Kids beating me that ran 1/2 as much as i did over the summer

letsnot wrote:

genes literally dont matter

You mean jeans. Although they would slow him down. Genes on the other hand make all the difference in the world

Kidswhobeatme wrote:

ya, i upped my mileage from 30 to 50 mpw, i have a bigish race this weekend, so I cut out the doubles I was doing, just like 2 3 mile easy runs and am trying to get over 9 hours of sleep every night this week before the race, do you think that'll help? I don't want to cut too many miles, it being early in the season and I want to keep improving for the races later.

The kids that are beating me run 5 mile long runs and never double, putting in 25 mpw, im doing 10 mile long runs and 50 mpw (i know 50 isnt much but its more than 25)

1) 50 MPW isn't long enough to warrant doubles. If your team does them then fine, but you would be better served by having all of your runs longer, so hit 50 miles in all singles.

2) CC courses are all different, so your 19:something could have been difficult and your 17:45 from last year could have been short...or too hot so far and great weather for the 17:45.

3) Your goal should ALWAYS be to run faster than YOU ever have. You can not control how fast someone else runs, and beating others on your team, unless the goal is to get a varsity letter, is an empty goal. If you ran 17:11 this year and were the fastest on your team, would you be satisfied with that?

Good luck to you.

You say you've only been hitting 50 for 3 weeks. You're probably just a little tired from increasing your mileage. It takes a while to get used to an increase especially when you also added in quicker workouts as well. Just keep plugging along and you will improve.

Am I the only one who never did much more than 30 miles a week in HS? There is a difference between running long and running fast. If you upped your mileage suddenly to 50 MPW, you might be fatigued or have a stress reaction. You need to increase mileage over time, not abruptly.

The other kids are probably just more talented than you. My little girl ran 13:29 last year as a 5th grader (2 miles XC). She ran twice a week all summer and hit 13:25 for the first meet. It was super hot (85+ degrees) Talent and genetics has alot to do with running.

Don't know if this is what's happening, but make sure the paces you are running are appropriate for your current level. If you find yourself running next to a guy with a 1:30 better 5k PR, you can't both be running at your own best training pace because you guys are 30/mile different in fitness.

Faster guys didn't get there by running easy runs and intervals too slow so the odds are that you are running too fast. So: don't afraid to do recovery runs alone and don't be afraid to finish a 1-mile interval 30 sec behind someone who is currently that much better than you. You'll improve faster if you don't train yourself into the ground.

Spelling error wrote:

letsnot wrote:

genes literally dont matter

You mean jeans. Although they would slow him down. Genes on the other hand make all the difference in the world

I think letsnot is clearly an obtuse troll, but how any person can believe that is beyond me.

Do you think the only difference between how YOU run and Rupp is his training plan?

letsnot wrote:

genes literally dont matter

Yes that's why people with cystic fibrosis are at no disadvantage.

Train at your own level wrote:

Don't know if this is what's happening, but make sure the paces you are running are appropriate for your current level. If you find yourself running next to a guy with a 1:30 better 5k PR, you can't both be running at your own best training pace because you guys are 30/mile different in fitness.

Faster guys didn't get there by running easy runs and intervals too slow so the odds are that you are running too fast. So: don't afraid to do recovery runs alone and don't be afraid to finish a 1-mile interval 30 sec behind someone who is currently that much better than you. You'll improve faster if you don't train yourself into the ground.

Yes, that's what ive been focusing on, I'm running easy runs with guys buy me, not with guys 2 min faster than me for the 5k, this week I didn't double, ill probably be around 42 for the week, I have a race tomorrow. I'm gonna see what I can do, I hope to be around 17:30 for the 5k.

I think I'm gonna hold off on jumping to anemia unless this race goes really poorly. I did a 6:19 tempo pace for 3.5 miles yesterday and it felt easy (i started out at like 6:25 and sped up each mile)

For the race, do you all think it would be smarter to stick with the kids I'm trying to beat or to run my own race? I want to try to run around 5:35-5:40 for the first mile and then see what I can do for the next two.

