High School to College training advice

rhode island rammmer wrote:

Will be running at a D1 school next year - 800/1500 + XC

track season is a no go

? should I cease the 800/1500 workouts and just build mileage - a long XC buildup with some tempo and hills

? should I try to somewhat simulate a track season

? will the 800m speed be there in 12 months for the next outdoor track season - can I build/maintain speed during this time

Actually the first piece of advice I'd give you is to make sure, when you get to college (and even starting now), that you get adequate sleep at roughly the same hours *every* night--weekends included. The temptations to stay up late, stay up all night, etc., are numerous and strong. (Experience speaks.) Nothing will kill your progress in college faster than inadequate/irregular sleep.

That said: If you are a true 800/1500 guy you should "keep in touch" with both your absolute (top) speed and your skill of efficient middle-distance striding. Relatively small amounts of both will NOT cause a premature peaking and will actually help to make you more resistant to injury.

a) Once or twice, every 7-10 days, do about 30 seconds (total) of short sprints, e.g. 5 x 6sec.

Ideally you'd alternate: a session of flying sprints on the track one day, then one of hill sprints the next time.

Whichever you're doing, put the sprints toward the beginning of a training session, though after a complete warmup. (You need to be fresh for these and doing them after a distance run would defeat the purpose.) Make sure you take complete rests between reps (these are not "wind sprints"), and if you're sprinting on the flat try to do them with the wind at your back.

You may follow these with a moderate distance run if you wish.

b) Again, once or twice every 7-10 days you should do some striding at approximate middle-distance paces, say in segments 20-60 seconds long. Get good recoveries after each--you're working on skill here, so you don't want a big lactate buildup.

If you'd like, you could do these en route in an otherwise easy- or moderately-paced distance run. And of course you could do them on the track. Either way, just be sure you're getting near-complete recoveries between reps.

How many? "Some": maybe 4-8 minutes' total striding, e.g. 8 x 40sec. The total should be small enough (and the recoveries long enough) so that it *doesn't* feel like an actual 800 or 1500 workout.

If the current disease mess resolves in time, you could run some summer track meets, say once every 2-3 weeks. You wouldn't train specifically for these or taper for them, but just treat them as another training day. Failing track meets, you could certainly run time trials (starting now and continuing through the summer) at a similar frequency, and preferably at a variety of distances.

Good luck. For further useful guidance, check out the Summer of Malmo.

Keep touch of your speed through daily plyometrics and strides.

Keep things interesting with some tempos and some workouts.

Please don't listen to random people on LRC giving you advice.

If you made it to a good D1 college program, you essentially landed the jackpot that most LRC users can only dream of. The first thing you should do now is get in contact with your future coach. Ask HIM, and no one else - not your HS coach, not your running friends, not random guys on LRC - about what he wants you to do now and in summer before you get the meet with him in person.

A lot of college coaches start training their recruits early, or at least give them some guidance. If he wants you to get your mileage up, do that. If he wants you to work on your threshold, do that. If he wants you to do some time trials to know what shape you are in, do that.

Trust your future coach and your team, make sure you don't screw up these last few months now by either getting out of shape or overworking yourself because you want to be a big contributor right in your first season (chances are, you won't as a freshman) and think long-term.

GL!

Very sound advice, LRP. Thanks.

Agreed: IF the OP is able to get guidance from the college coach (I don't know what the current rules regarding/limiting that are), s/he should follow that.

thank - you

Are college coaches allowed to handout workouts - give training advice etc prior to high school graduation?

I have been in touch some - but didn't want to push about training advice if this isn't allowed - likewise I'm sure many coaches have family and other concerns at this time so wanted to be respectful of this

Are you from RI or just going to URI?

Between now and then gradually increase your mileage so by the start of the season you can comfortably handle 70mpw. Running hilly courses all July will really help for XC.

rhode island rammmer wrote:

thank - you

Are college coaches allowed to handout workouts - give training advice etc prior to high school graduation?

I have been in touch some - but didn't want to push about training advice if this isn't allowed - likewise I'm sure many coaches have family and other concerns at this time so wanted to be respectful of this

This is a unique situation. There’s nothing wrong in emailing him and asking for suggestions. He knows the exact rules and can respond appropriately. It’s no different than getting a training program the summer prior to entering college. Likely he will appreciate that you would take the initiative to reach out to him. You spend a lot of time working with a college coach. They are use to balancing work with their personal lives.

Wise Guy wrote:

rhode island rammmer wrote:

thank - you

Are college coaches allowed to handout workouts - give training advice etc prior to high school graduation?

I have been in touch some - but didn't want to push about training advice if this isn't allowed - likewise I'm sure many coaches have family and other concerns at this time so wanted to be respectful of this

This is a unique situation. There’s nothing wrong in emailing him and asking for suggestions. He knows the exact rules and can respond appropriately. It’s no different than getting a training program the summer prior to entering college. Likely he will appreciate that you would take the initiative to reach out to him. You spend a lot of time working with a college coach. They are use to balancing work with their personal lives.

Yes, listen to this guy please. Also let us know when the coach responds, and tell us about the training he wants to do (not in detail, but for example if it's more aerobic or speed-based with short sprints).

Just send him a quick email like this...

Hi Coach,

I hope you and your family are well. I’m really excited about joining the program at insert university name. With spring track unfortunately being cancelled I would like to ask if you would be able to give me any coaching advice? Specifically what I could be doing during these next few months to prepare for the fall. I’m not sure about the rules in regards to this, however, I want to make this unexpected turn of events as productive as possible. Thank you for your time.

Your Name

Your HS career is done, so just call or email the college coach and ask what they would like you to do. They're your coach, not us. What we recommend may conflict with your college coach's program.