<p>Nice, sub-10 is crazy fast! The only problem this summer is that I got a summer science program + college apps, but I will try my best to run everyday and do crunches/pushups. I’m glad there are so many runners on CC, based on how fast this thread grew :p</p>
<p>Do you think running as a pack/team is very important? Or could one run just as fast by training alone/with a buddy?</p>
<p>the strength stuff and sprints should be on the same day, so all your muscles have a day to recover. the easy running will stress your cardio system more than your muscles. running with a team could help you mentally but it obviously doesn’t change the physics. </p>
<p>example:
day 1: 7 miles at 8 mins/mile
day 2: 7 miles at 8 mins/mile, 3 200’s, calisthenics</p>
<p>I’m on XC and I’m on varsity for next year. What you NEED to do is build up a really good base over this summer. You should start out at ~20 mile weeks for June at an easy-medium pace. Then during July, switch one of your easy days to a workout- maybe 4 1200’s at max VO2. Keep all of your other days easy days. Then in August, really step it up. Increase your easy day mileage and add in another workout day. Maybe do some power training on the weekends. You should have done more work than a lot of people on your team.</p>
<p>I recommend training with a buddy.
Alone sucks
My best friend and I trained together and it was tons of fun. He ran 4:30ish in track and 1:59 ish for the 800. I ran 5:13(30secpr) before I got sick. So it was fun and we got better.
I don’t like pack running because some idiot always starts too fast and everyone follows an it sucks</p>
<p>From experience, summer training becomes a lot easier when running with a team. Particularly on long runs, it is great to have someone to run with, which keeps the pace honest compared to solo runs where you can lag off if you’re not careful.</p>
<p>You may want to consider adding some tempo days too. Speed is important as well, but that can be developed later in the year when you are tapering and peaking. Summer is all about mileage. This summer I know that I’ll be doing about 60 a week with one tempo day a week (for me that is 4-5x1600 with 1-2 min break at 5:40-5:50 pace, but the pace varies between runners).</p>
<p>And in terms of mental preparation, I agree with reminding yourself of your goals, but I would also advise on a couple other things:</p>
<ol>
<li>Visualize: Night before a big race, go through your race in your head with your eyes close. Incorporate your race strategy into this by visualizing exactly when you will make a move.</li>
<li>Prepare in practice: A great coach (head counselor at XC camp and coach of multiple National Title DMR’s) once told me that you should practice like you race, because your habits in practice will carry over when racing. Other than form and such, this includes strategy. If you want to make a move from .5-.75 miles out, start picking up the pace halfway through your distance runs (not start sprinting obviously, I equate it to gradually pulling down a trigger). Not a huge amount, but I always went from 7:00 mile pace and gradually stepped it down until I was at about 6:20 pace. When I got into races in championships season, I was able to speed up as the race went along much better than before, and it helped to step my times down a lot.</li>
</ol>
<p>This is coming from a 4:48 miler, definitely not as fast as the sub-10 guy here or probably most of the others, but still pretty good I’d like to think.</p>
<p>Dunbar,</p>
<p>You from AK?</p>