Coach wants me to run no slower than 7 minute pace for every run this winter. My 5K pr is 19:5X

How long did you last? Did you break 15 after high school ?

otter wrote:

By estimating your max V02 max pace (around a speed you can maintain for 10 minutes) you can calculate what pace you should be running.

I guess I fall in between your coach and the majority here. Here's what I would recommend over the winter:

Regular longer training runs of 75% - 65% VO2 Max= 7:40 - 8:15 Pace

Aerobic Threshold runs around 7:10 - 7:30 for runs of 30-50 minutes

Lactate Threshold runs of 6:50 - 7:00 for 25 minutes

Regular longer training runs 3 times per 10 day cycle

Aerobic Threshold runs 4 times per 10 day cycle

Lactate Threshold 1 time per 10 day cycle

1 hard workout or race per 10 day cycle

1 recovery slow run per 10 day cycle

Slower than 8:15-20 and you're primarily in a fat burn mode. Unless it's a recovery day after a workout a slower pace than this will not be very helpful.

I like the idea of the 10-day cycle, but with the tenth day being totally “off” or cross-training. I think most motivated high school kids will overdo it no matter what you tell them, so a general philosophy of easy, easy, hard, easy, easy, hard, easy, easy, long (progression) is probably best for most. The hardish days should trend toward tempo pace and the occasional fartlek at 5k pace. Plus plenty of fast striders.

No reason the mileage can’t be gradually increased every cycle, especially with the off day. A seven day cycle is a silly constraint that not every body will adapt to.

Experience says this is a great post wrote:

How long did you last? Did you break 15 after high school ?

Well under 14 actually so yeah.

This guy agrees as well.

Jerry Maguire wrote:

https://www.coacheseducation.com/xc/jack_farrell_2_nov_01.php

This guy agrees as well.

As I recall, this guy coached one national-level girl who imploded due to her eating disorder upon entering college and produced very little else with his program.

The answer is more mileage at a faster pace -- eventually. It sounds like you're off to a good start. If you stay at 25-30 mpw for awhile, you should find that your runs will get faster. Not all at once, but you'll start to get the urge to open up some days. Go with it when it happens, but don't kill yourself.

The key is to worry more about effort and consistency than pace. So when you open up one day with only a little bit more effort, you might be a little tired the next day. So you run slower at a reasonable effort. Several weeks later, more of your runs are 7:15-7:45 pace at the same effort. By spring, you're stronger, ready to do the specific preparation for racing, and you set some PRs.

Next summer, you bump the mileage to 30-40, and repeat.

In a few years, you'll be the senior telling the freshmeat "look junior, this is how it works, because I've done it".

I'd do what your coach says and run 20-25 miles a week around 7 minute pace. You can break that down how you like. 4 runs of 5 miles at 7, 5x1 mile at 7 or faster or 10x.5 miles at 7. Just get in the 20-25. If you want to bump mileage also. Listen to the majority on here and go easy. How easy? As slow as you want. You just really want to get time in to balance out the harder days.

Do it for a month or so. Chances are 7 minute pace will not seem like much to you. When that happens either go faster or go longer.

12345768 wrote:

Where do you live? And how in the world did you win a state title with an 11:12 in the 3200m? Last year at my state meet the winner of the 3200m won in 10:24. 11:12 would have earned you 17th place on a good day.

????????????

I would agree it doesn't sound accurate that you won state with that time, but it really just depends on what state you live in. If you live in a state with very little competition or somewhere at altitude then I guess it makes some sense.

Go run real mileage and then we'll talk

Jerry Maguire was raising some good points, but he failed to accurately transpose his old training to your current level. As someone stated above, he was running his mileage runs at 1.25*5k [15:00 5k is 72s/400. 72*1.25=90s/400 or 6:00/1600]. Canova considers anything from 1.15-1.25*5k to be fundamental training for general resistance. In other words, this is a great training stimulus for the winter. If we suppose your current 5k to be 95s/400 [19:47], you're looking at a range from 7:17-7:55. So, a few times a week after a good warmup, you should be able to cruise multiple miles working from the slow end to the faster end of that range [something like 2x2mi with 2min. active recovery could be a good early session. With improved endurance, you could add a third set of 1mi or eventually a full 3x2mi. I was running 4x2mi by New Years last winter, but you won't get there this season]. Someone like Joe Rubio would peg the slower end of that rhythm as your training pace for aerobic endurance. In other words, you should be able to close out the last few miles of most any non-recovery run around that rhythm.

Now, there is no reason you shouldn't be able to work in some faster work around 7:00. Otter gave you some good advice above regarding training paces. I'm using a 6-second rule in your case, and have some comparable but slightly more conservative numbers. I would peg your threshold pace around 7:08 and your CV around 6:44. Once a week, you could cruise three miles around that 7:08 for a more traditional tempo or try some repeat 800's at CV with short recovery (3:22 with 2:00 active recovery for your first efforts before reducing recovery time). Or more Ingebrigtsen style, you could try something like 3-4x1600@7:08 (90s active rec) one week and 8-12x400@101s (45s active rec) the next or even both sessions in the same week IFF you have adequate recovery in between.

While working on the more fundamental paces you were running on your own, adding some work at T or CV would start working the paces your coach is looking for in a way that is approachable for your current fitness level. Given you are so new to the sport and so undertrained, those paces should rapidly improve. Around every four weeks, you could time trial a 1600 or a 3200 on the track and adjust. Given your limited aerobic background, a 3200 would be more helpful. Say you run 11:52, where your 5k has you pegged. That's 89s/400. For each rung up the ladder add 6 seconds.

3200 - 89 (5:56)

5000 - 95 (6:20)

10k/CV - 101 (6:44)

Threshold - 107 (7:08)

"Marathon" - 113 (7:32)

Aerobic End. - 119 (7:56)

If after four weeks you bring your 3200 down to 11:44, you would then average 88s/400 and could adjust all your training paces 1s/400. Should your endurance profile improve or your 1600 get down closer to 5:00, you should be able to adjust to more of a 5-second rule between rungs.