Daughter down on herself in XC

I wish I had someone to care about my running...

But this is LetsRun. If your daughter is running only to put it on her resume, then I really don't think I can sympathize.

Because my goal is to run and compete against D1 people and I'm going to run unattached. To me, those people that run in college came from a very supportive background.

Maybe it's because I never had that that I'm riled up.

I have a middle distance body type yet I run 60-70 miles a week. I always have injuries and I've run so much that I've gotten use to it, but I massage and foam roll myself every day.

Get tough, kiddo!

"Any good motivational sites, books, mantras I can share with her to let her know she's going to be fine, even if summer training is getting to her?" - None! She needs to bide her time and put in the work. Not sure why she is "down" since the other girls have been doing this for awhile and have been training consistently as distance runners. All things being equal, she should NOT be running with the other girls at this point in the season. Distance running is such a cumulative sport...tell her to be patient, enjoy the fact that she is improving and tell her to make this a one-day-at-a-time proposition.

"So much of the grind is mental effort, isn't it?" - That is what sets distance kids/aerobic athletes apart...they are able to enjoy the journey and the process as much as the result. These kids are special.

VA Coach wrote:

Tell her to be patient, enjoy the fact that she is improving and tell her to make this a one-day-at-a-time proposition.

Yes, this is true and you're right, all she really needs to know. I'll encourage her to just put in the miles and let the rest go. There's no magical formula to it.

Thanks

If that doesn't get her fired up about running, nothing will.

I'm sure you'll find something but heck, I'd be hoping she fails so she can focus on sprinting (sorry distance peeps).

Be supportive but ultimately it's up to her to find motivation. Athletes, teammates, parents can't make her motivated. She needs to decide what she wants and commit to the process. Her coach and teammates could try influencing her, your job as mom is to be supportive and positive.

..."not loving distance training" "falling out with coaches" "senioritis"... Sounds like she is in the wrong sport wit the wrong team. Most of us posting on this site would be chomping at the bit to have "top 5 talent" (assuming that means decent running talent). You can't make a fire putting a match to a rock.

Let her be, and let her find her own motivation. Support her in her choices, but let her become and adult and have to make those choices on her own. Set a good example of fitness and lifestyle of your own, and let that speak louder than any Nike-commercial cheerleading.

Ha, it looks like she doesn't like to run. She has no future in the sport. Move on, mom.

As a coach for over 25 years, I learned early that you can't want it more than the athlete.

pics of worried mom?

Teller of Troof wrote:

Ha, it looks like she doesn't like to run. She has no future in the sport. Move on, mom.

As a coach for over 25 years, I learned early that you can't want it more than the athlete.

Probably the right answer.

The parent's job is to help the kid find and connect to things for which they feel some passion. It sounds like running is no longer that thing. Help the kid find another thing.

Exciting--and a lot of contact in that last lap! Plus they had to fight through a crowd to finish. Puts all the whining people do about contact nowadays in perspective.

Oh, and, worried mom, just be supportive like you already are, tell her not to expect too much too soon, and, as the one guy says (and as I'm finding out with my own daughter), wanting it more than our child wants it isn't going to get us anywhere!

Good luck!

Mills got like jostled out to the third lane and then had work around all the people he was lapping and he then put on the afterburners to take Ron Clark and Gammoudi. I think Mills is the last American to medal in the Olympic 10,000 m until Rupp got Silver in London and definitely the last American Gold.

I was pushed by my dad to play baseball as kid, I ended up hating it and almost him, and then I found running.

worried mom wrote:

So much of the grind is mental effort, isn't it?

This is running, not sprinting.

You have to actually get off your butt and go run.

Good article from yesterday that might help her:

https://qz.com/1026992/the-cognitive-trick-that-elite-athletes-use-to-achieve-seemingly-impossible-goals/

I'm going to guess it's a good thing she can't keep up right now. It's summer and it's a very long season. She needs to tell her teammates to run ahead, she is fine and stick with her own pace. She will eventually catch up and likely pass them later in the season when it matters given the sprint training.

Actually the above posts sugges a strong course of action: encourage her to jog with the slowest girls and encourage them to stick with it. As a former varsity girl herself, this will have a great influence. As she feels more fit, she can work up through the not-as-slow girls and encourage them. By the end of the season, she can encourage the top-three!

"Worried mom", what is your daughter's ferritin level?

The biggest red flag is your comment about "setting a school record in a short sprint race". If your daughter is the fastest sprinter in her school's history, she very likely does not need to be running XC. Even if she was to compete in the 800 on occasion, she does not need XC mileage.

If she is a naturally gifted sprinter, then train a s a sprinter, and move away from the stress of slogging out mileage.

Its all mental. You just need to face the fact that she isn't interested. All the issues she has to overcome are in your note.

This is a good lesson for her. She's not in shape its her fault. And she is the architect of her coming disappointment.

Be happy for her though. Cos XC wasn't going to impact her more positively than this hard life lesson. If you want something, you have to work for it.