High school track team?

Question

What speed do long-distance runners run, and how far do they run? I already tried sprinting and didn't really like it, but I want to try long-distance next year.

Answer 1

everyones speed is different. Usually a long distance runner will change their speed asthe race progress. When I run the 2 mile in track I run it in 1/2 mile increments. my first 1/2 will be about 2:50. My 2nd 1/2 mile is about 3:00. My 3rd is 3:00 and my last I try getting below a 2:50. My Pr is the 2 mile is an 11:33. but everyone has different speeds depending on his/her ability.

How far you run also depends on what event you are going to be running. If you are going to be doing the 2 mile than getting up to 4 miles, 4 days a week is a good idea. The other 2 days you should be doing 1000-1600 meter repeats or hill workouts (stair workout if you don't have any hills) If you are going to be doing the mile though than you really don't have any need to go over 3 miles 4 days a week. The other 2 days should be spend doing 800-1000 meter repeats and hill workouts.

Weight lifting can also help you out. If you go to the weight room low weight and high reps would be the best.

Try cross training every now and again to change things up, it is good for your body and it will help you  train other muscles. Aqua jogging, biking, and elliptical are all great for cross training. Good luck and have fun

Answer 2

It depends on what work out you are going to do, and of course during the race, you are supposed to run as fast as you can (while still pacing of course).  The longest long distance race at my school is the 2 mile but some schools are different.  If your shcool has cross country then the races are typically 5ks (3.1).  If you are training though, you should ease into it by running 2 to 3 miles a day except when you need to rest or recover.   This will help to build a base for you.  It is best to get a good mileage base before including speed work.   After this becomes easy, then you will have about 1 run long a week.  This will be slow and will be about 5 to 6 miles or more depending on what you are comfortable.  1 day  at least for rest.  You will eventually dedicate at least a day for speed work on the track.  Interval training is very importatn- this is where you may do 200 or 400 or 800 (or even mile) repeats at a certain pace with a short bit of rest in between.  Typical workout may be : 8x200 at 40 seconds each.  Dont start this until you are comfortable with running long distance first.  You say you dont like sprinting, but speed work is important for a miler or 2 miler as well.  Another day may be just an easy recovery day that will follow some hard days.  This may be like 30 minutes of easyish running but not too slow.  Another fun thing to do is fartlek and tempo runs.  Fartlek means speed play and what you do is you will just throw in some sprints at different times during a run.  LIke say 'i'm going to sprint to that telephone pole' then you will get back to normal pace for a little bit and then do it again.  Tempo runs is basically the same thing but you increase the pace for a longer period of time say like 4 minutes and then ease up and do it again.  You may eventual,y even increase it to like 10 to 15 minutes.  Be sure to have fun and dont overtrain and be sure to rest especially when first starting so you know you will not get hurt.  Hope this helps.

Answer 3

long distances is more fun for me. although i like sprinting as well. usually the pace is a little faster than a jog at first and then practically sprinting in the last half of a race. the races are usually about 3 miles or so.