I'm a sophomore in high school, and track season is starting tomorrow at my school. In my freshman year of cross country, I did decently well, but knew that I could be a lot better if I worked harder. In the off season that year I did a few easy runs per week just to stay in shape (maybe 15-20 mpw). I had a good track season, but I still knew I had more potential. Over the summer I was running about 30-35 mpw. I'm coming off of what was, in my opinion, an outstanding sophomore cross country season, during which I feel that I really broke through and proved myself. At the beginning of the season I had patellar tendonitis and was a bit out of shape; however I started coming on by the end of the season. The irony is that I decided last minute not to do cross country because I thought school would take up too much of my time; however, I was convinced by my coach and teammates to do it. I've been thinking lately, and I honestly believe that it would be beneficial for me in the long run if I did not do track this season (for a completely different reason this time), and instead train on my own to work on my strength and endurance. I will run XC again in junior year, as well as track; however, I simply believe that skipping track this year will help me if I want to get better and work towards my long-term goals I believe doing this will help me for BOTH XC and track in the long run. The only thing is, I know that my coach and many of my peers would be upset with me if I told them I wasn't going to run track this year, and I don't want to have to deal with that, but at the same time I think I know my body well-enough to conclude that training through this season will help me in the long run. I believe that I have a lot more potential that I can reach if I work harder.
For reference, here is what my progression has been so far through each season:
freshman year XC: (25-30 mpw) 18:25 on challenging 2.95 mile xc course
freshman year off season: 15-20 mpw
freshman year track: (about 25 mpw) 10:58 3200
summer: 30-35 mpw
sophomore year xc: (35-40 mpw) 16:46 on same 2.95 mile xc course. Was probably in 10:20 3200 shape, based on workouts and such.
sophomore year off season: have been doing 25-30 mpw
Realistic goals for junior year: Sub-16 on same 2.95 mile course, 9:50 3200. I'd also like to increase my mileage to around 50 mpw by then.
It's past midnight right now, and as you can probably tell from this post I'm really confused and unsure about what to do. I'm thinking I should talk this over with my coach, even though I know he would try and persuade me to do track. I'd like to hear the opinions of some more experienced runners. Thanks in advance.