IndianaRunner

[Drake]

Here you can discuss Josh Neideck's training.

Feel free to ask questions, make comments, critique or just read!

Hopefully, Josh will chime in and answer.

Here you can find his latest blog entry:
http://indianarunner.com/JoshNeideckTrainingBlog2011.aspx

[pantherxc14]

Hey, this is Josh. I’m excited about these blogs because I think I’m going to learn a lot from these more experienced guys about how I should be training in order to achieve the goals I have set.

Looking back on last year, I have to admit that I had more success as a freshman than I expected. But here’s what is sticking with me from last year…
1.) missed qualifying for State in XC by 1.03 seconds.
2.) missed qualifying for State in the 1600 by .22 seconds. (I was fortunate to get a call back to State though.)
3.) missed medaling at New Balance Nationals by .29 seconds.

That’s my motivation this year. Obviously, I have to work a little harder than I did last year…more miles and more time in the weight room. That’s why I’m excited about the chance to learn from these guys who have already been where I want to be. Another reason to be excited about this blog is the accountability it gives me in my training. I don’t want to be the guy that trains the least!

I’m looking forward to the summer and the XC season coming up. The Eastbrook XC team qualified for Semi-State for the first time in school history last year…and we had no seniors. So we’ve got everyone coming back and there is a lot more interest and excitement than in past years. We’re a pretty small school, but we’ve already had 16 guys out running together…that’s more than we usually have on the team in the fall. But we have a lot of hard work to do.

I’ll be happy to share my summer and fall with you and, hopefully, answer some questions if anyone has any. Thanks for reading. (Oh, by the way, 1st week back after one week off…38 miles.)

[runner1727]

Do you think that playing multiple sports has helped in your development as a runner?

[steburg]

Do you ever plan on focusing on just running or will you continue to run and play both baseball and basketball?

[pantherxc14]

Do you think that playing multiple sports has helped in your development as a runner?

I am pretty sure that running has helped me in the other sports, but I don’t know how much the other sports help my running. If they have helped, it might be because it gives me a nice needed break both mentally and physically; also it gives my legs a rest. On the other hand, it seems like most of the elite runners focus on only running out of season… maybe that is what you have to do to run with the best. That is something I am still trying to figure out. Now if my other sport was something like swimming, then I am sure it would be beneficial. The problem with that is that swimming and I do not get along very well.

[1bob11]

How many miles per week do you get up to man?

[pantherxc14]

Do you ever plan on focusing on just running or will you continue to run and play both baseball and basketball?

It makes me very sad to say this, but I think there is a chance I will be playing my last baseball games this weekend. The high school baseball coaches have talked to me about trying to pull off the double of baseball and track next year. I have thought about this quite a bit, and I think that if I were a sprinter/jumper I might be able to get the practice in that I need for both. Unfortunately as a distance runner, I don’t feel like there is enough time to get the necessary work in. I hope to continue playing basketball in the winter because it is just something that I love to do and it does not interfere with cross-country or track. It gives me a nice break from running and it keeps me indoors during the cold winter months.
My parents have always encouraged me to do the things I enjoy. I guess I enjoy a variety of different things, but I am starting to like running more and more.

[pantherxc14]

How many miles per week do you get up to man?

I have never kept track of my summer mileage before, but this year i have made that a priority. Last week was my first week of xc training and i got about 38 miles in. I plan on increasing that throughout the summer, and i hope to be in the 50-60mpw range by the end of the summer. By the way, I have been recording my workouts on running2win.com. It has been a very nice help in keeping track of all the miles that i put in.

[Illegitimate]

Link to your running2win.com logs?

[pantherxc14]

http://www.running2win.com/community/public-log.asp?m=jdneideck&k=pantherXC14

I've had a few people ask me for this link so I've tried to post it above. My goal is to add about 5 miles per week so that by the first of August I'll be in the 50-60 mpw range.

Let me know if that link doesn't work and I'll keep trying to make my Running2Win log public. Thanks.

[thatrunnerguy]

I'm going to be a freshman this year, and I was wondering how you took out the big races for the first mile/ first K. Would you go out easy, your 5k race pace (ex. 5:40 for a 17:40), or hard?

[pantherxc14]

Runnerguy…that’s a good question and something good to think about, especially for a young runner. First of all, I think at your first big meets you’ll find it hard to go out at a controlled pace. There is so much excitement and adrenaline that it’s easy to get caught up in it and go out too fast. So it takes a lot of discipline to stick with your own race plan. My first big race my freshman year was the Western Invite. I went out hard and actually led for the first mile or so and then kinda just watched as a few older guys passed right by me during the middle of the race.

Some guys can go out fast and just lead the whole race. I was able to do that some last year, but in the big races you find that even if you go out fast there will be guys right with you…and they seem to have the ability to pick up the pace throughout the race.

