College coach knows nothing...training myself?

Sorry forgot to mention that I am training for the 1500/1600 and 3000/3200

There are no 1600s or 3200s in college. There is the mile and 3000 indoors and the 1500 and steeplechase outdoors. This sounds similar to another thread I remember recently. A top 10 school? So you must be talking about Caltech (I know for a fact you aren't having this experience at MIT). I don't know much about the program or coach there, but I suggest you talk to your coach or perhaps an assistant coach with the XC team. I don't know though, this story sounds like BS to me.

What times have you run for those goal distances and what times would you want to run by February and in the near future (say, the next two years)?

Yes there IS the 1600 because I've run it for the past two years....1500 is outdoors for us, 1600 indoors

Sorry forgot that there wasn't a 3200...finals are getting to me

Anyway, the assistant coaches for track are all sprinter/jumper/thrower oriented. I feel like our college is just not very distance oriented in track

I've run 5:30 for the 1600, 5:10 for the 1500, and 11:00 for the 3000. This was all in high school. I know I'm not that fast, which is why I feel awkward asking for help sometimes because its not like I'm a stud or anything.

But I really just want to get better. Its frustrating putting in all this work and watching it not pay off. I spend 3 hours a day at practice but I'm not getting anywhere.

I would like to break 5 min in the 1500 eventually, and would like to PR at least once this season if possible. I had a good xc season where I came close to my high school PRs, but that was just because I built a huge base over the summer, at least more than I have in the past.

Thanks!

there is not a 1600. There is a 1609, which is a mile. Please stop claiming there is a 1600. Please learn your distances. I may have an aneurysm.

oldboy wrote:

There are no 1600s or 3200s in college. There is the mile and 3000 indoors and the 1500 and steeplechase outdoors. This sounds similar to another thread I remember recently. A top 10 school? So you must be talking about Caltech (I know for a fact you aren't having this experience at MIT). I don't know much about the program or coach there, but I suggest you talk to your coach or perhaps an assistant coach with the XC team. I don't know though, this story sounds like BS to me.

Caltech doesn't do indoors. Plenty of college facilities don't even have markings for 1600/3200. 1500/mile/3000/2 mile.

OP,

Do you run a second run in the morning? Run 7 days/wk? Do a long run on Sunday?

These are things you can do to improve your fitness (and maintain your base).

coachkritter wrote:

OP,

Do you run a second run in the morning? Run 7 days/wk? Do a long run on Sunday?

These are things you can do to improve your fitness (and maintain your base).

These are all very important to improving. Well I should be clear, they are crucial. No one who isn't doubling, running every day, and doing a long run is going to improve much at all. Your interval workout doesn't sound terrible, but if you take full rest in every workout, that is your fault, not your coaches. Your coach has told you to go when you are ready, but that doesn't mean you can't just jog for 30-60 seconds between repeats sometimes or experiment with the rest intervals.

coachkritter wrote:

No one who isn't doubling, running every day, and doing a long run is going to improve much at all.

Tell that to Kawauchi ;)

I am in favor of doing doubles but there are ways to optimize singles.

You can improve A LOT by running singles.

OP

You are a crybaby. Many of us had poor coaches at one time or another. We sucked it up, trained on our own and moved on.

My good friend went to Westpoint when the head track coach was a former sprinter. My friend was a miler, and along with everyone else that ran anything over 800m, was given repeat 1000's as a workout. He did this very same workout every single week for two years.

I never heard home complain.

This brings to mind all those many high school and college track and xc runners who complain about the coach. Many times this is a coach who was asked to take the position, and they did out of courtesy, not need or want. they are doing the best they can, and may not be the best, but it is the only person willing to do that specific coaching position, so shut up, or you could have the alternative. No team, since there is no coach.

Leave the poor girl alone already. If you can't post something positive, don't post at all.

OP: Warm-up as usual Jogging, stretching, strides

4 x 400 w/100 walk recovery @75-80

W-U as usual

3 x 1000 (3:30-3:40) 2-3 min recovery

Fartlek run

Hills if available

Long run (work up to 10 miles @ 7:30-8:00 pace)

Post again if you have ?'s Good luck!

You need to post your D3 party routine. We all know that's a huge part of any respectable D3 girl's regiment.

So you chose to attend a college and run for a coach that "knows nothing"? Sounds like you've got a self-created problem here.

OP wrote:

My coach (same one for xc and track) knows nothing about coaching distance runners. He didn't run in high school or college, but competed in field events.

Incredible. Your athletic director is a complete moron.