<p>Hey, so I am on a mission this fall: to get into my school's varsity cross-country team. I want to train well over the summer so I can accomplish this goal. The varsity team consists of the 10 fastest people of the team. Since our team is good, these 10 people will most likely go on to the State Meet. So, if I were on this 10-man team, I could potentially be considered a "state qualifier for varsity xc." Now, if I train really hard, I am around #11. I just need to beat 1 person!! He beat me last year in 2/3 of the races. I just want to beat him, but he is going to train extremely hard as well. Are there any experienced runners out there who can give me tips on how to get faster? I train so dam hard and eat healthy, drink lots of water, stretch, etc., but I just couldn't get into top 10 last year. I want to get in this year, my senior year. Any tips? Thank you.</p>
<p>Use the force, err, beach. And I know it’s hot in Claremont (if you’re not running on the beach), so don’t wimp out.</p>
<p>Don’t smoke. And develop a more effective gait.</p>
<p>First of all varsity is only 7 runners. Second, if you’re only doing this to look good for college, forget it, you’re not going to make it. Before anyone can give you sound advice you have to answer some questions:</p>
<p>How long have you been running for?</p>
<p>What’s the most mileage you’ve ever run in a week?</p>
<p>What are your best times in races?</p>
<p>dunbar: How do you know varsity is only 7 runners? His school or league may be different.</p>
<p>Though dunbar is right about colleges, I still think you should try for it. It’s a great experience (2 year XC and 3 year track runner here) and hey, it’s somethign to write about during your college admission essays. That struggle to get on the team, that horrifyingly painful but ultimately beneficial race, etc. etc.</p>
<p>Try cross training. Swimming and biking help develope muscles your competitors have neglected, and sometimes that can benefit you in the long run a lot more than just pounding out the miles day after day this summer.</p>
<p>Well… in colorado the 7 runner varsity is standard… but anyway, in the summer you are going to want to mostly focus on distance. Start out 3-4 miles, 30-45 minute bike rides, 20 laps in a pool (25 meter pool, 10 in a 50 meter pool). Work out in the weight room a couple time a week doing both lower as well as upper body. XC is a ton of fun. I love it. I am out number 5-7 runner depending on the race. I cross train a ton and do a lot of repeats in the summer. (i.e. mile repeats… those are really good to do on your own, and work down to 800m repeats.) Some people focus more so on distance, which is fine, it depends how many miles you get into a week. But… recovery days are just as important as hard workouts, so make sure you aren’t running every day. Be careful with over working yourself because there is nothing worse than injuring yourself at the beginning of the season and giving the rest of the boys a head start.
The good thing about being a senior is you will letter reguardless if you’ve been doing it since you were a freshmen, or atleast that is how my school works.
Good luck</p>
<p>Saer, unless he is in some highly unusual and special league, varsity is 7 runners.</p>
<p>lost<em>in</em>thought, I don’t see how you can give him specifics such as run 3-4 miles when you don’t know what his running background is.</p>
<p>First off, some more infomation would be helpful. Does your team race a 5k distance? How much running experience do you have, and as others have said, what is your mileage? What kind of workouts do you do?</p>
<p>I improved a lot over the past 2 years. One thing that helped is I try to get at least 8 hours of sleep EVERY night. I also slowly brought my mileage up, and my coach does a lot of speed workouts with me. Last summer I got a lot of base miles in and went to a running camp. I always make sure to take it easy for a while though if I feel that I am pushing and injury. If you talk to your coach, he can probably give you advice as to how to get faster, as he knows you better than anyone on a discussion board.</p>
<p>hmm … from my old running coach … training should consist of 4 elements</p>
<p>1) Base distance
2) Overdistance
3) Speed work
4) Rest and recovery</p>
<p>So … assuming you’re already in good shape I’d suggest …
- running 6 days a week … with one rest day each week
- 3 easy run days … starting at your typical mileage from the spring and working up … typicallythis might be 7-10 miles … and run at a pace you can talk to your running partner
- an overdistance day … during the summer I wouldn’t push this too far … but about 1 1/2 times as far as your easy run days … but also at a quicker pace (when I ran 7 minute/mile easy runs this run would be at about 6 minutes/mile)
- Speed work … add variety … jog twice the time of the speed run (75 second qtrs … jog for 150 seconds) … run 10 telephone poles on the road (often about 1/4 mile) … run the 18 holes on a golf course … run 1/2 mile fartleks</p>
<p>Find a runner partner to keep you disciplined and to make this much more fun! Stay aware of your body and do not run your self into the ground.</p>
<p>
Yea, 7 runners + 3 alternates = 10 people. Our varsity team is actually legit, so there is a VERY high probability of us making it to state. And the same 10 people go on to state. So, even though I won’t run as an alternate, I am still part of the varsity team, as a “state qualifier.”
This year, I trained really hard and was already #11 on the team, only 1 guy off from being varsity. I ran RTL 50’s, and will probably run 60’s this year, if possible. But, I just couldn’t seem to break 17:00 in a 5K. Also, I will be busy this summer with a science program, science research, and college apps…so it will be more difficult.
But, I’m not talking about specific workouts I can do, I know what to do for that, I’ve talked to my coach before, and I’ve read stuff online.
