Concerned about running...

BirdMan0198

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Nov 2, 2018
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Greetings:


I am currently a senior in high school and was accepted to the USNA back in November. In December 2018, I avulsed my right hamstring tendon in a school wrestling match. I had surgery on 03 Jan 2019, and I am just now able to get back into running. I am currently going through the waiver process with a medical correspondent since my surgery did not directly disqualify me. I have kept my strength and cardiovascular ability up through strength training, swimming, and elliptical/bike. I should be able to max out the pushups and situps of the PRT, but I can only run about 100 meters without my hamstring giving out. I am doing my best to strengthen and condition the muscle, but I am concerned that I might not be ready by I-Day.

My questions:
•How far/fast should I be able to run by I-Day? I know the minimum for the PRT, but we will run farther than 1.5 miles.
•How do I know when to ask for a deferment, and when is it too late?
 
What do you mean going through the waiver process with a medical correspondent? Are you saying that USNA has put a hold or something on your appointment? I don’t know what you mean by asking for a deferment? What is your actual standing with USNA?

I will say that you have to meet certain standards to continue with Iday processing. DS has an assigned roommate that was sent home BC a reported injury didn’t heal to the standards.

Plebe summer is difficult on a healthy body. It would be impossible to participate coming in injured. I’m not sure what happens in a situation like yours.

You run alllllll the time plebe summer. And not just running, but chopping. And stairs. Constantly. It’s all very stressful on your body. I’m not trying to be a downer but rather telling you the reality of it. DS was a middle distance track runner, used to running. But still said it was taxing.

Wishing you healing!!
 
What do you mean going through the waiver process with a medical correspondent? Are you saying that USNA has put a hold or something on your appointment? I don’t know what you mean by asking for a deferment? What is your actual standing with USNA?

I will say that you have to meet certain standards to continue with Iday processing. DS has an assigned roommate that was sent home BC a reported injury didn’t heal to the standards.

Plebe summer is difficult on a healthy body. It would be impossible to participate coming in injured. I’m not sure what happens in a situation like yours.

You run alllllll the time plebe summer. And not just running, but chopping. And stairs. Constantly. It’s all very stressful on your body. I’m not trying to be a downer but rather telling you the reality of it. DS was a middle distance track runner, used to running. But still said it was taxing.

Wishing you healing!!

I have been sending documents to a health technician at USNA. By asking for a deferment, I mean defering my appointment to the next year—I don't know if this is ever done. All the technician has said is that my medical status is changed to "Incomplete" until I send her all of the documents requested. My actual application still reads "Complete" however.
 
I have the answer to your first bullet point. There is no mandated run time for I-Day but things will be a lot easier on you if you get into good shape. I recommend being able to run sub 10:00 minutes prior to I-Day. The first full day of Plebe summer you will take a mock PRT and you should strive to do well even though it doesn’t matter. A couple days before parents weekend there will be a real PRT. If you can go into Plebe sub 10:00 on your 1.5 mile run you will likely make an A on the PRT by the end of Plebe summer.

As far as distance running goes you have a lot of 2-3 mile runs throughout the summer. The only long run you will have is a 10k at the end of Plebe Summer. The 10K will be a pretty slow pace.

Here is a link to a PRT grade calculator for your reference: http://www.angelfire.com/md/USNA2002/prt.html

Good Luck!
 
You should be ready to run 3 miles fairly comfortably by I-Day. By the end of Plebe Summer, you’ll do a 10K. Each day, the distances and pace will vary.

The challenge you face is this: If you haven’t run regularly up to now, your body will be in for a shock. Not only will you run each day, you’ll also “chop” through Bancroft Hall (think high-knee jogging). And you’ll be constantly on the move. Add 90 degree temps and 90% humidity, and your body will start to feel the toll. Even if your lungs and heart hold up, you can run into the common plebe ailment of stress fractures (or shin splints). If that’s the case, you’ll end up in pool PEP, which legend says is even harder than regular PEP.

It’s up to you whether to carry on. You know better than anyone what your body is capable of. Just know that this is what lies ahead. Best wishes to you.
 
Chopping, as I recall, also includes ladders (stairs). No elevator use unless you are a broken plebe. If you live on the 5th deck...

If you are found medically unfit for admission after having been offered an appointment, for something that just won’t be healed or cleared in time, then I think what happens is you get what is essentially an LOA - go get well and fit, keep up your grades, get a nom, re-apply, we will probably offer you a spot in 2024.
 
Agree on being able to run 3 miles comfortably by I Day. There will be kids who can barely run a mile. Most will be better than that. There really isn’t a deferment. What USNA normally does is issues an LOA for the next year. You would have to compete for a nom again and redo parts of the application. USNA will sort of walk you thru that. Every year this happens to a few appointees who either have an injury like you, one right before I Day or the first few days of Plebe Summer (we had a kid blow his knee out on Day 1 or 2 of PEP). You spend a ton of time on your feet Plebe Summer and walk/run miles daily. PEP might be a 3 mile run that day, but add in everything else you might be close to 6-7 miles for the day. It’s good you are on top of this and working closely with USNA. Best of luck.
 
@Capt MJ and @NavyHoops are both correct with the LOA comments. I was at the parent session at my sons's CVW and asked the Dean of Admissions about the 'what if' scenario where a candidate blows out his/her knee getting off the bus on I-Day. He told me that the person would automatically be on top of the list for the next year. Another thing that he told me was that if this person were to want to attend USNA the following year, he/she should take classes at a community college. You need to keep your brain functioning, and there is no need to pay tuition at a 4 year school for that one year. It doesn't make financial sense.
 
This thread made me think of the following stats, received on parents weekend 2018. In addition to running during plebe summer, plebes completed

2,900,850 pushups
1,917,300 squats
4,348,785 sit-ups
 
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This thread made me think of the following stats, received on parents weekend 2018. In addition to running during plebe summer, plebes completed

2,900,850 pushups
1,917,300 squats
4,348,785 sit-ups



That means plebes do about 70,000 pushups a day. Beyond impossible. Not sure where you got that stat... or if I completely miss your sarcasm...?
 
This thread made me think of the following stats, received on parents weekend 2018. In addition to running during plebe summer, plebes completed

2,900,850 pushups
1,917,300 squats
4,348,785 sit-ups



That means plebes do about 70,000 pushups a day. Beyond impossible. Not sure where you got that stat... or if I completely miss your sarcasm...?

No sarcasm....presented by USNA at Parents Weekend on a slide power point presentation. Collectively, not individually. It's impressive, imo!
 
Yeah, divide by approx. 1,200 and you get about 2,417 push-ups.
 
It good to see chopping being brought up in the discussion - its not discussed frequently. Everyone talks about run, run, run to get ready for Plebe Summer, however the chopping part is really taxing and demanding especially in the P-ways and squaring corners. DS said chopping was way worse than the running aspect of Plebe summer. He was on 4th deck I believe, so it was the stairs too; up/down, up/down - he hated going to his room....
I hope you heal up!
 
What about one-way p-ways? Say you're on the 4th deck and you are on one-way p-ways. Let's imagine what it's like to go to the head from your room, if the head is to port and the one way p-ways are to starboard, you have to go down ten flights of stairs to the zero deck, go to the other end of the wing and come up ten flights of stairs back to your 4th deck, just to go to the head that you could see from your room.

Oh, you'll get in shape real fast. :D
 
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