Anyone want to help a slowpoke?

tell us more of your training. so I can tailor some free stuff for you.

Full disclosure:

No previous coaching experience. 23 years old. Ran 14:40 and 30:30 in college.

drinker wrote:

tell us more of your training. so I can tailor some free stuff for you.

Not even sure where to start...anything specific you'd like to know?

Give typical training weeks and PRs, start at 200/400 and up.

I'll do it wrote:

Full disclosure:

No previous coaching experience. 23 years old. Ran 14:40 and 30:30 in college.

Well, you ran in college and your times are much faster than mine, so that qualifies you! I've set up an email address...please contact me:

I'm not fast wrote:

The pay is terrible (as in nil), but I take advice and direction well and will not question your methods. I will not bombard you with emails, but may have one or two questions per week.

Here is another reason why track and field is where it is, in terms of sports interest. No one wants to pay for anything related to this sport. How do expect to get any decent advice for free? Do you think golfers can go on line and ask a golf pro for free lessons? Do you think tennis coaches would provide free advice?

If you want free advice, google or read some of the trash that shows up on here, but don't expect anyone with serious knowledge to share their hard earned expertise for nothing. Stop being a cheapskate. Either learn it on your own or be willing to join a club with a professional coach or be willing to pay for some expert help on line. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for...

malmo wrote:

Give typical training weeks and PRs, start at 200/400 and up.

Right now I'm using Daniels' 5K/10K plan...am at week 17 and have been averaging 50 - 60 miles for the past 8 weeks or so. Typical week might be:

M - 5 x 1200 w/ 3:30 jog (8 miles)

T - AM: 3 very easy; PM: 4 - 5 E

W - Stamina workout: 8 - 10 miles total

Tr - 5 - 6 E

F - speed work, reps: 8 or so miles

Sat - 4 - 5 E

Sun - Longer run 12 - 15

Previous to that I was marathon training for most of 2009 and early part of '10 (ran Boston April/10)

PRs

5K - 18:55 (April/09)

10K - 39:08 (April/09)

10 Mile - 1:06:28 (Aug/09)

1/2 - 1:26:10 (May/09)

Marathon - 3:09:08 (Sep/09)

Fair enough, I'll assume your not interested. I don't expect much...I've read everything I can get my hands, have worked hard and am just frustrated and looking for help. I'm not willing to pay for it, because there's not much in the way of return for me -- won't be getting a scholarship or contract anytime soon. I just figured that there's probably someone out there who might be interested in coaching and might be interested in trying it out with me to see how successful they might be. As noted, I'll assume you're not one of them, so thanks anyway.

true. However isn't that what's so great about running? Just lacing up. Running, enjoying nature. Mother nature doesn't charge a toll fee. I don't see why we should charge a 18 min guy trying to shave a min off his time. It's really easy. Just guys making it seem difficult. Just run dude you'll improve. Hadd's thread is a good start.

Don't listen to that guy. You'll get far better advice for free here then you'll get paying someone.

What can you run for 200, 400, 800, mile?

Give more examples of your trianing sessions? Speedwork, etc?

Malmo:Is this any different than guys working for next to nothing at the college level, hoping for that head job sometime in the future, after spending 4 years and $100,000 or more for an education? It keeps the good coaches around the country from earning a decent living. So why continue to encourage such behavior.Come on, track guys are the cheapest guys in the world when it comes to supporting their sport. I can't think of another sport where a $25 ticket is thought of as being "expensive".If you want to give out free advice, that is your business, but you have a great education from Penn State that has helped to provide you with a good career. Professional track coaches should also have that opportunity. It's no different than a doctor posting free advice (doesn't happen much, does it)....I just think providing free advice on this site is little different than the free advice given for buying stocks, investing in real estate, finding a job investing only $5,000 and all the other crap that is provided on here. Tell me how you can coach a guy you don't know anything about other than some pr's. You don't see him, you don't talk to him in person and you are not there when he is doing his workouts. Proper track coaching is interactive on a personal level, you are not going to do a good job coaching from a living chair and posting on a website.Would you have done nearly as well if Harry just mailed you his workout schedule....hell, no. Harry was in your face every day, made sure you got up for the morning run and pissed you off when you goofed off and pissed him off. Can't do that for free..."-). So, don't mislead this guy into thinking he can get anything really helpful on here....especially on here...

malmo wrote:

Don't listen to that guy. You'll get far better advice for free here then you'll get paying someone.

What can you run for 200, 400, 800, mile?

Give more examples of your trianing sessions? Speedwork, etc?

malmo wrote:

Don't listen to that guy. You'll get far better advice for free here then you'll get paying someone.

What can you run for 200, 400, 800, mile?

Give more examples of your trianing sessions? Speedwork, etc?

I've never run an all out 200, 400, 800 or even mile for that matter. Out of curiosity, are you asking to see if I have the natural "talent" (for lack of a better word) required to run 17:30, or to see if I need to develop my speed?

