Training with bad hs coach

dude please. You already have another thread on this subject and I just gave you good advice about it a few minutes ago.

That is perfect training for you.

Do everything a lot slower

It’s good training with poor execution. I believe all easy mileage should be above 7:00 per mile but you and your teammates are running your easy mileage at 6:30-6:45 pace. That pace might not feel hard but it’s not helping you recover. My rule is that any kind of run that isnt a structured workout shouldn’t be done at sub 7 pace. I can go on a 5 mile run at sub 6 pace, but do I? No. You should try convincing yourself and your guys to run around 7:30 pace on your easy days. It’ll make those workouts feel better and won’t destroy your body.

CopperRunner wrote:

It’s good training with poor execution. I believe all easy mileage should be above 7:00 per mile but you and your teammates are running your easy mileage at 6:30-6:45 pace. That pace might not feel hard but it’s not helping you recover. My rule is that any kind of run that isnt a structured workout shouldn’t be done at sub 7 pace. I can go on a 5 mile run at sub 6 pace, but do I? No. You should try convincing yourself and your guys to run around 7:30 pace on your easy days. It’ll make those workouts feel better and won’t destroy your body.

I disagree. They’re logging less than 30 miles of distance running (excluding workouts) per week, and probably only 45 altogether. That’s low enough that their non workout days can be slightly uptempo. If these guys were knocking out 70+ miles per week, sure, slow it down. In my opinion, you can’t run low miles and slow miles and expect to be decent. You also can’t run high miles and fast miles and remain healthy in most cases. So, unless he can convince his coach to bump up the volume, doing the low volume at a good clip is going to be the best option.

Solid post.

Two phenomenal high schoolers:

Grant Fisher, 40-50 mpw, all below 6:20 pace

Drew Hunter, 70 mpw, 7:15-7:30

In their junior/senior years. Maybe even both trained optimally, Fisher was more FT-type with great natural speed and Hunter more ST. A good coach would probably individualize and not let everyone run low mileage at a good clip because it might not work for everyone, some just need the high mileage with very easy jogging.

No, that is not a good idea because none of the runners on this HS team are Grant Fisher or Drew Hunter. Remember how everyone says don't just copy the elites? It also applies to high schoolers.

There isn't some magic rule that 35 or 45 mpw is low mileage for every runner in the world. These HS runners have been running for 2-3 years at most, and maybe 45 mpw is low mileage for them, or maybe it's relatively high mileage. When you add volume and intensity, even if it's moving up to 45 mpw, you need recovery, and you can't get it at 6:20/mile. They're running their recovery runs at least a minute per mile too fast.

Adapt the training to the athlete, not the other way around. It's coaching 101.