Just Started Running (Read 897 times)

Ok i'm 12 years old and just started running seriously, looking to eventually break some school records. Right now i have about a 6:00 race mile. Do you think its possible tog et down to around 5 in one year? Another cool thing, 3 days ago i ran a 2mile in 17:23, then today i ran the exact same thing, same track, at 15:12. I definitely didn't skip a lap though. So do you guys have any tips to help me out? Thanks, Noah

Just join the cross country team.

Well, if you are unwilling or unable to join the cross country team, stay active in another sport. The truth be told, you are 12. You need an adult to be in charge of any training you do so that you don't overdo things on your own. There is really nothing a bunch of peeps on a running forum can do for you at this time.

Hey, Willamona; how's life? Are you coming to run Twin Cities marathon by any chance? Now, I think all the advices given so far are all correct, Noah. You should search some knowledgeable adult around the area, preperably local high school coach. It's kind of cool to participate a running message board such as this one but the problem is; if you get 10 different people chipping in, you may end up getting 10 different opinions. Believe it or not, quite often I just bite my tongue but sometimes the "advice" given at message board can be outwardly "wrong"! Having said that, I think it's great that you are being so ambitious and enthusiastic about running. It is a great sport. Two books I would strongly suggest that you read; one is Tim Noak's "Lore of Running" and the other is "PRE". "Lore of Running" is such a thick book and, as you open up, there are a lot of physiology in early chapiters. Skip them. Just go straight to some historical background of the sport. It's a great read and I think it's VERY important, and fun, to know more about historical background of running. I started running when I was 12 myself. My dad picked up a book on "marathon" with lots of history and training progression along with history (actually, he was a school teacher and he brought these from school library which I don't recall we ever returned...). I enjoyed reading it very much and it was quite fascinating to find out how those early runners/coaches found out certain trainng technique and how that affected the progression of world records. I'm sure you know about Pre, thanks to Nike advertisement! It's a cool book and may give you some insight of "becoming a runner". There is a training technique called "fartlek". I have a bumper sticker that reads "I'd rather be Fartleking" and whenever I talk to young high school XC kids, they love this sticker! Anyways, the guy who "invented" this training method, before World War II even, a coach from Sweden, said; "If you find a young kid of his/her teen; and encourage him/her to train but not race, then you would have built foundation for the future Olympic champion." What this means is that you need to acquire joy of simply getting out and running. You need to learn to NOT worry about how fast you can run over the same course that you did yesterday. It's not about how fast you can run over the distance day after day after day; but simply enjoy getting out and run around the field, up and down the trail, etc.; not going aroudn track so many times and see if you've broken your previous record; because this is not training--this is straining; and you don't want that at your age. You see lots of Kenyans and Ethiopians dominating distance events in the Olympics today. I'm sure you've heard about how they run to school and run home??? At very early age, they run a lot. They don't click their stopwatch as they leave home for school and see how fast they run, how much faster they'd run compared to yesterday. They run across the field, chasing cows, going over some hills for some berries, etc. In other words, they run a lot for the fun of it. This way, they develop what we call their "aerobic capacity". This is their ability to run and run and run some more without getting tired. This is the foundation for future great distance runners and, while Africans still do that, us Westerners had long forgotten about it by going everywhere by a bus or a train or a car. That's fine; but somehow we compensate that--by running a lot. By running "a lot", I would say, at the age of 12, if you go at whatever the pace you feel comfortable and run, say, 30~45 minutes; that's a good start. Try that a couple of times a week. Other days, like Willamona said, try some other activities--have fun with it; but KEEP ACTIVE. Over the weekend, if you feel up for it, get your mom or dad out and go for an hour's jog (if they can keep up with you!). Another thing that's very important at your age is developing fine speed. This what I mean is a good running technique. We had a great chance to see a young man from Jamica called Usain Bolt winning 3 gold medals, setting 3 world record at Beijing Olympics. Did you see it? If you have a video of it, watch it again; see how he swings his arms, straight forward and backward, in total relaxation. There was no clinching of the fists or pushing shoulders up or anything like that. Great knee lift--watch how high he brings his knees up; his thighs almost paralell to the ground. There's no shuffling motion or landing hard on his heel or anything like that. If you ever seen him warm up, watch carefully how he moves. That's the movement you want to emmulate. Once a week, go over to the grassy field and, after jogging around for 15 minutes or so at easy pace (as Bolt would do), go over 30 yards across the field, thinking about those movement. Hope around and bounce around, work on your ankle flexibility and good leg extention. If you talk to a football coach or watch them sprint across the field, well, that's not quite the way to do it. Sprinting, or trying to sprint, 30 yards as HARD as you can, clinching your fists and gritting your teeth, is not the way to go about. You need to learn to relax and be bouncy and springy. There are lots of great "drills" you can try but one of the best ones, I've found, would be to put a small cones (not big ones) across the field and skip over it. It may take some time to get used to it but this would teach you a very good running technique. You can certainly try out some races or time trials once in a while but do NOT get too hooked with the times. You are WAY too early to tackle systematic program to see any linear progress. Furthermore, I would limit this kind of stress, say, once a month or so. Your body is still growing and it will go through lots of changes yet to come. During this period, your performance level would go up and down and, if you get too hooked with the numbers, you would be sure to disappointed. Forget about it and go by how you feel and whatever the effort you feel happy about. Everybody talks about building solid foundations so we can build a solid house on the top of it; but very few actually practice it. Your foundation for future distance runner is your aerobic foundation and speed development; not "racing fast" yet. Choose wisely what literature you would read. There are lots of garbage out there. Don't listen to some advice that might give you a quick fix. You hear how such-and-such sit-up exercise would make you lose 20 pounds in 2 weeks... You know that ain't gonna happen. Same with distance running. It takes years and years (3 to 5 years) of ground work before you can even expect some decent results. As a 12-year-old, as difficult I'm sure as it seems, you should look at what you'd be doing when you turn 17 or 18; not 3 weeks from now. Once again, I started running when I was 12 myself. I've gone through what you're going through. Aim high; but choose your course wisely. Good luck.

