Fitness
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Should I tone it down?


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Hey I'm Melissa and I'm 17. I'm pretty active and usually run 6 out of the 7 days a week (if not all 7) and average 6-8 miles per run plus I'm a teenager! Now I started in track again which is Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and I was wondering if I should be running on those days as well. My schedule would look a little like this:

Mon - Running (5 miles) + Track and Field Practice 
Tues - Same as Monday
Wed - Running (7 miles)
Thurs - Same as Monday
Fri -  Running (6 Miles)
Sat - Running (5 miles)
Sun - Running (9-10 miles) + 2 hr dance class

I was just wondering if cutting out the running on days I have Track and Field practice would be more beneficial for my strength training or hinder my preformances (Since track practices aren't as hard as my gym workouts). Also I do not like a lot of meat so what would be some good protein foods inorder to build muscle? Thank-you!
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If you are asking if it is too much I think that you know that it is.  Your muscles will start if not already breaking down.  Beans have lots of protein, whey protein shakes are good, fish.  You  can google calorie count for a list of high protein foods
Oh to be young again! You should probably only run about 5 days a week, now you have all the energy in the world but you need to think of the future
Most of the people I know who run 40+ miles a week are significantly older than you.  Which means that their tissues (bones, ligaments, tendons, muscles) are as fully developed as they are going to be, so the constant pounding won't be affecting them quite so much.  I would think you would be better served to add in some breaks. 

But, my best advice would be to talk to your track coach.  Since you didn't specify which events you will be practicing for, I think that the coach would be much better suited to tell you if it's at all reasonable to continue your current schedule. 
Actually my track coach and I are training for a half marathon together and she is usually the one I run with on weekends. She doesn't say anything about my exercise but always nags me about my protein levels. I don't really want to ask her about exercise because she is pretty disordered about her food and fitness (overtrains and under eats). She is 40 something 5'6 and around 120lbs. Although she looks amazing for her age she is always worried about weight and how much calories she is burning or eating.

I'm training for long jump, triple jump, 400m, 800m, 1500m and possibly the 3000m.
I'm in pretty good shape (run around a 7-8 min mile) and anytime I have my vitals checked at the hospital they are either 99% or 100%. Anyways, any help is lovely! Thanks guys.
Any more advice?
You are definitely doing too much running, per se.  You probably would improve your running more if you took a day of rest and added some strength training in there.  Also, I would swap one of your distance runs out for a HIIT session.  That has also been proven to shave time off of long distance runs.

Just my humble opinion...
As far as high protein foods, egg whites, beans and yogurt are some of the best options I can think of.
First, great habits to get into, congrats.

I am currently on a three a day program with running in the am, weights and prymetrics (spelling?) at lunch, stretching and core strength before bed.  On satrudays I generally do a 20 miler.  Sundays I rest. It is my goal to run a 50 miler this summer and a 100 miler next year

As I have read, asked other ultramarathoners, and trainers, several things have become more clear to me.  First, listen to your body.  If fatigue and a lack of your former drive sets in, then you are probably over training.  If not, you are probably ok.

Second, take a long term approach.  Make sure that you are eating right.  It isn't just about calories, but as you get into the longer distances, your electrolytes will become more important. 

Stretching - particularly you IT band and muscle groups associated with your knees and hips will be critical for maintaining your knees and hips over the years. 

Also, monitoring water intake (weigh yourself before and after runs to calculate how much water you are loosing during your runs and try to get your intake to start matching your output so you weigh the same both before and after).  This is important because one of the places you body will draw water reserves as you become slightly underhydrated is the cusions in your joints.  Over the long haul that could be a problem. 

Finally, make sure your core is there to support you upper body for your runs.  Make sure you are ballanced in your training and that your core muscle groups are getting the attention they need as well.

Have fun with the half-marathon!
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