Notes
I have been wanting to write this for a little while now. I think it is important to go back and look at what worked last season and what did not. Then I will address my plans for the future.
I think what I am happy with this season is that I consistently improved. I opened the season in 2:06/ 3:22 for 1200/ 4:40 for mile. I took my 800 open time down to 2:02.3 and I ran a 2-flat split which I am happy with. My mile time never really got better though. I felt like I was in great shape at the beginning of the season and sort of just held it from there. The workouts I was doing were faster and my running was consistent. I think that I was all anaerobic by the end of the season... which is good for the 800 and down, but I really wanted to make this season about the 1500. I do not think that I put in the proper training for the 1500. I think this shows in my race results and I think it shows in how all the distance guys ran. I did not get any base in for the season and we started doing workouts in November. By the time my 1500s came around, I was not prepared. The only part I could do was the last 200, but unfortunately that does not matter when you are 15 seconds behind everybody. I was also very frustrated with my lack of any aerobic depth in my training. If we did a tempo run, I was winded after a mile.
The other thing that was lacking this season was consistency. At this point, I am over all the factors we could not control (facilities and all that, we can run wherever, it does not matter). Our training involved throwing stuff in and taking stuff out constantly without anyone being aware of why. Hills were in and then they weren't. We stopped lifting in February and I do not felt like the results were there by the end of the season. Plyos were non-existent. I mean, come on.
But, these are all things to work on. No training plan is perfect, so I think by us all working together and putting together that seems smart and appropriate, we can show consistent improvement across the board.
So, when it comes down to it, I am disappointed with my own personal season. I think I was prepared to run some big times and never really did. However, what we gained in our team dynamic was amazing. We came together as a group and that was fantastic.
Anywho, on to the next season. I have big plans for this summer. I am obviously going to need to get in a routine, but I should be able to do that. I am president of our club and I want to be able to show that in my race performance, not just leadership. I think that will motivate me to get out that door every morning before work, as hard as it may be. BIg plans this fall. I am going to set my goals high because that is the only way to do it. I ran 28:30 last fall (realistically). I think I can drop a minute off of that and run 5:30 pace consistently in my races. However, I would like to be under 27. I think that is realistic and possible, but I need to be committed. Because of what I mentioned earlier, I am going to start increasing my mileage. Not a lot, but enough to boost my aerobic base and be able to handle the intensity of our cross country season. I am going to be smart and take it slow, but ultimately I want to be maxing out around 70-75 miles when I have to. I think this will go a long way for me, but being smart is key. I can't go around overworking my body. If I need time off, I will take it, but I think if I am smart, I will be ready to handle the workload of this summer.