What I mean is, how can I suck it up, and MENTALLY PREPARE for the races. How can I push past the pain and run the fastest I can? I felt like I wasn’t reaching my potential last year…I never felt extremely tired/throwing up after races…</p>
<p>There’s really nothing that you can do. </p>
<p>By that I mean:
- You know how to train.
- You are training.
- You and your coach know more about you than any person over the Internet. </p>
<p>But you want to know how to push past the pain. It’ll be different for everyone but I can do it because I’m cocky enough to believe that I can run faster than everyone else. That’s not always true but I have the mental edge over everyone else. It’s simple if you two are close in speed then whoever wants it more will get it.</p>
<p>If you feel like you’re not running fast enough and have too much energy left over try running negative splits or try taking out a hard second mile. I’m hesitant to give advice on that because everyone is different. </p>
<p>A lot of running is mental. If you need to just beat one person to make state, then try staying behins him and surging past him on mile 2. It’ll cripple him mentally and also give you a boost mentally.
Source: running whore who talks running a lot with a 1:59 4:30 guy</p>
<p>I would definitely go high 60s, low 70s this year if you can build up to it. The best time to run during the summer is as early in the day as possible, so I think you could still fit that in.</p>
<p>As far as mental strategy goes, I like to think about my goal every day while running. It’s easy to lose sight of your goal for states in November when you’re training in June. Think about your goal every time you run and recognize the fact that everything you do will have an impact on your ability to achieve that goal. </p>
<p>For races you merely have to find your favorite way to run and stick with that. Whatever way feels best to you probably is best. For instance, my favorite feeling in a race is passing whomever I want to beat with .75-.5 miles to go and holding on from there, so I would try and plan as many races as I could around this strategy in order to bring out my best performances.</p>
<p>Training wise- ask your coach but something I recommend:
Easy days easy- the goal is to burn up the race course not an impressive race log</p>
<p>This is probably the thing that might be different. If you lift, HIGH weights. LOW reps. I firmly believe (and I’m not a world renown physiologist) that that is the key for distance runners. We get enough muscle endurance by running. We we don’t have is POWER and EXPLOSIVENESS. Do a couple weeks sets of 12 to get your body ready. Then go down to sets of 4 for legs for a month or two depending on tapering time. Then sets of 15 for double the time you did sets of 4. These should be done fast. Goal is to gain more muscle for a while and then train that muscle to be endurance muscle. Keep arm reps at 12 the entire time with changing weights. They don’t matter for 3 mile runs as much as they do for the mile or shorter stuff. </p>
<p>Don’t worry about gaining weight. You’ll be running so much that your body won’t have extra energy to gain weight. As a result you’ll be stronger but not heavier. </p>
<p>Once again your coach knows you better than me. </p>
<p>I apolgize for soundindg like a jerk in the first post. I didn’t mean to. </p>
<p>Good luck</p>
<p>Private message me if you have any questions or additions to my ideas</p>
<p>^It didn’t come across like that to me, but I’m not sure about anyone else.</p>
<p>Lifting weights is a smart idea for the summer too, especially because there’s no races they can interfere with. If the race(s) that you need to qualify for states are hilly, I would highly recommend training on hills and lifting with your legs.</p>
<p>^Sweet I’m glad I didn’t sound arrogant. </p>
<p>He wants to know how to push mentally past barriers. Idk I guess you just do it. There’s really no way we can help. He just has to want to beat the other kids</p>
<p>About lifting. I didn’t say it I guess but definately start in the summer. If you don’t lift over the summer don’t do it at all. It won’t be long enough and you’ll just be sore and too tired for running workouts which help more than lifting anyway</p>
<p>confidence is a big factor too. if you don’t have confidence you likely won’t push too hard.</p>
<p>as you start to fatigue at the end of your race, concentrate on your goal (a certain time or beating someone or whatever) also think about driving your legs. lift your knees and extend your legs out. i have long legs, so if i concentrate on matching someones turnover rate my stride will carry me in front of them. Basically, just lose yourself in the race so you dont have any room left in your mind to think about pain.</p>
<p>My coach always tells me that one missed day of practice equates to losing two weeks worth of training. I’m not sure how much of this is true though(it sounds a little too extreme to me). Never miss a single day (even on weekends) if you’re serious about running.</p>
<p>Alright, thank you all for the good advice! I’m glad there are avid runners on CC…:]
I will try to lift weights in the summer in addition to running.
And I agree, it is up to me to gain the confidence and push past my limits mentally. I also heel strike a lot, does anyone know how to fix that? I’m not sure exactly how much bad form can hurt my times.
Lastly, does anyone drink coffee the morning before a race, in addition to lots of water? I’ve heard that coffee can increase your endurance…</p>
<p>I’ve heard of people who drink coffee, but I’ve never done it myself. If you heel strike practice your stride barefoot on grass (not sand because you don’t race on sand). Finally, try getting shoes that are fitted for your stride (you can go to any specialty running store or look up your foot type online and go from there).</p>
<p>I broke 10 in the 2 mile. here’s my advice.</p>
<ol>
<li>run this summer. not necessarily fast. just run. as much as you can handle. every day.</li>
<li>run sprints. not a lot. 100 or 200 meter reps. a few reps every other day. </li>
<li>get strong. ninja strong. do sit ups, pushups, crunches, pull ups. every other day. </li>
<li>recovery is where the growth happens. drink eat sleep drink eat sleep.</li>
</ol>