There is this senior in my XC team, this is his PRs each year:
9th grade -> 25:50
10th grade -> 18:59
11th grade -> 17:10
12th grade -> 16:30
Here's his profile, if youre interested.
http://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/Athlete.aspx?AID=2706842#tT1
Seeing how he dropped over 9 minutes in his career, I'm inclined to say he's very talented, but at the same time I look at his starting time and wonder if it was mainly hard work, not talent, that got him to a 16:30 5k.
formerracer wrote:
There is this senior in my XC team, this is his PRs each year:
9th grade -> 25:50
10th grade -> 18:59
11th grade -> 17:10
12th grade -> 16:30
Here's his profile, if youre interested.
http://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/Athlete.aspx?AID=2706842#tT1Seeing how he dropped over 9 minutes in his career, I'm inclined to say he's very talented, but at the same time I look at his starting time and wonder if it was mainly hard work, not talent, that got him to a 16:30 5k.
uhh, i'm only seeing a 17:08 3mile pr. correct me if i'm wrong. but thats like a 17:35 5k.
Yea you're not mis-seeing anything, the athletic.net site doesn't list the results for every meet my team/league enters. He got a 16:30 3 mile PR at the final XC league meet
Alright, i'll trust you on that. puberty might have played a big role in him getting faster.
love2train wrote:
Alright, i'll trust you on that. puberty might have played a big role in him getting faster.
might?
durr
durr
derpherp wrote:
durr
Actually, true, maturity could be it, but hard work is what it takes to do anything. If you have heart, even with no talent, you'll go far! Here's a summary of my HS career so far:
From 26:41 to 16:49 in 4 years (only ran 2 years)
9th grade (2010-2011)
My PR that year was 26:41, (I ran over 30 min in one race) with a 7:05 mile pr around November 2010. I only ran 3 races that season. I barely ran at all, missed a lot of practices. I rode my bike at the park a lot every couple weekends and did 1 hr taekwondo classes 3x a week. I quit xc because I thought I was too slow because I felt I didn't belong on the team.
I also didn't take Track seriously. Half-assed and even sat out most of the workouts, and ran only one race, the 1600m JV Mile in 6:19.
that was my only race (almost no training). I did run a 3200m race but I have no idea the time I ran (probably crappy)
I quit track after that, but ran 6:01 in JROTC P.T. Test around May 2011.
10th grade (2011-2012)
I became interested in running, and "fell in love with the sport." I started training seriously, averaging 10-20 miles a week and PR'ed with 19:11. I ran a Half marathon in 1:32:44 in January 2012 too (soph year). My mile PR then went to 5:12 and 11:23 3200m. (2012).
junior year (2012-2013)
Unfortunately, I was injured for XC (it was my stupid fault too) and injured again at the beginning of track season. Took 2 weeks off, and then came back in time for first meet of season. With barely any base, I ran 5:00.17 and 11:11 3200m that season.
(Progression this season: 5:09, 5:07, 5:00, 5:03)
Senior year, I corrected a lifetime iron/ferritin deficiency issue I had by supplementing. (I was feeling like crap during summer base, but I thought it was the heat. Blood test showed it was low ferritin/iron)
test. Upon supplemented iron with vitamin C, and every pace from easy to hard improved in 2 weeks. My times went down by 1 1/2 minutes 3 weeks later, and I ran 4:57 mile in a time trial on August 26.
I averaged 30-40 mpw that summer.
I had ups and downs, but then, I had a huge breakthrough and ran a 16:49 at districts, on October 24, 2013. (a week ago we did a 16x400m 90s rest workout I ran 75-77s each)
That race, I went out in 5:03. (4:57 is my PR). at mile 2, I was at 10:36 (destroying my 11:11 3200m PR from track!).
(XC Progression this season: 19:44, 18:48, 17:40...2_crappy_races_later...16:49)
Yes, the course was certified and measured multiple times.
This winter, I ran 40-50 mpw for track this senior year, and I'm hoping to run under 4:30-4:40 and Sub 10 3200m.
