Am I built like a sprinter or horrendously unfit aerobically?

Training Advice/Discussion General

12 years ago 06/19/2011 4:15am EDT

Hi hi, I've been running for about a year now focussing on 5ks/10ks. I am painfully slow at these distances, not raced them for a few months but my last race was 22:10 about 6 months ago.

Anyway I joined a running club and the coordinator (Coach basically) wanted me to focus on track for a while. I went to an two open meets and ran a 100m, 200m, 400m and a mile race.

100m - 13.5

200m - 28.5

400m - 1.05

Mile - 6.03

When I run easy my pace is generally around 9:00 per mile, I run about 30-40 mpw and do your standard tempo, interval work etc.

I'm told that considering I haven't specifically trained for the sprint events those are good times, especially compared to the awful 5k/mile times.

With enough miles will I become a guy who can convert up through the distances well or am I built like a sprinter?

12 years ago 06/19/2011 4:20am EDT

re: confusedmanboyy

It sounds like you are more sprinter/fast twitch, however that doesn't mean that you can't eventually run some decent times. Most anyone who puts in the work as a runner has the ability to run AT LEAST a 17 minute 5K. It may take a while (a few years), but even though you are built more like a sprinter, that doesn't mean that you should not continue long distance running.

12 years ago 06/19/2011 5:00am EDT

re: this now.

this now. wrote:
It sounds like you are more sprinter/fast twitch, however that doesn't mean that you can't eventually run some decent times. Most anyone who puts in the work as a runner has the ability to run AT LEAST a 17 minute 5K. It may take a while (a few years), but even though you are built more like a sprinter, that doesn't mean that you should not continue long distance running.

Should I adapt my training in anyway like focus more/less on your typical distance runs?

12 years ago 06/19/2011 5:51am EDT

re: confusedmanboyy

How old are you? You may be very underdeveloped aerobically. A 13.5 100 doesn't indicate great sprint prowess.

12 years ago 06/19/2011 6:30am EDT

re: confusedmanboyy

How old are you? That would help us determine if those sprint times are good or not.

12 years ago 06/19/2011 11:20am EDT

re: FoxyKnoxy

12 years ago 06/19/2011 11:43am EDT

re: confusedmanboyy

I had those EXACT times a few years ago when I started running. I was obsessed with building a big base of around 60-70 mpw, except my body wasn't ready for it and I kept getting injured and never got any workouts in. Eventually I gave up on trying to build a big base and ran around 30-40 mpw and did 3 workouts a week and in about 5 months I had knocked 5 minutes off my 5k time. (Keep in mind though that this was after a 3-4 year rollercoaster of 70 mile weeks followed by 1-2 months of no running.)

So maybe you should build your base slower than I did or keep doing what your doing. Just some anecdotal evidence that your times will get faster with persistence. Hopefully somebody else has some better advice.

12 years ago 06/19/2011 11:46am EDT

re: Nero

No, those are not good times. With 13 second 100m speed, you should never enter any event shorter than 1 mile.

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Am I built like a sprinter or horrendously unfit aerobically?

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