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Q and A - Is a quick refresh between runs possible? - NikeRunning.comPublished by
I ran Cross Country, indoor track, and now I’m doing Outdoor Track. This is my first year running for my school (I’m a sophomore, 15 years old) and I went from being awful to somewhat good. That’s not my question, however. My coach likes to put every distance runner into every event. I’m in the 4x800, mile, 2 mile, and open 800. The thing about it is, I try to give it my all in the mile, because I have a much higher chance of placing in that event than the 2 mile. The 2 mile is almost right after the mile is over, so we only get about 5 minutes to relax before the first call. When the first call is made, I’m emotionally and mentally drained. Because I’m so tired from the mile, I can’t put 100% effort into the 2 mile, and I usually get mediocre times because of how tired I am. I have no chance at all to place in that event, andit’s frustrating for my body to go through that. What can I do in such a short time interval (5 to 10 minutes) to feel refreshed and ready to run again? I don’t want to let my team down by scratching out an event. Thanks, Joe Joe - Thanks for the question. I'm so happy to hear that you're willing to give it your all when racing and that you're taking this task - running the mile and the coming back ten minutes later to the run the two-mile - seriously. The first thing we have to establish is that I'm obviously not your coach and that your coach likely is having you running all four events every meet as a part of a long-term plan. That's an extreme workload, but sometimes extreme workloads once a week can be a good thing for a high school athlete. I can only assume your coach believes that you'll gain fitness primarily from racing rather than having a challenging practice or two each week. As the saying goes, there are many roads to Rome, and having someone run four races could make sense in the right weekly plan. That said, there isn't anything you can do to be fresh for the two-mile given that you've run the mile all out! The two mile is a gut check, regardless of the fatigue an athlete has going into the race. Even if you were fresh, the two-mile is a race where you never really get that comfortable, if you're racing to your potential. So there is definitely some psychological training/callousing that is going on when you run the mile, rest ten minutes, and then run the two-mile. ...but from a physiological standpoint, it will be tough for you to run fast in the two-mile, even if you're a huge talent and you're fit, as long as you competed hard in the mile. Sorry, but that's the reality of that double coming so close together in the meet schedule. My advice would be to keep doing what you're doing and not be hard on yourself regarding your time or place in the two mile, but to make sure you compete to the best of your ability. The time and place won't be the same as your mile, but that's fine – because you’re still gaining fitness. Bottom line Joe is that the fact that you're competing in the mile and then coming back to run the two-mile is commendable and I hope your coach appreciates that effort, both psychologically and physiologically. Best of luck with the rest of your season and I hope those mile races keep getting faster! Jay
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