Advice for track?

[Anonymous]

First year doing track and field and so far I'm doing the pole vault and maybe 1600. Any advice for long distance? How can I stay running for that long without going into a jog? What should I eat? Etc.

[ATPPC]

Eh 1600 is like gone in the blink of an eye. Sounds like you are not in shape. Best thing for you to do right now is to just run as far as you can unless your lungs burn out. Take a 2 minute walk break then try again. Keep it going for 30 min or something. You'll find that your progress improves really fast.

Work it up until you can run a 5km non-stop. This is when you can start working on interval training. Do 1600m just a bit under race pace, 400m very slow recovery jog, then repeat 2 more times.

Run 3-4 times a week, every other day, varying between intervals and 5km runs. You don't want to over train and get shin splints. glhf

Eventually just work up to 10km into half marathon. Intervals just keep adding 1600m and 400m recoveries. In the world of amateur runners a person who can do 10km will pretty much dominate a person who never runs past 5km at every distance.

[ATPPC]

As a runner eat ton of carbs. Your body metabolizes those for energy the fastest and that's what you want in a race. Make sure it's still a balanced diet in vegetables, fruits, and protein though.

[Zyllem]

It truly depends on the type of runner you are. If you quicker you should be doing sprinting events, but if you can pace yourself out for the mile, then do it. I was always short distance at a max of 400... For food, I would stick to meat and veggies and lots of protein. You'll need a bunch to keep yourself energized.