Anyhow, It's truly amazing what hard work can accomplish. I don't know if I have any talent at all, but it's possible. Whether it's maturity, or not, I stuck to it, and went from being one of the slow, overweight runners Frosh year (Literally) to super-lean 2nd fastest varsity guy on the team senior year. (people see my photos from 8th grade and don't even recognize me).
Whether it was maturity/talent or only my training, I know my commitment to running is what got me where I am today. I hope to inspire other people with my story at my school, here, and everywhere else.
Sub16_5K wrote:
derpherp wrote:durr
Actually, true, maturity could be it, but hard work is what it takes to do anything. If you have heart, even with no talent, you'll go far! Here's a summary of my HS career so far:
From 26:41 to 16:49 in 4 years (only ran 2 years)
9th grade (2010-2011)
My PR that year was 26:41, (I ran over 30 min in one race) with a 7:05 mile pr around November 2010. I only ran 3 races that season. I barely ran at all, missed a lot of practices. I rode my bike at the park a lot every couple weekends and did 1 hr taekwondo classes 3x a week. I quit xc because I thought I was too slow because I felt I didn't belong on the team.
I also didn't take Track seriously. Half-assed and even sat out most of the workouts, and ran only one race, the 1600m JV Mile in 6:19.
that was my only race (almost no training). I did run a 3200m race but I have no idea the time I ran (probably crappy)
I quit track after that, but ran 6:01 in JROTC P.T. Test around May 2011.
10th grade (2011-2012)
I became interested in running, and "fell in love with the sport." I started training seriously, averaging 10-20 miles a week and PR'ed with 19:11. I ran a Half marathon in 1:32:44 in January 2012 too (soph year). My mile PR then went to 5:12 and 11:23 3200m. (2012).
junior year (2012-2013)
Unfortunately, I was injured for XC (it was my stupid fault too) and injured again at the beginning of track season. Took 2 weeks off, and then came back in time for first meet of season. With barely any base, I ran 5:00.17 and 11:11 3200m that season.
(Progression this season: 5:09, 5:07, 5:00, 5:03)
Senior year, I corrected a lifetime iron/ferritin deficiency issue I had by supplementing. (I was feeling like crap during summer base, but I thought it was the heat. Blood test showed it was low ferritin/iron)
test. Upon supplemented iron with vitamin C, and every pace from easy to hard improved in 2 weeks. My times went down by 1 1/2 minutes 3 weeks later, and I ran 4:57 mile in a time trial on August 26.
I averaged 30-40 mpw that summer.
I had ups and downs, but then, I had a huge breakthrough and ran a 16:49 at districts, on October 24, 2013. (a week ago we did a 16x400m 90s rest workout I ran 75-77s each)
That race, I went out in 5:03. (4:57 is my PR). at mile 2, I was at 10:36 (destroying my 11:11 3200m PR from track!).
(XC Progression this season: 19:44, 18:48, 17:40...2_crappy_races_later...16:49)
Yes, the course was certified and measured multiple times.
This winter, I ran 40-50 mpw for track this senior year, and I'm hoping to run under 4:30-4:40 and Sub 10 3200m.
Anyhow, It's truly amazing what hard work can accomplish. I don't know if I have any talent at all, but it's possible. Whether it's maturity, or not, I stuck to it, and went from being one of the slow, overweight runners Frosh year (Literally) to super-lean 2nd fastest varsity guy on the team senior year. (people see my photos from 8th grade and don't even recognize me).
Whether it was maturity/talent or only my training, I know my commitment to running is what got me where I am today. I hope to inspire other people with my story at my school, here, and everywhere else.
Wow that's really an awesome story! I actually really needed to hear that right now; I'm a senior in high school right now too and have been injured basically the whole year. This is the inspiration I need. It's awful not being able to run.
The improvement year over year doesn't strike me as that startling. It looks like a kid who only started seriously training as a frosh in high school and had some combination of talent and dedication to his training.