high school xc (Read 686 times)

Sarah-

shoes=life

posted: 10/16/2008 at 4:25 PM
modified: 10/16/2008 at 4:25 PM

i am a junior in high school and i run cross-country. this season has been horrible. see, the other upperclassmen and i have been working so hard all summer, all season, setting goals and trying to unite the team. it hasn't worked. for starters, our freshmen, who make up the majority of the team, have no ambition what so ever. personally, i think they just expect to do well because our junior high team is so great, but that's beside the point. most of them are really negative, and there are two who are downright mean. my coach does absolutely nothing about it. we were on the line for one race, and i had a teammate turn to me and tell me that to my face that im not a good runner. on top of all of that, i have been working my butt off all season, doing everything my coach tells me, and i can't break 23 minutes. i was faster my freshman year than i am now...i did have a different coach then, so that could have been part of it. i've already decided not to return next season, but i wondered if anybody had any ideas as to why i can't run fast this year and what to do about the younger runners/my coach if i do decide to return. i absolutely love running, training, racing, getting the runner's high, and achieving goals. i feel like ive been robbed of my favorite activity

~Sarah~

Nobby415

posted: 10/16/2008 at 4:57 PM

Sarah: Seriously, my heart aches when I hear a story like this... I love running; I have been running since I was 12 (I'm heading for a half a century next spring... Cry

) and running has guided me to many places in the world and I've met many great people which I otherwise wouldn't have if it's not for running (some of whom I've gotten to know through this very forum!). As I started to read your post, in particular about the team spirit, the first thing that came to my mind was to get your coach involved. Well, I guess that ain't gonna work, huh? I'm actually having sort of the same problem--people issue. You just cannot make others do things you want them to do. All you can do is to wait till they realize; and that sometimes sucks because that could take years! All you can do, really, is just do what you can and do the best with what you can do. I just watched "Invinceble" on TV. Yeah, I'm a sucker for movies like that (but, hey, it's based on a true story!). If you haven't seen it, I'd highly recommend it. Many people on the team had negative opinion toward the main guy in the movie but he stuck with it... "Character is tested when you're up against it..." This is what the coach's wife said to him (the coach). It is so true, though. So with that, all I can say is; "Hang in there!" In terms of your own running, I can't really say too sure without knowing more about what you did but one thing; have you maybe worked too hard? There is a time to train hard, a time to ease up; there's a time to run long and easy, there's a time to go fast and short (there IS a time to go long and hard, or short and easy too!). You need to balance all the elements. Particularly when the races near, you should be tapering and be "fresh and sharp". I remember when I was helping out a high school track team years ago; there's this kid who wanted to break 4:40 for the mile. He was working out really hard, doing all the repeats (400s) as coach prescribed the team... I took over his training and I then gave him more like 120m fast with plenty of recovery in between. So instead of 12 X 400 like he was doing before, now he's doing things like 5 X 120m (FAST). After a few weeks, he ran 4:38. Not much under 4:40, but it WAS sub-4:40! ;o) I don't know what you were doing before and what you have done recently and/or are doing right now. But this is something to think about. If you're interested in training (okay, I'm biased), I don't mean to promote ourselves but check out our website: www.lydiardfoundation.org. Do the google search of Arthur Lydiard. Quite an interesting athletic coach. If you have any further question or more specific question, feel free to drop me a line. You can send it through Lydiard Foundation or you can send an e-mail directly to me as well. Good luck; and don't you give it up on yourself!

obsessor

posted: 10/17/2008 at 7:40 AM

I wouldn't give up on it just yet! Run for you - not everyone else. Do what you can for your team, as you have, and you will have your own sense of satisfaction that has nothing to do with a pat on the back or an unkind word. It will have come from doing the right thing. It really happens to everyone to have a bad year, bad week, bad race ... or a slowdown for a period. In my observations of cross country, i've seen kids run a lot of miles all summer, then stagnate or falter or fall ill during the season. I've seen girls, in particular, run fast and fantastic for a freshman year, maybe sophomore, and then slow down and lose interest. Some quit. I've seen some of those girls hang with it to run a fantastic Senior year, and then in college, nothing. Others struggle through high school, walk on a collegiate team, and then shine. We had a girl on our team last year win a couple of meets, go on to state, do well, and now... no running. 10th grade and she ups and quits. That's sad. She can't go back and run this season ever, for the rest of her life. Myself - I quit track when I was a junior in HS, something I never should have done. I slowed down, and figured that was the end of my improvement and walked away just like that. It was not a right decision. If you stick with it, you will almost certainly improve with training. When? Well, the process can take years. Sometimes improvements will come in leaps and bounds. Sometimes you'll stumble and fall. But it's the journey, not the destination.

