What should I do for track this season?

I did long jump and triple jump last year. LJ- 13 ft TJ- 24''6 I think. So not very good. I did cross country this past season for the first time and ran high 21s, PR 21:41. I am definitely running distance this track season, but I'm not sure if I want to jump or not. I love jumping, I like the feeling of flying through the air. I also know I could possibly place in a couple meets this year if I worked at it. But the people in jumping creep me out, they are obnoxious and I don't like them. And there is a new coach that seems very scary.
As for the running, I love it. I'm playing basketball right now and I miss running so much. I also am trying to improve my cross country time as much as I can for next season. There are a few girls I am competing with for a spot on Varsity. I was on varsity this year, but next year I want to run at the state meet. I want to run a sub 6 min mile this year.
My coach said he wants me to continue with jumping, at least for a little while. I'm not sure if I like it enough. I have a lot of hard classes this year and if I overwhelm myself like I did last year with track, I won't have good grades. I don't want to be overwhelmed and I don't really want to spread my time doing half jumping and half distance. I don't know what to do. Advise? Thanks!

Anonymous2011-02-01T18:17:03Z

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You basically answered your own question. You're so up tight on not wanting to jump, so don't jump. You're a distance runner. You love running. So do it. If you did cross country, it'd probably help you with endurance, more than speed. Fiber muscles change from fast-twitch (a sprinter) to slow-twitch, especially when you do cross country.

You also explain how you might be stressed out if you were to jump. Even though it might seem like you can place in a lot of meets (which is great), you seem to have your heart set out for distance.

Good luck.