Why am I not improving?

What does your current training look like? How many mpw did you run over the summer?

Which your "coach said was x.... pace?" Really, you couldn't just say "which is x pace," you had to use your coach to qualify that simple arithmetic?

Don't worry, you will improve if you want to. You will find out how.

how is your diet?

how much variety is there in your training?

sometimes it pays to just do a tempo or run hard for 5-6 miles instead of do mile repeats

We need to know more.

Hardloper wrote:

Which your "coach said was x.... pace?" Really, you couldn't just say "which is x pace," you had to use your coach to qualify that simple arithmetic?

I suspected that it was around 19:30 pace before asking but I asked my coach just to make sure. Anyways why comment on the thread if youre just here to criticize about unnecessary crap?

And on the MPW over the summer part I did 7 weeks of 25-35 mpw. My long runs then were anywhere from 8-10 miles at 8:20 - 8:40 pace

Virginia Runner wrote:

how is your diet?

how much variety is there in your training?

sometimes it pays to just do a tempo or run hard for 5-6 miles instead of do mile repeats

We need to know more.

There's not that much variety..I can summarize what we've been doing for the past 4-5 weeks in just these workouts:

Monday: Hard..6x800m with 1:30min jog rest

Tuesday: Easy... 1 mile warmup 5 miles tempo 1 mile cooldown

Wednesday: 12x200 with 1min jog rest (or 6x400m hill workout..run back down with no rest, run back up, etc)

Thursday: Usually this race day but when it's not it's pretty much the same as on Tuesday

Friday: long run anywhere from 7-9 miles.

And regarding nutrition I can't tell you in specifics but I do eat a lot of rice, fish, fruit post-workout (and of course chips, oreos here and there) and during lunch I'm not that strict... half the time I'll get something unhealthy like chicken strips, the other half I'l lget something better like Sushi or salad.

So five workouts per week and you cannot figure out why you are not improving?

19jay63 wrote:

So five workouts per week and you cannot figure out why you are not improving?

That's exactly it. Tuesday says easy..but then describes a tempo workout. There is not even really a moderate day in your schedule let alone an easy day. Drop the tempo and the other hill day and do EASY runs with strides after or pickups in middle. Could probably use even another easy day if you're racing every week. Try to listen to your body better. How do you generally feel overall day to day outside of running?

Ows wrote:

That's exactly it. Tuesday says easy..but then describes a tempo workout. There is not even really a moderate day in your schedule let alone an easy day. Drop the tempo and the other hill day and do EASY runs with strides after or pickups in middle. Could probably use even another easy day if you're racing every week. Try to listen to your body better. How do you generally feel overall day to day outside of running?

I feel somewhat tired but I feel fine, and regards to the training schedule I put up that's what our coach prescribes to us...I'll definitely try to relay this information to her.

run away from the coach. she is clueless.

If you only ran 25-35 mpw during the summer, there is no way you will be able to handle that type of work load. Quite simply, you need more easy running and no more than 2 workouts per week.

You might be able to handle 3 workouts per week or 2 workouts and 1 race if your mpw was 50 or greater. Each person is different.

In addition, I bet you are racing your 200's and 400's. Even with the schedule your coach has given, you can alter it by slowing down the runs to an easier pace on easy days.

BTW, your 1600m repeat workout does not indicate 19:30 fitness.

"nothing but long, slow runs during the summer"

funny I did this, but instead ran a pr in the fall with a 15xx

19jay63 wrote:

In addition, I bet you are racing your 200's and 400's. Even with the schedule your coach has given, you can alter it by slowing down the runs to an easier pace on easy days.

BTW, your 1600m repeat workout does not indicate 19:30 fitness.

I see, regarding the 1600m workout and the times I posted would it indicate more of a 20:00 / 20:30?

frustratedmofo wrote:

19jay63 wrote:

In addition, I bet you are racing your 200's and 400's. Even with the schedule your coach has given, you can alter it by slowing down the runs to an easier pace on easy days.

BTW, your 1600m repeat workout does not indicate 19:30 fitness.

I see, regarding the 1600m workout and the times I posted would it indicate more of a 20:00 / 20:30?

I ran low 20MPW for a few years and did 6:15-6:40ish mile repeats and 400's for workouts and always ran 20-20:30. I know everyone is different but that's my experience for what it's worth.

forrenlord wrote:

"nothing but long, slow runs during the summer"

funny I did this, but instead ran a pr in the fall with a 15xx

Just wanted to make a note that I finally ditched a lot of my workouts and backed off and just got the miles in and extended my daily easy runs and ran 19:40 a three or four months later.

frustratedmofo wrote:

Ows wrote:

That's exactly it. Tuesday says easy..but then describes a tempo workout. There is not even really a moderate day in your schedule let alone an easy day. Drop the tempo and the other hill day and do EASY runs with strides after or pickups in middle. Could probably use even another easy day if you're racing every week. Try to listen to your body better. How do you generally feel overall day to day outside of running?

I feel somewhat tired but I feel fine, and regards to the training schedule I put up that's what our coach prescribes to us...I'll definitely try to relay this information to her.

You feel fine because you are young, but you aren't racing fine. Otherwise you wouldn't have started this thread. You don't get faster when you run hard workouts. You get faster when you recover from them. Your current schedule doesn't show any recovery (easy) days.

You had one crappy race. Forget about it and look forward to the next one. How are your races going? Do you get out well and fade, or do you just never get going? Your huge fluctuations in the 3 x 1600 workout indicates you don't have a good sense of pace yet.

Shitty and dump but still all you SAT aces did not get it

Hardloper wrote:

Which your "coach said was x.... pace?" Really, you couldn't just say "which is x pace," you had to use your coach to qualify that simple arithmetic?

Why don't you go away? You don't bring anything positive to this board. Just go away, you're not welcome here.