All of my friends advanced to states. I feel like I got dealt a bad hand by my coach

Id guess more likely closer to 18:00-18:15

17:00 is a realistic goal. Give your knee a couple weeks to heal.

my 2c wrote:

17:00 is a realistic goal. Give your knee a couple weeks to heal.

Honestly, 16:45 is even a better goal. Last track season I ran a 5:21 mile(not even a pr)and ended XC with 17:49(after running 20s-21s in the beginning). Just MAKE sure you do all the little things like stretch, sleep etc... and ull improve. Oh and trainining over the summer is a good idea.

Your coach is trying to have the team succeed not the individuals. How would it be if the football or basketball coach only had the top couple of athletes try and score. Yes the other teams would pick up on that, then he or she would have to change the scoring athletes. He probably should have told the team what they were doing in advance and trained for it (for example if you are a ten minute 3200 runner doing like 4. x 900 - with the first 800 @ 2:30 & the final 100 in 17.5-18 seconds). That would physically & mentally prepare you to kick. Your coach would then have to study the competition (just like the football or basketball coaching staff watching films of their opponents) to learn what others can run. As to next fall it’s mostly up to you. Figure out what you want to achieve and then decide upon a plan of action. Be realistic and prepared to make changes (as well as choices/not sacrifices). Best of luck

Left out, That 16:45 mentioned is very doable. You HAVE to run this summer. 25 miles per week at a minimum. Look for a July 4 race to enter. Don't wait for summer. Start now.

You are a 10:20 3200m runner. You didn't get dealt a bad hand by your coach. You just didn't qualify for states because you aren't a good enough runner just yet. I don't mean for this to be insulting. I just think you need to check your expectations a bit, here.

I ran 30 seconds faster than you in my first season of track, and I didn't for a second expect to make it to states that year.

Running is an individual sport. Athletes should ALWAYS advocate for their needs before the team scoring. It's an artificial construct, totally different than football.

I think you are missing the mental part here. There are a lot of excuses and blame spreading here. Suck it up and go run. If you are good enough to make states, then you'll make it, but it was not meant to be this year.

And what's with all the hate about track being a team sport. When I look back at my most memorable meets from high school and college, the ones where the team won something top the list, not ones where I pr'ed by five seconds in the two mile.

Work hard in the next year and be ready for cross and track and you won't have to worry about the number of events you're in, you'll be good enough to make it. If you ran 10:20 for your two mile, that's probably 17:15-17:30 for a 5k.

Dill Dickleson wrote:

I think you are missing the mental part here. There are a lot of excuses and blame spreading here. Suck it up and go run. If you are good enough to make states, then you'll make it, but it was not meant to be this year.

And what's with all the hate about track being a team sport. When I look back at my most memorable meets from high school and college, the ones where the team won something top the list, not ones where I pr'ed by five seconds in the two mile.

Work hard in the next year and be ready for cross and track and you won't have to worry about the number of events you're in, you'll be good enough to make it. If you ran 10:20 for your two mile, that's probably 17:15-17:30 for a 5k.

It wasn't a state qualifier. It was districts or you might call it sectionals. I was seeded 3rd and needed top 4 to win. If I would have ran 10:31 or faster I would have qualified, but I did not because the mile and 2 mile were about 30 mins away and I wasn't about to bum it. I "sucked it up and ran" with an injured knee. I have never ran slower than 10:30 until that race.

This +1000