This past season my 5k PR was only a 16:50 as a junior. My track times from sophmore year were a 1:56 800 and the mile in 4:23. I feel like my 5k time doesn't reflect my track times. By senior year I want to be as close to a 15:59 as possible. Is my body just made for more speed? What can I be doing to get my 5k time down? My training over the summer was around 50mpw and last winter before track my partner and I never went over 50mpw. Just up the mileage? This week I am going to hit 60 miles.
not certain but 1:56 for 800 meters is pretty impressive.
HS junior or college? Big difference.
High school.
Your mile and 800 PRs certainly indicate ability to go sub 16. You'll probably need for your body to mature a bit more and get stronger to get there. Don't sweat it, there's no rush. Be careful making big jumps in weekly mileage, lest you get hurt
Dude, I say you bump up the mileage a bit. You should have done more in the summer, but it's not too late -- winter is just starting. And when I say bump it up a bit, I don't mean do like some of these idiots do and run 90+ mpw. If you are at 60+mpw, stay there... I wouldn't go much more than that.
Two things I've learned from running in high school and college:
1) Consistency/Perseverance
2) Quality > Quantity
Make sure you're getting in strides after every easy run, at least 6x100m -- you want to keep the speed you have, so feed your fast twitch muscles after you feed your slow twitch. Also, since you want to work towards 5k, start doing more tempo runs... 15-25 min. tempo runs. Add some 200m repeats at the end if you would like. Mile repeats at tempo pace and at race pace are also good.
Good luck.