would be next to impossible. You might, however, be able to get in an extra mile or two before and/or after practice. Also, you can probably add volume by doing a few miles of cooldown after your meets, especially if you have dual meets during the week. Oh, and don't lower your mileage at the end of September. As much as possible, try to maintain it until the last week or so before your championship meets.

I applaud your dedication. Good luck to you!

Run more than your coach tells you, you freakin' idiot.

jondoe wrote:

Run more than your coach tells you, you freakin' idiot.

That is immeasurably useful, you freakin' jackass.

In response to the other posts about adding morning miles: I read a few years ago about extended cool downs lending to great aerobic gains. Anyone know if this is true? It's obviously easy to add a few miles a day and it supposedly boosts your aerobic capacity. I got to a point where I would run up to 30 extra minutes (4.5 miles or so, depending how I felt) of nice relaxed running after a workout or tempo run. I felt great after and the next day was always easy to transition in to.

yes, yes, yes - just run more, whether it is an "extended cool down" or warm up or long run. as for "great aerobic gains" the answer is "no" but "aerobic gains" yes.

you aren't running that much anyway, so going from 40 - 50 to less than 40 isn't such a big deal in terms of making up the difference.

so, while "run more than your coach tells you, you freaking idiot" is a bit rough - it is true - run more.

1 extra mile per day gives you 6-7 miles added to your week and 2 extra miles per day give you 12 - 14 additional miles for the week. This is ONLY an extra 14 - 18 minutes per day ... or an extra 7 - 9 min for a warmup and cooldown.

add an A.M. tempo run (1m easy/2mhard/1measy) tempo run on your hard days and take one day off every week or two.

Mileage counts, speed wins races.[quote]GBHS wrote:

IDEA # 1 GET UP EARLY EVERY MORNING AND RUN. An extra 5 miles of easy running before school is still 5 miles. It will add up in the long run and do WONDERS for your racing.

IDEA # 2 GET UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND RUN AN ADDITIONAL 10 MILES. 1 am or 2 am are really great times to run. It is quiet and calm. Call it a secret workout.

IDEA # 3 GO ON A PICNIC OR FISHING OR SWIMMING. On weekends make a day of it. Run to your destination instead of going by car. Have friends/family meet you there (out about 20 miles or so). Play away the hot part of the day and then run home.

Running well should not be left up to a coach. YOU have to take control of your own progress and do the extra things that point you in a successful direction.

Another way to get in some good mileage on a Sunday would be to run 30 miles or so to a mountain, run up it and run back home, a good 70 miles or so, that would really get the week off to a good start.

Communication with your coach is key. You articulated your reasoning for needed different training with higher mileage very well on the internet, so why can't you just sit down with your coach and explain that to him? If he doesn't budge, THEN start running easy mileage on your own in the morning.

I am also a high school junior girl who ran basically the same summer mileage as you did, and I have been satisfied with my in-season mileage thusfar because I discuss it with my coach and we agree upon it ahead of time. I consider my coach a "good coach" though, so maybe your's isn't as flexible, but at least try to talk to him about it. Good luck!

Can you add to your warm up and coold down?

An increase in intensity is the correct way to go after your summer build-up. But ...

As a high school coach I have found that two quality sessions and a long run each week is the most effective method to improve performance without bringing on injury or illness. In looking at your in-season plan, I'm kind of cringing at what I believe to be too many days of hard running. If we race, we do one quality workout; if we race twice, we don't do any quality work that week. This is the main reason why we normally only race our athletes once a week, as we like to have at least one, structured hard session each week. Our program has been successful; we normally finish near the top of our state.

The correct volume can be a little more tricky; small volume programs can find great success, and crazy high mileage can produce great success. The advice from Gerry (as crazy as his advice can seem, from time to time) about a morning run may solve your problems.

is GBHS Granite Bay High School? I know that it was crazy hot the last two days in this area, so that would fit.

Easiest solution is to add morning runs 2-3 times per week. You will have to be a little more disciplined than the average HS kid. Get your homework done early and go to bed on time on a regular schedule.