Stupid Body Wont Reap Benefits

I feel you man. I ran in the ACC for 5 years and the first 3 were spent running long slow miles with average workouts. That being said running in the ACC I spent most of my races in the back or being pulled from getting lapped, but when I saw improvements was spring my redshirt sophomore year was I started to make all my runs progressive. For example on a recovery Thursday I’d do 11 miles starting at 7:10 working down to 6:10s. It’s uncomfortable at first, but in races I saw my pr’sgetting smashed because not only was I getting comfortable with being uncomfortable my body was so used to small gear changes that I kept getting second winds naturally and that’s what all the top programs do. Pr change from sophomore year to junior year below:

1500: 4:01-3:55

3000: 8:32-8:13

5000: 14:52-14:21

10k Xc senior year was 18th in the northeast.

I would get off the peanut butter. Not really a good FA profile, and the lectins in peanuts are hard on the body. Poultry is fine, fish is better (much better FA profile). Red meat sometimes is fine, more often if you get it grass fed.

Give us a typical week of training paces for all your runs, and also a comparision of workout times and race times for this year and last.

Also what are you doing in the gym? Exercises and weight amount would be good.

Hang in there lil buddy. Good things come to those who wait. Sounds like if training is going well, you are just a breakthrough away from being where you want. Cant eat your meat while its in the grinder, that's what I always say. If you are hitting 115 miles at 6:50, it may be hard to stay mentally in a 5:00 race. Whatever length you are hitting those strides in, double it. I did 8 200 meter strides a day and came out looking like Jesse Eisenberg. Add more hill efforts on your runs too, Pete. I'm sure some intensity in your day to day could help you make the jump. Get your head in it, and eat some ass kid

[edit]*****"kick some ass"

Spoon wrote:

[edit]*****"kick some ass"

I genuinely thought that was a troll post after I read that ending ?

Hey man, this is a question that befuddles a lot of runners and sadly there isn’t one answer or training program that will be the miracle cure. However, there are some things I did after my true freshman year running 26:30 and was able to run 24:30 my junior year. First, I upped my caloric and fat intake to near obesity levels. Not all healthy either but with food constantly flowing through me I felt like I had the fuel to run lots of miles. Second, the stair stepper machine in the gym gave my glutes massive power going up hills and staying power with the pace. Mostly a summer thing since coach would never approve. Finally, sprint Fartlek during distance runs, like 12x100 with desired rest in the middle of a 8-12 mile run helped make 4:55 pace in a race much much more comfortable. Just what worked for me though. Best of luck

When I had to stop running for 3 months due to an injury I thought it was the end of the world. What happen after I got back into running was unexpected and completely amazing - I was then able to run farther and faster with far less effort then ever before! It did take about a month building up again to discover this. The moral: Rest is key to improvement.

If you don't figure it out before your NCAA eligibility ends, you can move to Boulder and train for fun for a living. You're lucky. Only theatre majors and the like can afford to do this kind of thing.