Want to do cross country.. not a distance runner.. advice!!??

Question

i really want to try cross country.. but im no where near a distance runner. im a sprinter and high jumper. all the xc girls are telling me these crazy stories about people elbowing eachother and stuff.. but how should i work up my endurance to do it? i can take things slow but how do i find my right pace for a 5k? im nervous

Answer 1

Haha yeah, we do elbow each other a lot since it's so crowded on the start line.  We all have to fight to get a good start.  Cross country is rough. And some real aggressive runners have terrible sportsmanship.  One of the runners on the team who was leading, some guy behind him grabbed his uniform and threw him down and he started bleeding a lot.  A lot of people pass out and trip too.

I used to be a sprinter&long jumper.  Then freshman year, I dropped all of that for long distance.  You work up to it slowly.  Start with about 2miles.  When you're able to run 2 miles add 1-2 miles and so on.  Uphills work great too.  Also, a lot of repeated speed workouts are good.  You don't know your pace for your 5k until you run it.  We did time trials for the 5k and it was tough.  Don't start out too fast.  Remember that.  It's tempting but you'll regret it once you hit that last mile.  

Haha my first race was varsity so I was like peeing in my pants. But it was all good. I ended up being the 2nd girl on my team to finish.

You'll love it.  Cross country is amazing.

Answer 2

Don't worry about it. When I first started cross country a few years ago I was really nervous. It takes time to get better. I think your friends might have exaggerated on how the races are. Most people that end up being great cross country runners start out not being very good. You just have to work hard. Cross country is a mental sport.  I believe it is more mental than it is physical. Your mind can play tricks on you, but you have to believe in yourself and you have to keep going even when it hurts. You will have the time of your life running cross country with your friends. Don't be nervous! You will love it! Since you are a sprinter it may take a while for you to find the right pace. Just find someone to run with that knows what they are doing and run with them. Pace off of someone that is more experienced. You will soon find the right pace. It is something that comes naturally after you start running for a while.

Answer 3

to be a good distance runner just go run 60 minutes every other day before the season starts then the day after a long run go for a 45 minute easy run and on the long run try to run it at a pace that is comfortable then the last 10 minutes run it hard. on the easy run, run it slow so your body repairs itself from the long run. on the long run try to run up a couple of hills.

Answer 4

Don't worry so much.

Your school should have summer conditioning for cross country, and that will help you get into shape so you can find your pace.

Just be prepared on your first day of practice, because it's not going to be easy.  But trust me, by the end of the second week, practice seems to get better and better!

I think that you'll do good! :)

Good Luck!

Answer 5

This sounds just like me my freshman year. Before season (this summer) you need to start getting long runs in. Your pretty new and a sprinter so start out running for 25-30 mins at a steady pace the entire run. When you feel that you can take more, start increasing you time&distance to around 40-60 mins sustained running. Running for any amount over 30 mins will begin your body to burn complete fat. It also increases your anaerobic(without oxygen) threshold by leaps and bounds. By the time season is here, you should be thinking about pace and form. Good luck!

Answer 6

training will help you develop your cross country skills, and get a book on how to train for that distance. Every distance has there different training methods .... and watch out for  those elbows