hi i am a male high school cross country runner
freshman year
not much mileage in the summer couple 40 mile weeks
16:58 pr
ran about 40 a week in prep for track
ran both track and played varsity tennis
tripled 4by8 1600 and 3200 each meet with prs of
2:08 4:50 10:35 all in the same meet.
have been running 45-50 every week all summer gaining mileage to be around 65 by the end of summer training. you think i have a good shot?
none. quit while youre not too far behind
cool thanks
You certainly have the potential to break 16...but maybe not quite this year. A 10:35 should be pretty easy for you...you should be able to click off 10:35 through 2 on a 3 mile tempo and feel pretty fresh to even begin to think about breaking 16.
With that said, your PRs as a Freshman are solid, and it appears that you have better endurance than you do speed. You will for sure feel more fit and able to hold onto those paces as you increase your mileage. Just be patient. The thing in cross country is that every course is different. On an average course, my guess is that you could get down in the 16:20s this year, which would be very solid as a Sophmore. Then go under 10 in track, then you will be more ready to break 16.
You'll have to drop a lot of time but I think it's possible. The above poster's comment about 10:35 feeling easy is a bit of a stretch IMO. That'd have to be one hell of a tempo considering 10:35 would only be 7sec slower per mile than 16:00 race pace. Anyways, your high mileage should make a big difference if you've never run high mileage before (at least for me, increasing mileage has been a big turning pt). Good luck to you though man, I'm shooting for the same goal this year.
Simple.... wrote:
You certainly have the potential to break 16...but maybe not quite this year. A 10:35 should be pretty easy for you...you should be able to click off 10:35 through 2 on a 3 mile tempo and feel pretty fresh to even begin to think about breaking 16.
Yep, 3 mile "tempos" @ 8k-10k pace is the best way to improve
thanks guys I have been running with the team and there was 3 guys under 16 last year and there is never been a time that i have had to drop back or felt like i couldn't keep up so i just thought that would be a good goal. varsity should be under 16:10 for my team so its pretty crazy.
I'll be a sophomore next year also and my pr's are almost identical to yours.
I've been putting in between 40-45 mpw so far and this is the first time I've put in a base. I like the 3-4 mile tempos at about 6:00 pace and I usually do them on the track.
michiganxcrunner wrote:
You'll have to drop a lot of time but I think it's possible. The above poster's comment about 10:35 feeling easy is a bit of a stretch IMO. That'd have to be one hell of a tempo considering 10:35 would only be 7sec slower per mile than 16:00 race pace. Anyways, your high mileage should make a big difference if you've never run high mileage before (at least for me, increasing mileage has been a big turning pt). Good luck to you though man, I'm shooting for the same goal this year.
You are right...I should have been more clear. You should EASILY be able to run 10:35 to be able to BEGIN TO THINK about breaking 16. A 10:35 3200 on the track should be something you can do in your sleep...in other words, automatic. No matter how you feel, the conditions, etc...10:35 should be automatic. Easy was an incorrect choice of words.
Just before I broke 16 for the first time, I ran the following workout:
3200 - 10:07
800m rest jog
2x1000 @ 3:10 with 200m jog as rest in between each one.
So, my point is I ran a 10:07 in a workout, it felt controlled, but it was certainly difficult. However, it was almost 30 seconds faster than a 10:35...and I was still not done with the workout.
Im not a pro. Im not a pro coach. Just someone who has experience running times that you want to run, and Im just simply adding my insight into the type of fitness level I think you will need to be in to accomplish your goals. Obviously, everyone is different.
You have the rest of your life to break into 15 minute range and you're in college with a better PR than anyone commenting on this board telling you that you can't
easy peasy. you got this with that plan. 65 is more than enough if you don't have much background over 40/week.
make sure to come back and update us.
As a guy who just ran 16:00 this spring, I'd say you definitely have potential, but it may not be this year. I found that once I got under 17, it got harder and harder to PR. I snuck under 17 one year, then 16:41 the next, then 16:24 the next, and finally this year ran 16:00. Now, I am much older than you and was only running 19-20 minutes in HS so you obviously have a leg up on me there.
The mileage will definitely help. If you can consistently run 60+ mpw, and more importantly, be sure to recover properly from your workouts (which means running as slow as it takes on your recovery days!!!), you could potentially be in striking distance of 16-flat on a fast course. But in my experience, you're probably more likely to run 16:30-ish this year, and if you get in even better summer training next year, go for the sub-16 then. But you won't know unless you try! You obviously have the talent, now all you need is the work and the recovery!
throwback wrote:
hi i am a male high school cross country runner
freshman year
not much mileage in the summer couple 40 mile weeks
16:58 pr
ran about 40 a week in prep for track
ran both track and played varsity tennis
tripled 4by8 1600 and 3200 each meet with prs of
2:08 4:50 10:35 all in the same meet.
have been running 45-50 every week all summer gaining mileage to be around 65 by the end of summer training. you think i have a good shot?
Some things:
1) When comparing your 1600 time to the 3200 time, it seems you WILL benefit from more running...your endurance is not great.
2) Whether you can do it is based in part on your physical maturity. If you've been shaving since 7th grade, then perhaps not this year (sub 16). If you are just starting to mature, then you have a real shot at it this year...it WILL be tough though. A sub 16 equates to about a 9:50 or even a bit faster in the 3200.
3) Your 16:58 from CC last year is a bit better than the 10:35 3200, so either it was a short course or you were sick or injured for part of the track season or something.
Anyway, good luck!
all my prs are from tripling every meet.. how much of a difference does that make in how fast i could be straight up? other than the 800 because i was always fresh.