As a high school runner, the best advice I can give you is to not worry about your speed. Just go out and put some miles in. Build a solid base and your times will go down naturally. The good thing is that you are young so you have loads of time to be successful.

All due respect, this is why this naton has become the land of 4:30 marathon runners; not 4:30 milers. Nobody knows how to run fast and nobody can teach kids how to run fast and Penguin becomes a national hero by preaching to "forget speed". Also, running fast=learning to run properly=less injury.

Nobby, I think the intent of this guy's advice was similar to what you were describing of our legendary Kenyans... Run. Run a lot. Don't run for the stopwatch. The biggest difference is that in addition to that my understanding is you're recommending some pretty heavy reading and technical drills that I think the average 12 y/o would have difficulty doing on their own. Yes, I think what you suggest would probably work well for them. But I don't understand why the high-shooler's advice pushed your button so. What's wrong with suggesting that they concentrate just on volume and enjoying the sport for now?

Nobby, I think the intent of this guy's advice was similar to what you were describing of our legendary Kenyans... Run. Run a lot. Don't run for the stopwatch. The biggest difference is that in addition to that my understanding is you're recommending some pretty heavy reading and technical drills that I think the average 12 y/o would have difficulty doing on their own. Yes, I think what you suggest would probably work well for them. But I don't understand why the high-shooler's advice pushed your button so. What's wrong with suggesting that they concentrate just on volume and enjoying the sport for now?

Did I sound "mad"? I didn't mean to. Nothing pushed any "button" with me here... people post their opnion, I posted my opinion. I think working on speed can be very much fun. I just worked with a 15-year-old with some speed drills. He came to me to work with him on that. We jogged down to near-by track and did some drills. I thought he had fun with it. There's nothing "un-fun" about working on speed.

All due respect, this is why this naton has become the land of 4:30 marathon runners; not 4:30 milers. Nobody knows how to run fast and nobody can teach kids how to run fast and Penguin becomes a national hero by preaching to "forget speed". Also, running fast=learning to run properly=less injury.

I have to disagree with you. This kid is only 12 and just started running. He should just be enjoying running for now and not destroying his body by doing too much speed work at a young age. And the only way to learn how to run is to, well, run. And that means mileage, not an 8x400m workout. Building a base is the most important thing you need to gain speed. I know what it takes to get under a 5 minute mile like he wants to. I started out last year by only doing fartlek and interval type workouts like you think he should do. What happened? I didn't improve much at all. I was consistently around a 5:10 mile and could never bring it down even though I felt like I could do so much better. Then I cut back on speed work and instead focused on more miles. The end result? My mile time continued to drop over the next month until I ended up with a 4:52. Now this summer I have only ran miles and have not touched speed work at all. My average pace per workout has dropped over 30 seconds without more effort. If I would run a time trial for the mile I would be confident in running 4:40ish. I wouldn't be able to say that if I ran hard every day. Enough about me. I just REALLY think that if he does all this speed work without the aerobic capacity necessary for the mile he will burn out and never reach his full potential.