Hannibal Granite

posted: 10/17/2008 at 8:30 AM

Quote from Sarah- on 10/16/2008 at 4:25 PM:

on top of all of that, i have been working my butt off all season, doing everything my coach tells me, and i can't break 23 minutes. i was faster my freshman year than i am now...i did have a different coach then, so that could have been part of it.

It is incredibly common for female runners to be faster as freshman than as juniors in HS (I'll assume from your name you are a female). I coach a women's team at a small college and I hear all the time how my athletes were great as 8th or 9th graders and then slowed down as they got older. When female runners are younger they are built like boys, narrow hips, flat chests etc., but as they grow and mature all of a sudden you body isn't able to do what it was once able to do easily. Unfortunately, a lot of girls quit running when this happens and, like Nobby, it breaks my heart when I see this b/c for most if they stick with it they can get back to and even surpass where they were before. However, that decline in performance, growth phase, and returning to former ablities often takes 2-3 years. A lot of girls also end up getting injured during the growth phase as they are just outworking what their body is capable of, all those changes in your body also change your running mechanics and if you try to do to much you'll end up injured and it will take even longer to come back. So my advice is to stick with it, keep working hard, but listen to your body As for the team/personality issues, maybe the coach isn't doing anything b/c he doesn't know the full extent of what is going on, or he wants you to learn to deal with it yourself? You will face difficult people your entire life, but you can't let them ruin what can and should be a fun and rewarding experience for you regardless of how fast you run.

"You NEED to do this" - Shara

s.crissman

posted: 10/17/2008 at 9:00 AM

i've already decided not to return next season, but i wondered if anybody had any ideas as to why i can't run fast this year and what to do about the younger runners/my coach if i do decide to return. i absolutely love running, training, racing, getting the runner's high, and achieving goals. i feel like ive been robbed of my favorite activity

Just want to respond and give you some support. The way you are feeling is understandable, but I think you just need to step back and keep a couple things in mind: 1) If you forget about your previous PRs, you can still enjoy everything you say you love: the running, the training, the runner's high, and achieving goals. All those things are still available to you. You just might need to revise your goals from what you have to something that matches where you are at currently. There are plenty of reasons that others have covered as to why your times may have changed. The real thing to keep in mind is that it doesn't really matter why. You are where you are, so make some new goals, and start enjoying yourself again. 2) I joined my high school CC team as a junior, and had a really hard time, having none of the base that anyone else did. I was always towards the back of the pack. Some of the better runners on the team clearly looked down on me because it was clear I was never going to be competing with them. Others were really cool and just didn't mention anything, and we just trained together and enjoyed that for what it was worth. I learned to just ignore the former, and appreciate the latter. I suggest you try to do the same. Set a good example, and leave it up to others to do their thing. If they aren't interested, that's their issue, not yours. Your happiness needs to be based on you enjoying what you are doing, and knowing that you are doing the best that you can with what you've got. You'll never control what other people think or how much talent you do or don't have. It is clear that you've got alot of appreciation for running. Cultivate that love of the sport, and develop some self-esteem knowing that you are a hard worker. If that does or doesn't lead to good times, it should still be something you can enjoy. If you keep at it, you'll find more success down the road. Running tends to favor those who are in it for the long haul. Good luck!

milerBonnie

posted: 10/17/2008 at 11:45 AM
modified: 10/17/2008 at 12:00 PM

Quote from Sarah- on 10/16/2008 at 4:25 PM:

we were on the line for one race, and i had a teammate turn to me and tell me that to my face that im not a good runner.

Don't listen to statements like that. What do they know anyway? If I had a dime for every time a person told me I wasn't "good" at something...well...I'd be rich and if I'd believed them, I wouldn't have accomplished so much... You are going through that change into womanhood that is difficult physically. Ask any woman on this board and she will tell you the same thing. It will pass. When I went through it I was very much into dance (ballet). Horrors for me that I wasn't shaped like a pixie anymore with no hips and found what was previously easy suddenly difficult! This is most likely why your times are stalling. If XC is making you unhappy, go ahead and leave it behind next season. There are plenty of new and interesting things to occupy your time. Just don't give up on running. Keep running for yourself. I promise you. Later in life you will be happy you did. I admire you for running at your age. Many people (like myself) did not have the discipline or patience to run during high school.

