I'm soo confused! plz b sincere :(?

Question

God bless u if u read and help me i know its long guys but please help me

ok this is my 2nd year running xc my first year i made it top 20 so later on my goal was to be on varsity so i trained like heck even b4 conditioning started like 2 a days and then when conditioning started i was top 5 the whole summer i only took 2 weeks off but then when i got back from vacation i started running like 11 miles and logging in 34 to 45 and this is all b4 conditiong anyways as the workouts got harder i stopped running extra even after practice i started noticing girls just get better and better and i was trying to do my best u know to stay positive i stopped running extra i rested on sundays i prayed everynight for guidance i watched marathon runners i read extra and all that stuff so now after 1 month of xc i'm not even in top14 i'm soo sad i feel like i should quit xc but i don't want 2 give up bc i don't want to dissapoint myself my coach who loves me u know and cares bc he knows i'm a hard worker my friends and eveyone around me the desire is there but i feel like my mind is sooo weak u know like i think maybe running isn't for me but then i want to prove myself wrong and i know running is mental and it takes perseverance but u know it hurts seeing my hard work go down the drain and one of my good friends who was ok at track but not varsity now she is like the best out of everyone and i don't know what she did over the summer i try to tell myself that i'm competing with girls that have up to 4 years of experience and i only have 2 this being # 2 but i need help i don't know what wrong with me whats happening to my body am i going to improve or should i quit ?!!

Answer 1

I used to run cross country in my younger days!  LOL.  One thing you might ask yourself, is this:  Are you on the right diet for such a vigorous training schedule?  It will get harder once school starts again which is very soon.  But don't give up if you love doing this.  See your doctor and ask for him to refer you to a dietitian so that you can know exactly what kind of diet you need to be on.  Also take a good multi-vitamin, drink plenty of fluids and get plenty of rest.  Try some meditation and breathing exercises if you aren't already doing so.  This will help with your focus and concentration for those long runs.  Good Luck.

Answer 2

dont give up. if hard work pays off then easy work is worthless...its always dark right before the sunshines, so just keep it up you'll do fine. god bless

Answer 3

okay, that is kinda freaky cuz i'm havin the SAME exact problem with track.  i feel like i should settle at being where i am until i really start to improve again.  Maybe you should be content where u are untill you get it back :) lol, maybe i should too

Answer 4

This is a question only you can answer, you need to stay because you want to stay.  I would also like to add this, you can't always be number one some times your very lucky to be number 4 or five of even number 100.  Many years a go when I was running XCC I was the number 7-8 guy on our college team.  In my senior year a few new freshmen showed up and I went from number 7 to number 10 really fast.  Was I unhappy?  You  better believe it, but XCC is a team sport and you cannot win alone so my job was to push the people in front of me every day because if they slacked off I was going to take their spot.  That year one of those freshmen won nationals and went on to be one of the best runner in the world.

Did I have anything to do with his success?  I like to think I helped by pushing him a little harder every day.

So don't give up hope because your not number one, you may never be number one.  If you base your life on being the best you will be disappointed, there is only one number one.  But if you base you life on being the best you can be and helping others become better you will only have success in life.  So if you enjoy running XCC stay, if you hate going for a run you probably need to go find something else to do.

Answer 5

Because you stated that prayed about your situation, I am going to add some scripture to this posting.  God excepts us to preserver in the face of hardships like hisson did whe i paid for our sins. So please don't throw in the towel just becuse things get difficult in trining for xc.  

1 Corinthians 9:24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Ecclesiastes 9:11  I have seen something else under the sun:  The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.

You can still make the varsity team, there are always changes being made to the roast throughout the season. After all you can have up to 7 runners on a team (only top 5 score).  Here in California there is a rule that states that all seniors must run in varsity level races only.  Juniors on down, can do either junior varsity or varsity depend on their ability level and how many spots are filled by seniors.  It is too early for you to give up. Keep training, anything can happen. Even if youstart out on the JV rsquad someone could get injuried and a varsity spot may open up. Then you would be ready to step in and help out the varsity team.

So keep building your base mileage, at your age you will not lose a lot of strength or endurance very fast. With proper periodization planing, your mileage peak should be about 5 weeks from your goal race (usually the state xc meet).  This is usually occures around the time of your league championships. This is a process call Periodization and should be used to map out a 12month training programs for two peak performances (one in xc and one in track and filed). To reach your genetic potential, for your present age, athletes need achieve cellular adaption which requires 24-32 weeks of planed out training.



Try to get in a 5k race before the season officially starts that will give you a good indicator of your current fitness level. Check with your coach in this first s/he may and already planned a time trail (a practice race) that can serve the same purpose. This would ideal, in that you would know exactly how you compare (in terms of fitness) with your teammates. I do it with my team every year where that run against those runners that have graduated and moved. Please not that at a workshop I attend at the Olympic training Center in Chula Vista (San Diego) they stressed that your long runs should only be 20% of you total weekly mileage.

But tonight sit in your room with the light dimed and close your eyes and visualize yourself doing everything that need to be done the night before a race. Have everything packed and read to go. This will help you develop you won prerace day routine.

Now visualize everything you need to do on Race day, from warming up to stretching; everything up to gun going off.  Tomorrow you will visualize yourself for running the perfect XC race mile-by-mile in every detail. Focus on this process …the more you see yourself doing positive things in your running the more likely it will happen in your training runs and on race day when it count.    

God Speed

Answer 6

You should eat beans

Their good for running.

But back to the question.

Yeah, don't give up.

prove yourself wrong.

that way you will blow everyone away with how good your inproving

but to yourself.

that is even bigger.

Yes darlingg.

Stay on it.

and don't let all the good work go to the drain.

get to your goal in life.

and don't let anything get in your way or anyone.

Hope I helped.

:] Best of wishes.Oh and let me know how this works out for you please.

thanks.

Answer 7

okay so according to this you have put in an extreme amount of effort into running.

are you gonna let that all go to waste??

no you aren't. your gonna keep going strong

and if you aren't reaching your goal of being in the top 14 then set another, this time a little easier, you will feel good about your self and give you a little self confidence. perhaps a time goal?

you have worked way to hard to just quit

you will see improvement from last year. just give it some time.

good luck.

Answer 8

wow you sound really dedicated...I'm quite impressed with your drive for your goals. Honestly if you want it that bad and you can run and are a decent runner then I wouldn't worry...you're time will come to be on varsity..your young so if you keep with it then you will be a leader of the team..I promise you that by the time you are a junior or senior you will be a leader of the team and you will be on varsity. And if you have been this dedicated so far you might as well keep going and not give up on something you want so badly. Keep up the good work and good luck.  

Answer 9

You should definitely NOT quit! You should be so proud of yourself for pushing yourself and persevering. I know I would never have that amount of mental discipline and dedication in me. I've had the same problems in soccer. Don't let a mental block and low self-esteem stop you. Do track for yourself, not because you want to compete with everyone else. Look in the mirror and be proud of your accomplishments, because absolutely nothing is wrong with you.

If you do feel discomfort in your chest or trouble breathing and that's what's stopping, please go see your doctor. :)