I'm a senior and a 1600/3200 guy. Coming off a 15:40 5k from cross country last fall.
I took a break after cross country and then started winter training. After a couple days I had pain in my knees. Tried running through it for a few days then realized it might be a bit more serious. Long story short I've been out nearly the last 2 months. I've cross trained and ran on and off. But I don't think I'm in good shape at all. I'm EXTREMELY bummed out because I was looking forward to getting a killer base phase in so I could run fantastic times (4:25/9:25?) this spring.
Anyways, it is now the beginning of February and I have nearly cleared up my injury issues. I have ran pain free the last 4 days. I just did 3-5 miles at 7:30 pace. For reference, my summer training was 50-60 miles a week with the bulk of the regular runs at 6:50 pace.
I still have lots of time, but I was really hoping to be in great shape at this point and put up some nice indoor marks.
If you were me, what would you do? I don't have time to get in a traditional 3 month base phase of building up mileage. I don't want to start speedwork anytime soon AT ALL, but my coach wants me too. I think I need to get my feet back under me. I am not sure how many weeks I should devote to base phase since my time is more limited now.
Should I build up to 50 over the next month, and then just work on holding it at 50 a week while upping the intensity?
Also would it be a good idea to strictly do aerobic runs and no speed workouts for the next 4-8 weeks. The only "workouts" I would do are tempos. In the summer I was running 4-5 miles at 5:40 pace pretty well. Right now i have no idea where I am at.
Next week will be my first full week of running. I am thinking of going 30-35 miles to get back in the swing of things. I'll see how my knee feels though. But, let's assume it's all good now.
So, if you were in my situation how would you approach training to be able to still run some solid times in maybe mid-late March and April. And also to make a good run for a spot in the state series come mid May?
I also keep psyching myself out. Some days I am telling myself I still have a shot to run elite times. But, deep down I feel like since I really missed out on 60+ days of valuable mileage base, I don't feel like I will be able to get close to 4:25/9:25 although I'd like to. Any opinions on that?
I did agree with my coach to do a time trial the first week of March. This gives me 4 weeks of running. I'm hoping to run either a 4:45 mile or 10:00 2 mile depending on what distance my coach decides. That's not great since I was running a bit faster than that in February 2011, but I think it's a realistic goal to get back into it.
Sorry for the HUGE post. Would just really like some opinions and advice on my chances for my last high school season, and what approach might be best for me to take to make the most of the season.