I guess to directly answer your question, when I was a freshman I usually went out fast and ran as hard as I could for as long as I could. This year I hope to develop enough strength and confidence in my finish that I can be a little more controlled early in the race and finish the race at a quicker pace than I started it. I’m always amazed by guys who can run negative splits for each mile. I hope to be able to do that this year. I suppose it will take a little experimentation on your part to figure out how quick to run your first mile without killing your last mile.

Maybe it would be a confidence builder to start off more controlled and be passing people at the end rather than starting off too fast and getting passed at the end? I’m sure you’ll figure it out after a few races and develop your own style that works best for you.

Thanks for the question…good luck this year.

[Run_4_Life]

How hard was it to keep up with BOTH of the Neeley sisters?

[pantherxc14]

Run_4_Life

Well I can tell you that they take the warm up out at a quick pace! As we approached the hill workout, I was getting to the top of the first hill, they came up behind and lapped me for the second time! Seriously though, they ran very well for their first time out on The Backbone! They have a great advantage to their training and that advantage is that they have each other! They both have great determination...two of the most driven athletes I've ever known! The best part about them is that they have their priorities straight! They understand what is most important in their lives and they make those things priorities. Keeping their priorities straight helps them succeed not only in running, but in academics and their lives. All in all, I was able to hang with them on the hill workout. But the basketball didn't go as well. They play a mean game of P-I-G. I am happy to say that i did not finish last, but it was close! These girls are very fun to be around and I look forward to running with them again in the future!

[runrunrun]

Was it hard to be the leader of your team as a freshman?

[pantherxc14]

runrunrun,

I hope that my presence on the team helped motivate my teammates to work harder and run faster, but running the fastest doesn't necessarily make me the team "leader". My teammates treated me just the same as they would have if I was the 7th runner. They are a bunch of great guys who understand what we need to do in order to be successful. As for team leader, I did try to encourage quite a bit, but I would not give myself the title as team leader. Even though we did not have any seniors, we had 6 or 7 juniors who we considered the "captains." They are all back this year as seniors and we're really looking to guys like David Rodman, Lance Hoch and Nolan Benedict to keep this year's team focused on accomplishing our goals. But for the most last year I was just another runner on the team who wanted to do as good as he could to win some team races!

[1bob11]

Do you always take a day off, even during the season? You mentioned that you guys tried to get in as many miles as you could in the time slot you had. Why not go for another 5/4 double or something like that on Sunday?

[pantherxc14]

1bob,

I do try to take a day off every week. With church, family stuff and youth group on Sunday that is usually a day off for me. If I’ve missed a day during the week I try to “make it up” on Sundays sometimes. As I get older and start looking to run 60-70 miles or more I may have to go out all 7 days. But my goal for this summer was to be in the mid-50 range and I was able to do that in 6 days. Last year, I probably never ran more than 35 miles a week. So the jump to mid-50s was pretty significant for me.

Thanks for the question.

[iwearperushortshorts]

What is your goal going as it pertains to semi-state. Are you going in with the mentality to win it all, or will you be satisfied with qualifying for Terre haute?

[pantherxc14]

What is your goal going as it pertains to semi-state. Are you going in with the mentality to win it all, or will you be satisfied with qualifying for Terre haute?

My number one individual goal all year has been to get out of semi-state and run at state. So if I'm there and I run well and make the top 15 I am going to be happy

However, every time I step to the starting line my goal is to win the race. If I am fortunate enough to be running at semi-state,hopefully I'll find myself with the leaders at the 2 mile mark and we'll see what happens from there.

Lozano and Zielinski are super fast. If Culler gets healthy he will be though for anyone to beat. Silcox is always right there and he is going to win one of these big races sometime. Poyner looks strong. I could probably list 10 or 12 guys who could be right up there at the front. There are so many great runners and, being from a smaller school, I do not get to race against them very often. So i am not quite sure what to expect when we are all on the same course together.

We are running at the New Haven Classic on the 24th. That will be a good test and I will have a better idea of how I measure up after the race.

[TheSouthsideMiler]

I saw on your training blog that on Saturday you headed to Terre Haute to watch a collegiate race. Was this your first collegiate race you watched in person? Do you think it was a good experience to see collegiate runners race? Also I know your only a sophomore but did that race help you in "considering" some schools later on down the road?

[pantherxc14]

SouthSideMiler-
This actually was the first collegiate race I have watched. It was interesting to see them cross the 5k mark still with a 3k to go! It was cool watching them! I had fun seeing some of the ex-IHSAA runners compete! As of now, running is not going to be the decider of where I attend college.The main focus for me right now is that I want to get into Med-school. So wherever that leads me (as of now) is where I will go! This though is all liable to change because like you said, im only a sophomore! I have a lot of high school ahead of me!

[iwearperushortshorts]

Haven't seen your name in any track results, is everything alright?