So, here's 5 workouts that I've done in the last 3 weeks:

1. Tempo Intervals - 3 x 10 minutes w/ 2:00 easy. 10 minute intervals went for 1.53 miles; 1.53 miles; 1.51 miles = 6:33 avg pace.

2. 10 x 400 reps w/ 400 recovery. Reps were

1:22

1:22

1:21

1:19

1:20

1:20

1:20

1:21

1:20

1:19

3. 3 x 1200 w/ 4:00 recovery + 3 x 800 w/ 2:00 recovery

4:29

4:20

4:23

2:57

2:56

2:56

4. 6 x 1200 w/ 3:30 recovery

4:26

4:23

4:26

4:23

4:27

4:27

5. Cruise Intervals 8 x 1000 w/ 0:55 recovery

3:59

4:00

3:59

4:00

4:03

3:59

4:01

4:02

I'm not fast wrote:

I've never run an all out 200, 400, 800 or even mile for that matter. Out of curiosity, are you asking to see if I have the natural "talent" (for lack of a better word) required to run 17:30, or to see if I need to develop my speed?

I'm not trying to see if you have natural talent, I'm trying to get a feel for what you can run at those shorter distance. You see, I believe in order to run faster you need to run faster. I don't think that 1000m or 1200m repeats and tempo runs and long runs and all of the predictable cookie cutter stuff in your running formula book is going to make you a faster runner.

How hard do those 400s feel?

Don't be bothered if i don't return to this thread until Saturday or so. I'm feeling a bit run-down.

Cowboy Bob wrote:

Would you have done nearly as well if Harry just mailed you his workout schedule....hell, no. Harry was in your face every day, made sure you got up for the morning run and pissed you off when you goofed off and pissed him off. Can't do that for free..."-). So, don't mislead this guy into thinking he can get anything really helpful on here....especially on here...

You have little understanding what coaching is. It has nothing to do with "writing workouts" and everything to do with encouraging and prodding young athletes to go beyond what they previously believed was there limits.

If you think that self-described internet coaches deserve to be paid for their services then you are mistaken. If you have a service to provide, and the market accepts you as credible, they will gladly find.

Altruism and pro bono advice is available in many professions. So too, in the running world. If you have experience, then share it. I do. If you can sell it, then good for you.

Harry Groves was never in my face even one day. He never made sure that I got up in the mourning, or any other time of day. I never goofed off or pissed of Groves even one single day. I came from an excellent high school program and an excellent college program. We were all self-motivated, and we would have never put up with any childish antics that you described above, presuably your running experience.

Well, the 400's didn't feel easy, but not horrible either. Put it this way, if you asked me to do 2 more, I probably could have but imgine that the times would have started to drop off a bit.

How would 200s at 37s feel to you? What kind of shoes do you wear on the track?

malmo wrote:

How would 200s at 37s feel to you? What kind of shoes do you wear on the track?

With full, and I do mean FULL, recoveries, doable but hard. I've done 200 reps anywhere between :38 and :41 but they were usually part of some kind of ladder-type workout (e.g. 4 x 200; 2 x 400; 800; 2 x 400; 4 x 200).

Also, usually trainers (nike pegasus) but once in a while flats to get used to them if I have a race coming up (Streak 3 for 5/10K; LunaRacers anything above 10K).

Malmo:

Look, I am not trying to sell anything, only that I really dislike how the world of track and field (especially the guys on this site) want everything for free. Now, just as I made an assumption that Harry was there for you (and I know he was because I am a good friend of his for over 40 years, going all the way back to his W&M days), you are making some very incorrect assumptions about me. That is the problem with doing things on the internet and not having personal contact between coach and athlete.

Giving free coaching is appropriate if a coach wishes to offer that to someone without being asked, unlike the case of this original poster. I don't think it is appropriate for him to ask for free advice. Someone wishing to improve their golf swing doesn't go up to a pro at the local golf course and start asking for free advice.

I do coach for free on occasion, but that is my choice and I am not asked to do so, I offer it. I made this sport my profession for many years at the top collegiate level, so don't assume I am some jerk looking to be paid for advice over the internet.

As I said before, you can provide all the advice you want and I won't hold it against you, but you should not get irate because I would like to make a point about track professionals getting fair and just renumeration for providing a service. Point two is that I don't think anyone can do justice coaching via the internet by looking at some performances or workouts that the poster has done and coming up with a training program that is useful. Designing a workable training program takes more than writing a recipe or schedule. I've seen too many of these posts where guys offer training suggestions off the cuff with little or no background knowledge about the athlete requesting help. If a lawyer did that over the internet he or she would be in big legal trouble. Providing workouts over the internet that may lead to serious injury and or illness is counter to what a professional coach is going to provide for an athlete.

By the way, I am more than just familiar with all of your posts, we have met a long time ago when you were at Penn State, so I know more about you than you might think....:-)