Hey, I just ran 18:50 for the 5k, so better but im really disappointed. I ran 5:30 for the first mile and then died, honestly I don't know whats up, I put in more work and im running slower. I took it easier in mileage this week, didn't help. Am I over training? Do you guys think I could be anemic?

Kidswhobeatme wrote:

Hey, I just ran 18:50 for the 5k, so better but im really disappointed. I ran 5:30 for the first mile and then died, honestly I don't know whats up, I put in more work and im running slower. I took it easier in mileage this week, didn't help. Am I over training? Do you guys think I could be anemic?

No, you started WAY too fast. Your best time is 17:45 and your best current time is way off that.

slow down son wrote:

Kidswhobeatme wrote:

Hey, I just ran 18:50 for the 5k, so better but im really disappointed. I ran 5:30 for the first mile and then died, honestly I don't know whats up, I put in more work and im running slower. I took it easier in mileage this week, didn't help. Am I over training? Do you guys think I could be anemic?

No, you started WAY too fast. Your best time is 17:45 and your best current time is way off that.

They say you can take off 1 second for every second you run too fast, could I have been closer to 18:20 had I run the first mile by 5:55?

LetsRun is such a double-edged sword, for young runners especially. It's great that you can come here and find other people who love running and have experience and success, and you can interact and get training and racing advice that otherwise would be difficult to find in the typical small-town HS social setting. But it's also easy to expect the same results as other posters, or take a nugget (like "run a lot and you'll improve!" among many others) and assume that is the key and that it will lead to faster times immediately. Apart from not knowing another poster's full history (e.g. maybe than ran super high mileage for 5 years before it started paying real dividends), every runner is different and will benefit from slightly different training.

OP, don't stress the times. Your mileage seems good, focus on preparing for hard days and running them hard/correctly. Don't think in races--and mixing it up is good. You went out too hard, so go out slower next time. Trust in the base you put in. If you're not one of the top runners, that means you have help all around you (in the form of faster guys) and probably have a pretty good coach. Ask them for advice. And keep improving--your goal now is to better your last result (also keep in mind that XC times can differ wildly: elevation, terrain, course measuring, having runners of a similar level, etc. etc.). I have no doubt you'll be PRing when it counts.

"For the race, do you all think it would be smarter to stick with the kids I'm trying to beat or to run my own race? I want to try to run around 5:35-5:40 for the first mile and then see what I can do for the next two."

Seriously? Now I think you're trolling.

OP, get your iron tested.

My senior year of HS I out-trained my teammates significantly and felt I should have been performing better, but instead found them beating me. I didn't realize it, but I was anemic. It took me a really long time to figure it out because I didn't have knowledgable folks looking out for me, and I didn't know either.

Don't delay. I don't know if this is your problem but feeling really unresponsive to training could certainly be related to iron levels.

Do I just go to my doctor and ask him to check my iron levels? Does it cost anything?

Kidswhobeatme wrote:

Do I just go to my doctor and ask him to check my iron levels? Does it cost anything?

Yes and yes. It costs something. You should have health insurance through your parents and your general practitioner is probably already in your parent's current insurance plan, so total cost should be < $100.

If a parent is not that involved in your life, most plans have something like a $40 copay you'd need to bring with you.

After getting the blood drawn and tested, the most important thing is to get your test results back so you can post them.

Also, what is your diet like now?

Per another post, IMO, you went out way too fast. You have to work on a race pace for the entire distance. I support learning how to pace yourself to negative split when the course permits.

yes, i defiantly went out fast (especially because the first mile was mostly uphill lol)

how long does it take results to come back?

as for diet, im vegetarain but I drink milk and eat eggs. I eat a lot of grains like pancakes and stuff, yogurt, fruit, salads, beans, rice, bagels everyday for lunch, I eat a lot idk