Im an 8th grader and ran a 4:58 mile and an 11:11 2 mile. In CC our middle school races were only 2 miles. What should I do to prepare myself for the high school cross country distance of 5k? Also, what should my mileage be over the summer to get ready for the season? My mileage during the track season is 15-20 miles a week. How much should I up my mileage to get in good shape. Also, I was wondering what work outs would be good for an athlete in this position. Thanks
Going into Freshman year, try to get your mileage to about 40-45 miles per week. This would build the sufficient base you need to have success in your freshman year. You appear to have lots of talent with your sub5 mile as an 8th grader, so don't waste it. Try to run 6 days a week and stay consistent and you will be ready.
Train hard but remain injury free and avoid setting too many goals this year. Focus on being really tough in races. You've obviously got some natural ability. In high school as a freshman, you may be racing against guys 4 years older than you - a men vs boys sitatuion.
Freshman flameout is a common occurance for those who have had a lot of success in middle school without much training. By comparision, success in high school is going to take much more work and may not occur for freshman even if they do work hard.
If you are part of a good team, follow the lead of some key upperclassmen in early season practices. When the gun goes off for races, be the toughest guy in the field.
With reasonable talent, uninterrupted quality training, and mental toughness you will eventually rise to the top.
* 40-45 mpw is towards the upper end of what I would recommend for incoming freshman IF they are able to do quite a bit of that on soft surfaces and are listening to their body or at least communicating with me on a regular basis. Practically, I've had several all-state runners in the neighborhood of 30 mpw as incoming freshman.
i have no idea now.
brian shanai wrote:
Im an 8th grader and ran a 4:58 mile and an 11:11 2 mile. In CC our middle school races were only 2 miles. What should I do to prepare myself for the high school cross country distance of 5k? Also, what should my mileage be over the summer to get ready for the season? My mileage during the track season is 15-20 miles a week. How much should I up my mileage to get in good shape. Also, I was wondering what work outs would be good for an athlete in this position. Thanks
First off, have fun. If you enjoy running and racing you are going to be a stud.
I have a son your age who is running a little over three hours/week right now and working up to about 4 1/2 hours/week by the end of the summer. He is meeting with a few other boys on his team and running 30-45 minute run on five days, a little threshhold on the track on sat., and taking Sundays off. He also takes every other Thursday off. I set up the summer program for the kids since the head cc coach needs and requests advice. I am a retired distance coach and enjoy helping out.
His track season sorta sucked due to only three meets being held due to weather and the track coach not letting the kids run and distance runs off the track. Thank goodness he called off practice a few days/week so Austin, my son, could get in a little basework during his track season. Austin also ran 30 minutes on Sat. and took off Sundays during track season.
Based on your mile time and miles run during track season, the suggestion of 40-45 miles/week is great. Take a day off and have one run a little longer like 8 or so and have one a little quicker. As you mature and do more miles and racing, like I said, you are going to be a stud, Brian. I hope you are running with your CC teammates as much as you can.
At your age, running with others is a riot. Of course, that is true of all ages! Keep us posted on your progress, Brian.
^^^now that's a way to raise a kid!
Good job father and best of luck to your son.
Overtraining is always worse than undertraining.
Over the years, I have noticed that it is a lot easier for a distance runner to overtrain than undertrain. Most of my training partners and I had the problem. I agree that it is better to lean towards the lower mileage and less work when kids are young, especially if they are growing pretty quickly.
Over the years, I have noticed that it is a lot easier for a distance runner to overtrain than undertrain. Most of my training partners and I had the problem. I agree that it is better to lean towards the lower mileage and less work when kids are young, especially if they are growing pretty quickly.
Everyone has different theories and advice.
I'll share the advice given to my son by his freshman coach. The coach told my son that he'd seen many many talented runners over the years fall by the wayside due to injuries and burnout. He advised patience and slow progression, running on soft surfaces, and above all, consistency. Run year round, but take a few breaks between seasons.
My son progressed at 30 miles per week freshman, 40 sophomore, 50 junior, and 60 senior. Most of his summer miles were slow. He always did one run a week significantly longer than the others. He occasionally entered local trail and road races over summer to get some speed work and for fun.
My son's goal was always to peak senior year and it worked for him. High school is 4 years. Build up slowly and don't be upset if you're not in the lead pack in xc as a frosh. Have a great summer and do a few things other than run.
not always, under training can lead to injury, once trying to run again, and the practice schedule he said his son was on was a great schedule, and in no way was he over doing it, i am going into tenth grade, and we run 45-90 minutes (depending on the day) at a 7:30 mile pace. And My teammates and I are just fine.
His son is taking everyone sunday and every other thursday off, which is perfectly healthy
And a spammer shows up to screw with one of the few productive training threads going right now.