Will I ever be an extremely good athlete?

Question

I've asked this question before, and I got loads of answers, telling me to believe, but I would like to know what realistically might happen.

Thanks

I'm thirteen, 5ft 10 inches, and about 10 stone.I have a little fat around my body.

I want to be a very good long distance runner.

I've started off at a mile and a half for 5/7 days a week. I have adapted a very healthy diet.

I have got quite big bones.

I am currently an average runner.

Will I ever be a good athlete.

I mean like 1500m and above only.

How long do you think it will take me to do 1500m after like half a year or a year. I can't remember what I took last time I did it, but it was around 6 and a half minutes. I'm trying to reduce that to just over 5.

do you think I can do it?

any additional details you want, tell me in your answer, I will add them and you edit your question.

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

Okay, here is my story.  Last year I started cross country (as a freshman) and I had never ran in my life!  I was so out of shape.  I was the slowest on the team.  I worked my butt off though and got better.  Over the summer I ran 250 miles.  Now for cross country I am in shape.  I keep up with the top girls who were on varsity last year.  I have a chance on being on varsity.  Almost all of the people on varsity are naturally talented.  Many of them are better than me and they never ran over the summer.  But if you practice hard you will succeed believe me.  Everyone tells me, "Oh you improved so much."  And it makes me feel so good.  Talent and body type is important in running (my body is a bit larger than I'd like.)  But talent only gets you so far.  So if you work hard you will succeed.  Instead of saying ,"I wish I were faster," actually try at the workouts.  Run hard on off season.  Don't have a life (lol) but you will get your dream come true.  And it will be worth it believe me.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Put the training in and you'll find out.

Answer 3

yeah; i dont how fit you are currently but i would seriously join the team if i was you

for one thing, you really dont know how good you can be

Answer 4

Try doing 2800 in 12 mins.....

then you can consider yourself a decent athlete

Answer 5

There are a few things that will help you improve, the main one is to train and practise. Time will tell if you become a good athlete, but there are a few things that you can do to help yourself.

You have a goal to achieve and that will help you focus on what you are doing so the long and hard training sessions will have a point. Oh, don't worry about your little body fat - that is there to help you grow at the moment.

How to get faster? Well you have to learn to move your legs faster and also improve your stamina so that you can run a whole race at speed without slowing down. To do this you need to do several types of training sessions I think. Consider doing 5 sessions a week - not 7 - and make the session half an hour long including rests (any less than that and is it worth changing and changing and showering afterwards - you spend more time getting ready than you do training!)

You could try some of these sessions and I'm assuming you are wanting to do 1500m here, though you can use the ideas for other distances.

Sprints. Go to a track and do 200m sprint, jog back and rest and recover and repeat a few times. this gets your legs used to moving quickly

Fartlec. On the track on down the street, jog a distance - perhaps 200m or 400m, then sprint a distance (not an all out sprint), then jog another distance and then sprint and repeat this On the street jog between 2 lamp posts and sprint between the next 2 and repeat

HIlls. Find a hill and jog up it, then run down it,again this gives you fast legs.

These get you faster and you can combine these in a half hour session

Stamina.

To get stamina for 1500m you need to train to run the distance and more

On a track just run distances, 1500m, rest and repeat a few times in one session, or a shorter distance of 800m but faster than you want to race at, or 3200m but a bit slower than your race pace. These will all build your stamina

Go on the streets and jog constantly for 10 to 15 minutes, rest and jog back again, again building stamina

Find a hill and jog to it, run up it hard and jog down rest and recover and repeat, this builds leg muscles

So you get the idea - train speed on one day, stamina on the next and rest on another day.

Other things you might consider is to prepare for th race well - sleep well the night or 2 before a race, make sure you are well hydrated (you drink enough water), and things like that. Oh you might also want to join an athletics club with a coach who can advise you.

Now the time you might expect to get? Well 6 minutes for 1500m is good going but not brilliant, but its better than most could do. Top marathon runers run 26 consistant 5 minute miles and faster to put that in comparison. 5 minute miles might be a good goal to aim for now, and then improve from there. With a bit of work and effort that is possible.

Answer 6

At your age, you have nothing to lose.  Go for it!  Only time will tell if your training and dedication pays off, and you become a great runner.  But on your journey, even if you never make it to the 5 minute mile, you will learn great things about yourself along the way.  You will also have fun.

Genetics determine which dedicated athletes become good runners.  It sounds like you've got the dedication, so now all you have to do is wait and see how your body develops.  Sounds like you're off to a good start, so keep it up!

Answer 7

dude, 6 and 1/2 minutes is a REALLY good time for a 13 year old on the 1500. you've got this, just stick to your normal routine, go a little harder, but very gradually so your body can also get used to the change , and as you get older you will improve

Answer 8

Keep training and if you can get to around 4 minutes by the time you are 16, you will have a very good chance of making it

Answer 9

you need to lose the "little fat" and you can be an average runner. you have to be a suberb runner