Getting better at running..may be going to state!?

Question

How can i get better at running..like cross country..i ran a 5k in like 23 minutes right now and i wanted to get that time around 17 or 18..i am a girl by the way.. Is it possible to drop like 8 minutes?? what can i do to get better like workouts..and also want can i eat..like for breakfast, lunch and dinner...right now i get a gornolo bar for breakfast and eat soup for dinner..i usually don;t have lunch..so what would you suggest eating to become a better runner??/ PLEASE HELP..i really want togo to state for cross country......

Answer 1

well id be running long distances evry afternoon or whenever. Id be excersising and eating healthy.

Answer 2

Hey Im a track star, Mark Dotson, anyway my doctor just told me i need to stack up on the whole wheat stuff and eat fish and chicken healthy stuff like that. Try going to runnersworld.com and clicking the nutrition section they'll give you a good list of stuff to eat and as far as training go to that same website and they give you a workout plan based on your current times so that should be good for you as long as you stay motivated. I started off not being able to run 23 minute 5ks and in like two months i went to running 17 minute 3 milers my freshman year, now ima junior and i am about to hit the 14's you just gotta work for it, dont hurt yourself though

Answer 3

Well, dropping 8 minutes would put you at a 15 minute 5k which is probably not going to happen. But, you don't need to be running sub 5-minute miles to get to state.

You won't improve that much by changing your eating habits, either. I don't know how old you are now or how you train, but you'll have to really devote yourself to running to improve that much. Like running 5 days / week pretty much year-round if you don't already. It's hard to be more specific w/out knowing your details. Also, you'll need to be mentally tough. I'm not sure how you train for that, though. Maybe read some Tony Robbins or something?