cross country, im thinking about it Options

[voguelove]

so ive been running on only the track team since freshman year. (will be a junior.) my dad made a point to me yesterday that i probably could join cross country and also run with the dog during the summer so that my legs get used to the running before track starts. (usually, theres extreme soreness the first 2 weeks.)

so, i was wondering..how much do cross country runners actually run? im sure that many people just exaggerate but im kinda curious about this.

also, does anyone know the times of just a jv runner? i dont plan on making varsity the first year i run it.

[effuzzy5]

generally, high school XC races are 5k, and college races are 8k. i run a 5:40 mile, which means i should be shooting for about a 19:10 5k this season. over the summer, we start out with a lot of endurance training, maybe 30min at moderate to easy pace, some cross training here and there, and by august, we'll be doing an hour or so at moderate. then during the season, we do some interval workouts, fartlek, plenty of tempo runs, etc etc.
honestly though, if it's your first season running, don't try to obsess over it, just have some fun and do your best. your first race should give you an idea of what you should aim for timewise. you can turn things up a bit the next season.
good luck.

"To give anything less than your best
is to sacrifice the gift."
-Steve Prefontaine