Thoughts? wrote:
HS freshman girl w 8th grade PRs of 16:06 in XC 4k, 5:41 1600 and 12:00 3200 -- goals of 15:00 4k, 5:15 1600 and 11:15 3200 this season.
Day 1 --
Run Distance: 4.89 Mile(s); Time: 42:38; Pace: 08:43 /mile;
Day 2 --
Run Distance: 4.30 Mile(s); Time: 33:00; Pace: 07:40 /mile;
Day 3 (double) --
Run Distance: 3.66 Mile(s); Time: 31:24; Pace: 08:34 /mile;
Run Distance: 6.97 Mile(s); Time: 59:00; Pace: 08:27 /mile;
Day 4 --
Lower body lift and crunches
Day 5 --
Run Distance: 5.78 Mile(s); Time: 56:22; Pace: 09:45 /mile;
Day 6 --
Run Distance: 4.02 Mile(s); Time: 29:37; Pace: 07:22 /mile;
Upper body lift and crunches
Day 7 --
20 min fartlek -- sprint @ 200m / slow jog @100m
About 30 mpw plus the 20 min fartlek. Thoughts for the first week? Too much or too little? Changes? Are her goals realistic in the fall?
I suppose that you are looking to me for some help here? While I have no problem with you starting off with one double during the week, I do have an issue with a few things.
You have a freshman girl is is already running longer than I was doing as a sophomore boy, and on top of that, it is 95º out? Also you have 10 miles of the 30 miles crammed into one day?
1) Smaller chunks. Start off with 2 miles in the morning; 2-3-4 then eventually 5 days a week.
2) When she's used to that, bring it up to 2.5 or 3 miles in the morning -- no more. I don't get why you start off her first day of doubles with 3.7 miles plus 7 miles? That must have been hell?
3) Her easy runs, whether or not they are 4-5-6-10- or 15 miles should all be at the same pace. Easy is a pace. Easy doesn't become different if the distance is longer. If she has to slow down when extending the distance then she was running too hard at the shorter distance in the first place.
3) Keep the afternoon runs at 3-4 miles and don't lengthen them until her fitness improves. if shes running 2 miles in the morning and 3-4 in the afternoon 3-5 times a week, she will improve rather fast.
4) Those 200s. While it's an OK substitution for what is prescribed in SOM, I'd have her run 150s as prescribed, then as a substitution for tempo runs I'd have her run repeat 200s-400s at what would be tempo pace. Eventually lengthening the length of the repeats week by week.
5) Don't be in a hurry to have her running 6-7 miles at once. That's almost and hour? Do you see the folly of having a 14 yo girl running an hour at a time during the Summer when she's not yet fit? That's not fun at all.
Smaller bites. Extend as fitness comes around, don't try to force it.