Question about cross country? ?

Question

I am a sophomore, doing my first year of xc. Let me be proud to say that, I am a dedicated sprinter, and mid-distance guy. I ran the 100m and 800m in spring track as a freshman. I generally finished 1st in the JV races. I cannot run long distances well at all though.

Today was a 2 mile time trial, after less than a week and half of practices (which have been brutal). My time was 13:43 with a 6:30 split, which I know isn't a great time by any means. The experience was incredibly miserable for me. The only thoughts in my mind were: "Oh god I can't do this" "Kill me" "Should I sneak over to the finish line and wait?" etc.

Next week is our first real race- about 3 miles or a bit less. I was wondering: do you think I can improve my ability in one week? How much harder is a 5k race than a 2 mile? Any tips?

Answer 1

dont worry too much about it  cross country is a hard sport i've been doing it for 4 years but it can be a lot of fun too. and about your question your time really isn't that bad considering you're a sprinter/middle distance that's really not that bad I recomend you do a lot of mileage just to build up your stamina and endurance you obviously already have the speed which is a huge advantage in the beginning of races. I have the same problems too whenever i started running my first year about the whole wanting to quit but you have to stay optimistic, in races look at the person in front of you but look at their feet it takes your mind off of the running and to me it feels like you're speeding up, i don't know why but it just helps. Hope that helps you some

Answer 2

first off, cross country is a great sport. it's very bonding and so fun. i highly recommend it. it sounds like your are doing pretty well. don't worry too much. yes sometimes you feel like you are going to die but just do your best to push yourself forward. just know, every step you take brings you closer to your goal.

if this trial was your first time running distance you are doing especially great. it is a hard thing to do when you have no experience. after time and practice your body gets used to it and you will do even better. i think you can improve if you try. don't over do it and don't under do it. just try your hardest to be the best you can be.

a 5k (3.1 miles) will be harder than a 2 mile if you think about it but if you focus yourself and just keep going you won't feel much of a difference. you will be running for more time but so will everybody in your race. try pacing off of somebody and takes long strides. also, keep your arms swinging and continue running no matter what.

(oh gosh this turned out to be long, sorry) i hope i helped!

:)

Answer 3

You can't improve physically in a week, but by the end of the season you will have improved a lot I believe.

I used to think I just had to keep up my fast speed longer when I ran cross country, but the real secret to it is to pace youself. Your body feels a lot better if you start out slow and steadily speed up throughout the race than it does if you start of fast and finish barely being able to keep moving. DO NOT start out sprinting like a lot of idiots at the races(the rest of the race will suck if you do), you have 3 miles to pick them off so start out about....7:15ish pace and depending on how you feel as the race goes on you can decide on how much to speed up. I usually start out about 6:15 pace but after the first quarter mile I will speed up to make my first mile a 5:50 maybe and then try to keep that up or speed up if I feel I can do it on the last mile. You'll have a better idea of how to run once you've done a few races.

5k is a lot harder by the way lol, but once you start running a bunch of miles at practice it will feel a lot easier to you. Soooo yeah you'll have some tough training ahead but at the end of it you'll have a lot more endurance(and running won't hurt so much anymore either). And that 13:43 isn't too bad at all, I think you'll be surprised at how much you improve.