Why am I racing terrible?

Your season probably just started. Give it time. Very few people PR in the first 1 or 2 meets.

I don't know who this terrible is so there's certainly no way I would know why you're racing him.

Get your iron tested. make sure to test for ferritin levels. if its below 25 you should start on iron pills or liquid iron.

The iron might be low, but the general reason is that you are not recovering properly from your heightened training, and you are doing similar speed sessions without as much recovery as last year, when you were doing less mileage. It is early in the year and the speed sessions are on top of the mileage>you need a few more weeks or even a month to adjust to the new stressor. But then if you get more sleep, take some more naps, etc., you should see pronounced drops by October. Just stick with the program and there will be 16s in there in a month or so.

High school XC wrote:

I'm racing so bad even though my mileage has gone up from 35 to 50. Last year I was able to run 17:3X on a big break through but this year I can even run below 18:10. I even have had a good amount of speed sessions the last couple weeks and I'm getting beat by kids that I could easily beat during the spring and last fall. I'm sick of seeing no improvement, what am I doing wrong? I haven't even come close to my PR from last year and I thought I was going to break 17 this year... Any help? Is there hope?

The problem I think is extended tempo(endurance). What you need to do is put in two 4-5mile hard runs a week on your own time. Also keep in mind that even if you increase mileage if your running slower than that could be considered junk mileage and therefore useless. Think about what you did last year to get to that breakthrough and try and replicate it this year. I don't think speed is your issue, my opinion is that this decrease is likely due to a lack in endurance and you need to do some faster miles, longer runs, and longer tempos.

jjjjjjjjj wrote:

The iron might be low, but the general reason is that you are not recovering properly from your heightened training, and you are doing similar speed sessions without as much recovery as last year, when you were doing less mileage. It is early in the year and the speed sessions are on top of the mileage>you need a few more weeks or even a month to adjust to the new stressor. But then if you get more sleep, take some more naps, etc., you should see pronounced drops by October. Just stick with the program and there will be 16s in there in a month or so.

This really only applies if your feeling generally fatigued. I did not interpret the OP's message like that. I agree with the check for iron.

Thank you for the help. I have been taking iron pills every other day this summer and I think my irons fine but like you said I need time to recover. My coach doesn't know easy pace... All my "easy runs" according to him are at least 7:25 at least finishing sub 7 :(

Just read this comment but I think u might be right. I didn't do my tempo runs religiously during the summer but I didn't expect to be running this slow. Can I still run some quick times later in the year with these"junk miles"?

Refer to another forum earlier this week about pacing in your races. You're going to keep racing the same if you keep going out at the same paces/effort. If you're going out with the 'Prefontaine Attitude' you're probably burning out early. Speaking of early, it's still September. If you've had a consistent summer and have done the work that you're supposed to then that will pay off when it needs to. You can't expect every race to be a big breakthrough, even after your summer of training. Do not start doing workouts thrown out on here, trust in your coaches plan. Really if you brought your concerns on your recent races here before him/her then that's a problem, you need to be talking to them too. If you're a 18 or even 17 min guy 7:00-7:25 pace for your easy runs should be fine.

Keep going to practice. Keep your easy days EASY and work hard on the days you have workouts. Keep tempo runs controlled, medium hard, and not at a race effort.

Good luck guy.

Is this based off just one race result or multiple race results? Maybe you just had an off first race. If your on your 2nd then there are some problems. 3 or more and you need a serious overhaul-You run 3 races in a row and still don't have a good race in there and you need to seriously sit down, rethink, and research some real training. All depends on where you are in your season right now.

I read some comments above. I agree with the guy who said give it one more race and if you don't improve your time *AND* beat the people you think you should then something needs to change. I really think the extra tempos and longer miles could do you some good, and I suggest maybe substituting an easy day a week with cross training of some sort, such as biking or swimming. Yes you can run good with junk miles but your workouts needs to be specifically oriented( Read: Endurance-Based, especially if your more of a speed based guy).

Also, sometimes feeling tired is not a bad thing. Often it is mentioned the point of training is not to feel tired but sometimes it is good to feel tired. You have to draw the line when you can't hang on workouts though and tone down either the amount of miles you do or the intensity. Remember to get sleep and keep a good diet, particularly in the days before a race. You got potential OP, don't blow it. The idea that you need to"listen to your coach" or "trust your coach" often works, and that trust can be very beneficial to have, but sometimes you need to be doing something different.

Remember, not everyone is the same and if your coach is having everyone do the exact same thing then he or she is not doing it 100% right. I say give it one more race and then change if there is no improvement. Don't wait until the state meet or last race for improvement that won't come unless you take some matters into your own hands.

Thanks guys, my 3rd meet will be Tuesday and if you'd like I will post results.

Don't know if you guys are still around but ran 18:09 :(. I'm getting killed the second and third mile, my mile splits were: 5:30, 6:03, 6:05. Although you may think right away I went out WAY to hard (and I did don't get me wrong), I really don't feel that tired at the mile marker. I would have to hold myself back a lot the first mile to run an even race. If I can get these last two miles quicker I can potentially run pretty well this year. I ran my best time last year going 5:34, 5:39, then 5:50. Any advice or exercises or drills or workouts early in the season to help me with this?

High School XC wrote:

Don't know if you guys are still around but ran 18:09 :(. I'm getting killed the second and third mile, my mile splits were: 5:30, 6:03, 6:05. Although you may think right away I went out WAY to hard (and I did don't get me wrong), I really don't feel that tired at the mile marker. I would have to hold myself back a lot the first mile to run an even race. If I can get these last two miles quicker I can potentially run pretty well this year. I ran my best time last year going 5:34, 5:39, then 5:50. Any advice or exercises or drills or workouts early in the season to help me with this?

You should feel like you're holding yourself back a lot in the first mile. It's a 3.1 mile race. Run with your head for the first 2 miles, and your heart after that.

Check that iron. Unless you've grown like 4 inches in the last year, it's not normal for high school boys to regress, especially if they've actually been training. See your family doctor and ask specifically to get your ferritin checked (it's not part of a normal complete blood count). Be sure they actually give you the number, too, not just a "normal" or "abnormal" result.

What is your best race distance in track?

While your 5:30 might not be too fast, you have to know how you ran it. If you ran 2:45 and 2:45 then maybe it is not the problem. Truthfully was it more like 2:30 and then 3:00?

Have you actually regressed or did you only run 17:30 once last year?

Are you sure the 17:30 wasn't on a short course?

Drop the mileage to 40 for the rest of the season. And maybe you'll recover some.