ClevelandMark

posted: 10/17/2008 at 11:57 AM

Sarah, I think you have done a really smart thing by posting here. That seems to me like a really good way to start to find a supportive community beyond your team and coach, which is probably important in your situation. I know that following advice like "don't let other people's attitudes spoil things for you" is hard. In my job, I deal with a lot of unreasonable, demanding and sometimes mean people. One thing I can tell you from personal experience is that if you really try to make a conscious effort to not let other people make their problems (anger, personality issues, etc.) into your problem, it does get easier, and it starts to feel good after a while when you realize that you did not take the bait --- you did not get upset over something that is someone else's problem. Don't know if that helps, but I'm sure if you keep posting here you will find ideas and insights from knowledgeable people that do (like Hannibal Granite's point about girls/women running as they grow and mature).

MrFinn

Prince of Fatness

posted: 10/17/2008 at 12:06 PM

Quote from Sarah- on 10/16/2008 at 4:25 PM:

i absolutely love running, training, racing, getting the runner's high, and achieving goals. i feel like ive been robbed of my favorite activity

Not to sound mean, but the only person that can rob you is you. You can't control what others say or do, but you do have control over what choices you make. If you don't want to run xc, fine. If you don't want to run, period, fine. But make sure that it is a choice that you make on your terms, for you. If you want to keep it going, start logging your runs here. Ask questions. There are plenty of knowledgeable, friendly people that will help you get on track. I hope this didn't come across wrong, but I'd hate to see a young person like you give up something they love doing for what I think are the wrong reasons. Keep your chin up ... and good luck.

Not at it at all.

Aimster

Mitch & Pete's Mom

posted: 10/17/2008 at 8:47 PM
modified: 10/17/2008 at 8:48 PM

Sorry you are bummed. I am hoping some of our other HS XC kids jump on this thread. Where is Theresa's son when we need him? I think the others have offered up some good advice. A couple of things that helped our team out when I was in H.S., 1 million years ago, we made an effort to do things together as a team after workouts and before and after meets. Pizza, movies, dinner at each other's houses watching Chariots of Fire. Goofy? You bet! We helped each other with homework and we tried to encourage each other. I bet there is at least one other person on your team who feels the same way you do. Ask around. Also, talk to parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles other kids at school and even teachers about more support on race days. Tell'm you need more cow bells! I'm 42 years old and still think of the guys on my team screaming at me, "how much do you want this?" Good luck! Report back.

Carlsbad 1/2 marathon 1/26.

beef

Ostrich runner

posted: 10/18/2008 at 2:47 AM

High school sucks. Run xc next year if you like running on the team, but know that there are hundreds of thousands of runners nationwide that enjoy running races just for the fun of it and most of them are not fast. People speed up and slow down during adolescence for many reasons. I could run a 5k 3 minutes faster when I was 21 than I could when I was 17 though I was in half the shape. Whatever you do, don't let a couple snots make you feel like you can't do what you love. The guy that is the fastest marathoner in the world is twice your age. Running is a lifetime sport, and if those two freshmen still talk like that they don't know the love of the pain yet.

http://www.runningahead.com/groups/Indy/forum

Sarah-

shoes=life

posted: 10/21/2008 at 3:35 PM

just an update, my district race was on saturday, and i ran a 22:44! not bad...it's about time i ran a personal best. to clarify my situation a bit... so, when the freshmen girls are mean, they're really mean. when somebody gets confused and forgets to go around a cone during a speed workout, one girl screams "what the f***!!!! you're cutting the course!!!!" we have one girl on our team who is not very fast, so our coach alters speed workouts for her so she doesn't have to do as much. the same girl with the foul language yells at the slow girl whenever this happens, calling her lazy and a slacker and yelling about how it isn't fair that she does less than anybody else. my dear coach just stands by and lets it happen. the slow girl ended up quitting the team because she was tired of being screamed at and treated like dirt. plus, when i stick up for the people the freshmen girls mistreat, it makes them not like me either. there are so many other stories i can tell about how these behaviors have affected members of the team as well as the team spirit as a whole. i've talked to my coach about what's going on several times. her response is usually something along the lines of " oh, you have to understand that they're freshmen and they don't have any friends on the team yet" and then says something like "you need to make an effort to include them" as if i hadn't spent my entire summer, plus the whole first part of the season making an effort to include them. plus, last time i checked, being a freshman does not give a person a reasonable excuse to be rude, disrespectful, and downright mean. immature and annoying, yes. but mean? no. i really miss xc the way it used to be. two years ago and some of last year was a lot like Aimster's team memories. we completed each other, and we worked so well together on the course. i used to be able to go to xc practice to get away from the crap of every day and just run, but whenever i went this season i just got a lot more crap. i really appreciate the comments and support, it's so great to know there's a community on here that i can count on.

~Sarah~