how much will mileage help track times?
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Anonymous
| my kid is a sophomore and runs middle distance on HS track team - not his primary sport but he’s thinking of shifting focus to develop as a runner. He has hit 2 minutes flat for the 800 this year, and 4:35 for 1600, and 10 flat for 3200 with basically no offseason training (and did absolutely nothing physical between november and february due to a pretty serious injury, healed now). I know anything is possible and progress typically isn’t linear, but if he puts in a big mileage base over the summer, and runs x country, could he reasonably expect to improve these times pretty handily? thanks all in advance! |
Anonymous
| i don’t really think much for 800 would be interested to hear what other track folks think |
Anonymous
|
Those are nice times. They could definitely come down, but it's not as simple as mileage. A couple of thoughts:
1.) Is his primary sport soccer? If soccer, it has already given him some speed. If he's ready to move on, great, welcome to XC. But if he loves it, he shouldn't feel compelled to give it up. 2.) It depends on how strong the XC program is at his school. If it's a strong program with great coaches and a few boys who run comparable paces, he will definitely improve. If his coach sucks, he could open the door to injury or burnout. 3.) Make sure he's working on strength and flexibility, and emphasize sleep and nutrition. |
Anonymous
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1) yep ready to move on - low character kids on the soccer team - x-country seems more his type of kids.
2) Very good coach. Although young, he’s super into it and has already developed a current senior into top middle distance kid in state. The kid’s dad attributes his success primarily to the coach. Dad says my kid is right on his pace, confirmed by milesplit lol. Kid going big time D1. Couple other underclassmen good, slightly behind my kid 3) Flexibility a given, but how much does strength training matter. Think smart mileage is better all around thanks! |
Anonymous
OK, XC sounds like a good move. Strength training matters a lot. It helps guard against injury and it makes them a more economical runner. But if the coach is good, he's probably got the kids lifting a couple of times a week. |
Anonymous
| thank u |
Anonymous
| Great post. Sounds like my 8th grader with soccer. Sort of done because of teammates. |
Anonymous
|
I have a top senior middle distance runner. Those are great times for a sophomore.
Check out the site runcruit.com to plug in his times and see what the general progression can be. It’s not usually this linear but he can probably be 420 and sub 920 for the 2 mile soon. Also sub 153 is probably the goal. Also start thinking about if he wants to run in college. If he wants to run D3, he pretty much can with those times right now. If he wants to run, match up with whether or not those are the types of schools, he wants to attend academically. Also check out the site tfrrs.com to see what college teams run for their times My son has talent, but for him the truck has been running consistently six days a week and stretching and cross training in other days/summer. And getting enough sleep. |
Anonymous
Push him hard |