Obviously kids that run low 15s high 14s in xc are really good, but what else would you guys consider being good for hs track and xc. And if you are one of those that run (or ran) low 15s high 14s and low 9s for the 2 mile and stuff like that. What was your training like
Forget XC times. Every state is different. Track times are consistent so you can make your own judgement of what is good whether too 50, top 100, etc. It is not a subjective thing like other sports.
Anything under 9:30 shows a heck of a lot of potential no matter what training you do. Same with anything under 15:45 I would guess.
Weeks for me were a mix of quarters, halfs, a tempo type run, some races. I didn't do everything every week. The mix depended on how many meets we had and what events I ran. Almost always did some type of run or workout after my races on days of meets. The longest LR I ran was maybe 8 miles. We did a lot of 2-3 mile warm ups, run 4-8 miles, and then a 2-3 mile cool down. The middle would be anywhere from easy to comfortably hard depending on the week. Ran anywhere from 45-65 miles a week at that time.
Agreed -- anything under 9:30 is exceptional for a high schooler. Under 9:15 and you are looking at top-10 in most states. The best of the best are pushing under 9 minutes much more frequently these days, although I would say that is due more to the rise in sophisticated/borderline college-level training being done than any change in the natural talent level of high schoolers in the USA. The times it takes to be a national caliber NCAA runner have stayed relatively flat despite the fact that far more high schoolers are breaking 4 for the mile and 9 for the 2 mile than ever before.
I ran 9:35 in high school and eventually ran 8:30 in college (about the equivalent of 9:05-9:10). My HS mileage was never more than 50-60 a week and we never did tempo runs. We did do long runs approaching 90 minutes during cross country and in between seasons. In weeks with no big races, we would do one longer interval session (5 x mile was a staple) and a shorter one (400s and 600s). I do remember that I ran much, much faster in high school speed workouts than I ever did in college. We did some real rippers -- coming through the quarter in under 60 seconds for 600 meter reps. The closest I came to running that fast in college was 200 meter reps at around 30 seconds. I guess that's the difference between HS and college...where you're often getting roped onto the 4x8. I ran 1:57 for the 8 in HS, but never trained for anything shorter than a 3k in college.
He needs to move straight up to the marathon distance immediately...did you get your BOSTON Marathon Qualifier yet?