He has talent. Don't burn him out.
so hes basically ten. My sons PRs at ten. 18:14 5k. 4:49 1500 and 2:26 800. He avg. 15 mpw as a 10 year old.
say whattt??? wrote:
hmmm...so he dropped from 22.17 in February to 18:45 this weekend? EPO, short course or course cutter.
these are the responses that I come here for.
'A typical training week for them is an easy 3-4 mile run, 3 mile tempo run and either a race or 2-3 miles doing some hill repeats sprints.'
So there is the 9 year old kid who else have you got in your tots training camp?
JamesHaywoodCumberbatch wrote:
Shane Lehnst wrote:His name is Espen Lehnst if you want to look up his times. Just a proud dad sharing his accomplishments.
Please tell me you didn't name him after ESPN?
good for the OP and his boy, but ESPEN? Why would you call your son a name he will have to spell every single time he has to tell it to someone over the phone?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Espen is a Norwegian and Danish male given name.[1] In Norway it reached the peak of its popularity between 1970 and 1990, during which period approximately 1.1% of children were given the name.
genuinely puzzled wrote:
JamesHaywoodCumberbatch wrote:Please tell me you didn't name him after ESPN?
good for the OP and his boy, but ESPEN? Why would you call your son a name he will have to spell every single time he has to tell it to someone over the phone?
handy in the US, then
troll you later wrote:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Espen is a Norwegian and Danish male given name.[1] In Norway it reached the peak of its popularity between 1970 and 1990, during which period approximately 1.1% of children were given the name.
genuinely puzzled wrote:good for the OP and his boy, but ESPEN? Why would you call your son a name he will have to spell every single time he has to tell it to someone over the phone?
Glad you enjoyed my effort.
Star wrote:
say whattt??? wrote:hmmm...so he dropped from 22.17 in February to 18:45 this weekend? EPO, short course or course cutter.
these are the responses that I come here for.
jake from state farm wrote:
bump up the mileage, more speedwork/short intervals and begin to incorporate basic strength training/weights at least once a week
weekly long run on Sunday and biweekly intermediate tempo/fartlek workout
I hope this is a joke.
No better way to make a kid HATE running than having them do scheduled runs beginning at age 9. I even think 10 miles a week is too much...not from a physical standpoint, but from a mental one. The ONLY thing that matters is if he still likes it and is good once he's in high school. Once he's in 7th grade, time to up the training a little bit and so that by the time he's a freshman in high school he can handle up to 50 MPW, and if he's GREAT then slowly get him up to about 70 MPW by the time he's a senior.
I have seen a LOT of young kid phenoms (girls AND boys) who don't progress much so that they are mediocre by the time high school arrives.
I'm not a fan of organized scheduled runs for a kid before 7th grade.
I agree, my biggest concern is burnout with my kids. I went thru it myself so I know what didn't work for me and know all the great youth distance runners that I competed against never did anything beyond high school and a couple years in college. It is challenging to balance since they want to compete more but we try to keep them equally active in other sports so running doesn't get boring. When they get to middle school they can put more focus into it, if running is what they want to continue with. They do still compete in Junior Olympics for track and XC, but traveling to Nationals is their reward for the effort they put in. They love the trips, meeting other kids running at their level and being around all of it. We always make the trips for Nationals into vacations so it isn't just about running which helps.
I also have a 7 year old daughter that runs but she usually runs less than my son when we train, if he runs 3 miles then she runs 2 miles. She has run 23 for 5k and 6:45 for a mile, although she doesn't share the same enthusiasm for running as my son, but she is just 7. I actually coach a couple youth running clubs in our area, one for road races and XC and one for track. Around 50 kids between the two, majority between 2nd grade and 6th grade and most are not competitive just do it for fun. I have a few 6th grade boys that run 18 for 5k and I am a certified coach thru AAU and USATF. My goal with any kid I coach is to put more focus on form and fun than anything, if they still enjoy running when they get to high school then I did my job. I don't want to coach high school kids, think I would be too hard on runners at that level.
Regarding my son's name, it is Dutch and those entitled to an opinion on it (my son, wife and our parents) like it. Appreciate the feedback but filed them under noted and ignored.
I like your son's name, but being Dutch myself I must say it is a very uncommon name in the Netherlands. I don't know anyone with that name.
Now leaving that off-talking part behind. It seems like you know what you are doing and I disagree with some of the other comments that training at such an age is too young. As long as you keep it fun I think it is fine to have them run a few miles here and there. Also, this message board is full off trolls so be prepared to do a lot of ignoring
Best of luck. I know two brothers, met them when they were age 11 and 13. One just ran a 14:4x 5000 meters as a HS senior. Younger brother is also strong.
My advice to them and you:
Run on soft grass and trails in shoes that allow foot strength to develop. Swim. Bike. Play soccer. Explore, climb mountains, have fun. Inspire yourself.
I had some helpful spinal engine drills I showed them too.
Hey Shane, yes it has been a long time. Good to hear about the little ones and their successes. I'm stoked for you. With your background you certainly will have a better perspective on this than the average joe. I take it that because of the limited training, it'll be a while before they tackle Bobby Crim? I'm sure it won't be long before they beg you to let them try (if they haven't already).
Best Regards
Don't you want your kid to run in high school? I have seen few kids come out of these Jr Olympics and AAU.
If your kid likes running and all sign him up for track. I ran CYO track in 5th-6th grade and really enjoyed it. Not serious and 2 practices a week. Really glad I did it.
I have one word of advice:
speed.
If he's doing any formal training, get him into a sprint squad. At his age it is the most important thing for him to do. And I mean real speed, like 60m and 100m races.
The faster he is, then the further below his capacity he is running.
DO SPRINT TRAINING - and until the age of 15-16. These MUST be one of the weekly sessions.
I'm not even going to read a single response. The fact that you even care what your 9 year old's 5k PR tells me you are an idiot. He (she?) should be running 800m / 1500m tops, and playing basketball, soccer, hockey... etc. Stop trying to live your life vicariously through a NINE year old. I'm sorry your own career didn't satisfy you. Let your KID be a KID.
Cheers.
"son" obviously it wasn't your daughter. Every thing else stays the same.
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