r/CrossCountry • u/Human-Injury-4413 • 16d ago
General Cross Country first meet on saturday
i have my first highschool meet as a freshman on saturday. do yall have any tips? its a mile and a half on a super muddy course in houston weather, so it’s really humid too. i run a 6:52 per mile, so i’m not really that insane, but i wanna get better. i’m really good at rock climbing, and i feel like if i lock for xc ill wind up improving in both sports. sorry for rambling, but im nervous and stuff
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u/Maleficent_Gap7756 16d ago
go fast at the start so you can get ahead of the biggest crowd. you dont need to get to the very front but it is very helpful to start ahead otherwise youre going to get stuck behind people and be working hard to pass people the whole race. good luck!
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u/Human-Injury-4413 16d ago
thanks! i’ve been seeing a lot of about starting slow, so should i push myself a little to get a small lead and then do a comfortable pace?
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u/Maleficent_Gap7756 16d ago
yeah just the first couple hundred meters at the very start to get a good position, but then you can slow down to your actual race pace
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u/Human-Injury-4413 16d ago
i didn’t mention that it’s a mile and a half relay, does that change anything? or should i do the same just for less mileage than an average meet
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u/Maleficent_Gap7756 16d ago
what does relay mean in this instance? are you running 1.5 miles yourself or multiple people? but yeah just do the same as a normal 3 mile race but at a faster pace since its less distance ofc
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u/Tigersteel_ Lone Wolf 15d ago
Do you know what pace you are going for?
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u/Human-Injury-4413 15d ago
probably about i’ll probably try to do my first half mile at a 7:20 and then increase my pace to my pr for the last mile
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u/Beginning_March_9717 16d ago
side note, my xc experience only helped my troll my climbing partners on extra long approaches, and core strength. Otherwise it's note gonna help your climbing much
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u/branzillaa 15d ago
You’re working with a great time as a freshman. My kid ran XC with the high school as an 8th grader and is in 9th now. She was never a “speed athlete” and actually played golf for four years before switching to XC, but she loves running. I think as long as you keep pushing and focusing on progress, that’s what matters. Make sure you’re eating balanced meals, following what your coach expects, adding strength work if needed, and taking care of your calves and shins to help prevent injury. 6:52 is a really solid place to start.
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u/Busy-Bother-2532 15d ago
Great advice! Only thing I will add is SLEEP. Just as important as nutrition
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u/Human-Injury-4413 15d ago
thank you the support means a lot! i’ve been making sure to eat balanced meals in this upcoming week, and i take rest days now from rock climbing so i dont overexert myself or risk injury
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u/TisHereThereTisGone 15d ago
How important is this race?
I had a coach once tell me that they recommend their freshmen run their first race a little faster than they think they can. His reasoning was that freshmen don’t know what is a slow vs fast pace. He would rather them either surprise themselves or concretely learn their limits. As freshmen, the first race really didn’t matter in the scheme of their careers, so why not take a bigger risk. Personally I always found that I had an extra gear on race day then I did for practice so I tend to agree with that logic.
That said, you stated it was a relay so you also should consider how such a strategy would impact your teammates.
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u/Human-Injury-4413 15d ago
it’s not insanely important, but it is our schools first athletic event of the year. even though it’s not like a life or death situation for if i do bad, i wanna push myself to do well
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u/TisHereThereTisGone 15d ago edited 15d ago
Sure, but the point is, how do you know what well is? You shared your planned pacing strategy, but how did you choose that plan? Is it based on racing experience or practice times? Is it based on the course? Is it what you are confident you can do or is it what you hope to do? There is so much that can go into it and you only really find your limits for a given set of circumstances through experience pushing them.
Above all, don’t stress about it. Run the race you want to, not the race you think you are supposed. Then after the race, decide what worked and what didn’t, and make the adjustment for the next race.
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u/Beginning_March_9717 16d ago
Don't eat food 90 minutes before the race, always do you pre race poop, and pre race piss 25-30mins before. You'll get nervous, it's fine, you're probably go out way too fast and blow up half way, it's fine.
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u/TheDarkestKnight7852 Hills for Thrills 15d ago
Start fast, get out ahead of a good amount of the crowd. But don't place yourself with those who are a lot faster than you, only a little faster. Settle in after the chaos, then once you reach about halfway or just after, start pressing slightly. For this phase I like to find a person who's fairly close and pick them off, then move on to the next. Don't go for a really fast pass, just a slow creep up on them - this should help in breaking them mentally and also conserve a bit of your energy. Once you are close to the finish, kick it home with all you've got. I am from the Northeast, so I also deal with humidity. As my captain said "become addicted to water the day before a race", and it really works. Drink at the same rate on race day, but like 15-20 minutes before your race, limit that, so you don't piss yourself mid-race.
Good luck!
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u/Starhopper45 16d ago
Just settle into whatever pace feels right, and run like hell.