Average D3 runner--How do I become great?

most ppl who aren't good over focus on running

Here's what you need to do:

1. get a girlfriend

2. take no less than 21 credit hours

3. party at least 3 nights a week

4. join as many clubs and organizations on campus as possible

5. spend as much time as you can volunteering

take epo.

If you're a 29:XX 8k runner, 7:30 pace for a long run is not slow, indeed its probably FASTER than you should be going.

Increase your volume, but you don't get faster by running easy runs at a faster pace.

It might make sense to read Jack Daniels' Running Formula so you have a good sense of a training plan. Then take this knowledge and talk to your coach about creating a plan for you. Tell him you will still do runs with the rest of the team, but want to supplement your mileage on your own to achieve your goals.

All of that said...here's me betting you won't be able to qualify for D3 nationals by senior year. Dropping 4-5 minutes off an 8k is quite a bit in the next 3 years.

Also, please don't use the term great. A 25:00 8k runner is a very good runner, and that time is highly respectable, but great is a huge overstatement.

No track huh? That's problem #1...

My advice is join the tennis team, they seem to win occasionally

OK...I figured out who he also...and none of the principals have any meaning to me.

But I noticed something: his college seems to belong to 2 different conferences. Why?

you don't get faster by running easy runs at a faster pace? sure you do. you get more comfortable and efficient at a faster pace. what you watch is just that you are well rested enough for your big weekly workouts. the quality there is the most important of any of your runs. I was at 29:52 5M two years ago and have dropped nearly three minutes so far (at 39) by upping the mileage, upping the tempo and track intensity, and doing the easy runs faster, all by feel. so it was crappy 20 miler at just under 8 average yesterday with some faster toward the end, but 6:13 for 9 miles progression the day before. I have a shot at breaking 26 next year and I'm old, so at 17, you have a shot at running 25 or even under by the time you're a senior, but it's going to take a lot of sustained hard work.

if you're that concerned about your training, and obvioulsy you don't have much faith in your coach/school's program, then you should just transfer. take off the rest of the year from competing to save your eligibility for a program that will give you the results you want.

I respectfully disagree. The purpose of easy days is (in order) recovery, aerobic development, and finally increased running/stride efficiency. Running easy days fast will help develop stride efficiency at faster paces more quickly than running slow, but this is at the expense of recovery and aerobic development. On top of that, the goal isn't to become efficient at easy day paces, it's to become efficient at race pace.

There's a lot to be lost by taking your easy days too fast (and not much to gain), and very little to lose by doing them too slow. Don't fall into the trap of trying to get faster by training too fast on your easy days.

Sit down with your coach and have a real discussions on your goals. He/She may have a lot more to offer than you know. Set up a plan with the coach, follow it and then evaluate and repeat the process.

I agree that you need the recovery, but if you go by feel, taking super slow recovery when you need it, and do doubles, so that one run can be super slow recovery (8-10 minute pace) and the other can be, say, a bit faster than before, you might see some nice improvement. I saw immediate dividends from taking easy run pace from 7-7:20/M down to 6:45/M last year.

quenton wrote:

run 100+ miles every week. Do it in the morning so your coach doesn't see you. Abstain from drinking and sex, and use Endurox after every run.

yes on the 100 miles, yes on the no drinking,. but who abstains from sex honestly

Get a g/f? Volunteer? Take more classes? Yes I'm sure all this will help him become a better runner as he will be overwhelmed and tired everyday from being so busy.

Wait a minute , your right, I'm sure bekele, wanjiru and geb all volunter at their local hospital on the weekends what was I thinking. and even better I'm surrrreeeeeee they all have girlfriends they spend every minute of their free time with...

subextremis wrote:

OK...I figured out who he also...and none of the principals have any meaning to me.

But I noticed something: his college seems to belong to 2 different conferences. Why?

One is an academic association, the other is an athletic conference. The latter is the only one that counts.