Prep for plebe summer running

academyinterested said:
justdoit19 said:
Landlock nailed it. Great “how-to” advice. In fact, I feel inspired!!

DS is a current plebe. Was a recruited track athlete. Not distance, middle distance. So he was in shape and used to running going into I-day. He said “I would have run more” when asked if he would have prepared differently (also he would have swam....he’s an aqua rock....but that’s a whole different post). You will run or chop everywhere you go. DS said it equated to about 8 miles a day. They have a feet check every night to keep an eye on blisters, etc. DS still had sore shins initially. But no injuries. Like landlock said, booted plebes are not unusual.

GET GOOD RUNNING SHOES with good support. Cushioned. Not the flexible trendy ones. Go to an actual running store and have a professional fit you. Tell them what you will be doing. This is important! Buying two pair and breaking them both in is a really good idea. You will take one, and your parents can mail the other pair. That way your shoes can adequately dry out between uses.

And here is a tip your parents will appreciate: pick shoes that can be easily identified. Think a neon stripe. Nothing TOO crazy. You don’t want to be ridiculed. But something your parents can look for in a mass of plebes to identify their person. This is seriously important. DS had a brighter blue shoe and I thought I would be able to find him easy. Nope. Next time we will pick a bright neon accent. Or whole shoe.

This is such an exciting time! Congrats to your whole family !!
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Should I buy a good pair now or wait till plebe summer is closer? Thanks for sharing your DS experience.
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Personal opinion is now. Your feet will take the greatest beating of all. IMO give them the best chance as you can to be the best prepared they can be. Note: only go for the splash of color if other criteria are met. And that is only to help your parents find you in the masses. THEY will appreciate being able to spot you! YOU may not care.
 
I am also a candidate for class of 2023. I am a female if that makes a difference. I have never been a runner i my life so I knew I needed to do something. I started training for a marathon back in October and this has greatly increased my distance running. I can run around a 7:30 mile and I can now run at a constant 9:30 -10:00 pace for 4 hours. This may seem daunting but when i started i struggled with running barely two miles and now I'm running 20 miles. Its amazing what you can train your body to do in just a few months.
 
justdoit19 said:
GET GOOD RUNNING SHOES with good support. Cushioned. Not the flexible trendy ones. Go to an actual running store and have a professional fit you. Tell them what you will be doing. This is important! Buying two pair and breaking them both in is a really good idea. You will take one, and your parents can mail the other pair. That way your shoes can adequately dry out between uses.
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So they can bring their own running shoes?
I thought the plebes/mids had to wear only what is issued to them -
 
100 pct yes they can bring their own shoes. The also get issued shoes. For things like PRT, they can wear their own. They wear the ones they want to take on IDay. And then someone can mail a second pair once they get their mailing address.
 
I'm an old, kinda fat dad so take this for what it's worth but in my early 40's I decided to train for marathons, with a pretty minimal base (they used to refer to my body type as "Clydesdale"). I found an 18-week training regime that went from 2 miles per day to 20 milers at week 15 and doing 50+ miles a week at the end. I ran some type of distance 5 days a week. I never got hurt, never had shin splints (all pavement running), never had blisters (on my feet, anyway - not talking about the band-aids I had to always put on two certain parts of my chest) and the week before the marathon, I did 5 miles at a 6:15 pace - at age 40 - after years of low activity. This is not to brag (I could care less now) but to point out that if you find a reasonable program, start 4 months out, and follow it, you will find the 103 miles over 6 weeks to be pretty much cake - at age 18, this should be cake. At age 40 I ran a 3:57:59 (chip) and a 3:59:59 (clock - I actually sprinted to the finish line when I saw the seconds ticking off). I was carrying 231 pounds but I started my training at 255. Humans were made to run long distance.

There is no substitute for doing the miles (but ramp up, ramp down, recover, and do them sensibly). Everything will toughen up. Some (not a lot) speed work and lunges really helps, too. Heed the advice above and get good shoes that are designed for your body type, foot type, and stride. I have such high arches, you could sail a windjammer under them but I went to a specialty store that fit me well. The wrong shoe type will kill you.

Find the time to train - don't put it off. I got up at 5:30 to run and beat the heat (and get it over with). My wife was so glad when I gave this up after four years.
 
ders_dad said:
I'm an old, kinda fat dad so take this for what it's worth but in my early 40's I decided to train for marathons, with a pretty minimal base (they used to refer to my body type as "Clydesdale"). I found an 18-week training regime that went from 2 miles per day to 20 milers at week 15 and doing 50+ miles a week at the end. I ran some type of distance 5 days a week. I never got hurt, never had shin splints (all pavement running), never had blisters (on my feet, anyway - not talking about the band-aids I had to always put on two certain parts of my chest) and the week before the marathon, I did 5 miles at a 6:15 pace - at age 40 - after years of low activity. This is not to brag (I could care less now) but to point out that if you find a reasonable program, start 4 months out, and follow it, you will find the 103 miles over 6 weeks to be pretty much cake - at age 18, this should be cake. At age 40 I ran a 3:57:59 (chip) and a 3:59:59 (clock - I actually sprinted to the finish line when I saw the seconds ticking off). I was carrying 231 pounds but I started my training at 255. Humans were made to run long distance.

There is no substitute for doing the miles (but ramp up, ramp down, recover, and do them sensibly). Everything will toughen up. Some (not a lot) speed work and lunges really helps, too. Heed the advice above and get good shoes that are designed for your body type, foot type, and stride. I have such high arches, you could sail a windjammer under them but I went to a specialty store that fit me well. The wrong shoe type will kill you.

Find the time to train - don't put it off. I got up at 5:30 to run and beat the heat (and get it over with). My wife was so glad when I gave this up after four years.
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What training plan is this? Do you have a link?
 
Google “Train for your first marathon” and you will find all kinds of variations on the same concept. It was an 18-week program
 
I read the original post, and asked my son who is a current Plebe. He said build a good mileage baseline, then add distance over time. Invest in a good pair of shoes, and have them fitted at a running store. Don't neglect speed work, and run frequently on hills if possible. Lastly, add weight to some of your runs...carry a backpack etc.

This is pretty consistent with what I saw him doing in prep...he did fine.
 
Advice given above is terrific. One other thing . . . it's not uncommon to be able to train between now and h.s. graduation. You have a routine that includes school. Some folks find that, once graduation hits, the workouts grind to a halt. There are the graduation events (with family and friends), beach week, maybe a week or two of vacation with the family. Before you know it, a month+ has gone by with minimal workouts and you show up on I-Day out of shape.

Obviously, you should enjoy graduation and vacation! Just make time for your workouts as well.
 
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