Managing team mates mileage

You typed this all out to say you were going to encourage your teammates to run more as the summer went on. Frigging genius!

So early in runners' careers the only thing that will make them faster is running consistently everyday, every week, every month. Get 10 guys running 40-50 miles a week every week for 20 weeks and you're in business. Throw in an uptempo day twice a week, a long run, and do strides and you'll be fine.

I think it's great that you are trying to lead your guys over the summer. I agree with Baconn; the main thing that helps kids improve is CONSISTENT training. That means 6-7 days a week, not 3 days on, skip a week, kill yourself and run 50 miles the next week to make up for it, get hurt, skip another week due to injury, go on vacation and run 10 miles once during the week, etc. It means staying healthy enough to get out there and run every day, even if some kids will only be able to handle 20-30 minute runs when they start. Better to start with that and gradually build up over the summer than be too ambitious and get hurt or lose interest.

My brother in law has coached some very good teams in Ohio and he starts his pre-season cross country kids in early June (the ones who didn't make State in track and the newbies) with ONE MILE A DAY for the first week. The second week, they run 2 miles a day. No kidding. He progresses from there (not by continuing to add one mile every day every week; that would mean by August they'd be running over 60 miles a week!) By the end of the summer they are running about 40 a week, which for the kids you have described, would be a great start to a better cross country season.

" I really am willing to do a lot for my team mates to be successful and improve as much as possible."

You can't set goals for your team mates any more than you can run their races for them. They need to build the habit of running every day.

You can let them know that every day you will be at X (your school, a pool or lake or some other centrally located spot) at Y time. (5:30 or 6 pm might work) You can break whoever shows up into groups and send them out for different distance runs. (they may have their own ideas on groups) You may need to run with the slow guys for the first week. Or you may want to do most of the running around your XC course for the first weeks so that you can keep an eye on what is happening.

As the days go by the lazy will stop showing up. You can spend a little time talking to the lazy or offer them rides but quickly you will learn to spend your effort on the guys who show up rather than the ones you think are talented.

I can set goals for my team mates and I solely provided mileage goals, this has nothing to do with me racing for them. What I'm asking is are these goals attainable? And, will they benefit my team mates enough for a dramatic change?

TDodd22 wrote:

I can set goals for my team mates and I solely provided mileage goals, this has nothing to do with me racing for them. What I'm asking is are these goals attainable? And, will they benefit my team mates enough for a dramatic change?

What will benefit your teammates is to get together and run every day. Organize that, and good things will happen.

TDodd22 wrote:

I can set goals for my team mates and I solely provided mileage goals, this has nothing to do with me racing for them. What I'm asking is are these goals attainable? And, will they benefit my team mates enough for a dramatic change?

Your attitude towards people posting on your thread is terrible. It seems that all you want everyone to do is compliment you like you are a genius and amazing, and get defensive when people try to offer you GOOD advice, because god-forbid you need it. I'm not going to tell you that your boring and basic plan used by hundreds of high schoolers across the state is a great one, simply because you don't have the attitude to make this plan a success story.

Instead of wasting your time on here asking for praise and not help, be out with your team, making those adjustments and trying to set up the positive environment many of them will need to commit to a training plan made up by a person they view as an equal to themselves and in zero position of authority. If you were being smart about this, instead of coming up with this plan all by yourself, you would simply steer a conversation with them so that they are the ones who think they had this brilliant idea to suddenly work hard and become the best they could be.

Your welcome, and TDODD22; please do not respond to this, and simply move on to more pressing concerns than us in the lowly letsrun community.

No you're right I was being dramatic. I also did actually talk to my friend yesterday and we talked about what he would be capable of and wrote out a plan for the first 2 weeks of the summer

Making plans is fine. As others have pointed out, consistency is more important. Are you ready to help your friends recognize when the plan has to be modified? Sticking with a plan when it looks like it's leading to injury is not a good idea.

You've got the right idea that your team probably needs higher mileage to improve. But you've also got to figure out that they're the ones who have to buy into the plan and do the running. If you start to seem obsessed or just not fun to be around, they won't follow you.

Also, if you're going to be the team leader, don't forget to help with recruiting new runners, even if they're not fast or even promising. Supporting the slow JV guys now and during the season will pay off for the team after you've graduated from HS. If you're really invested in building a team, you'll do it. If you're only trying to line up a cast of backup singers, maybe you won't.

TDodd22 wrote:

I can set goals for my team mates and I solely provided mileage goals, this has nothing to do with me racing for them. What I'm asking is are these goals attainable? And, will they benefit my team mates enough for a dramatic change?

If some random teammate unilaterally set mileage goals for me, there is about a zero percent chance that I'd think they were being a "leader" and about a 100% chance I'd think they were being a douche. A goal set by someone else doesn't mean much, especially if the person setting the goal isn't in a position of authority.

Being a leader isn't about barking orders. Being a leader is about getting buy-in and effectively working together toward a common goal. If you want to be a leader, help your teammates to set their own goals. If you want to waste time and benefit no one, show up and tell your teammates the goals that you've set for them.