Advice for 25min 8k xc

Ask your coach for a plan.

got the plan, just looking for ideas here

6-8 x 1k @ 10k race pace minus ~6 seconds with 90-120s rest. But take this as your goal and do the workout weekly on grass or trail with some changes in elevation and some turns. Run by feel, not by your watch. Remember you’re training for XC, not track.

This is not the place to come asking for legitimate advice. You are already breaking trust within you and your coach’s relationship and you’re not even on campus yet. Not off to a good start. Doing anything other than what your coach has laid out for you will lead you down a path of questioning everything they say. Get off letsrun and go train.

Biggest thing to remember about an 8k is that it isn't a high school 5k. Think 2 mile "warm up" and 3 mile race. In high school you can go out way too fast and still hang on for a PB. That won't happen in a 5 mile race. Stay consistent and smooth the first 2 miles but don't worry about positioning too much. After that start to think about moving up and how far you can push it.

Wrt to training, make sure you get at a bare minimum 50 mpw. 5+ mile tempo runs in college really changed my understanding of strength and I highly recommend them. In high school I never did a tempo run over 2 miles (though we did do longer fartlek sessions)

its not that deep i just want to hear some experiences and examples xD

thank you

You should expect to run much faster than that with those PR’s. Are you going to Minnesota or St. Thomas? Both coaches should have plans for you.

You have plenty of speed for 25:30 now. On grass, it might just depend on the course. There isn't a ton more you'll get from here versus your coaches. They've probably guided tons of runners from solid short distance PBs to equivalent 8k/10k times. You're doing things right. 60mpw will continue to grow over time & help you build strength. Workouts don't matter now. You'll add in the specific work when you get to campus. I would say that just having a good mindset as a freshman is important. You have coaches -- seeking out the answer on LRC isn't needed. Be okay if you don't set the world on fire right away. You're stepping up in competition & your training will get harder. Be ok if you don't see instant progress. Commit to long term development. Sometimes you get trash conditions in XC & 26-flat is a competitive time. Learn to compete, take care of the things you can control, & the time will come (& times much faster). Learn how to prioritize sleep, nutrition, schoolwork. But also make sure you have some interests outside of running & make some lifelong friends. Anybody can tell you to run 8x1k on short rest @ 3:00/k. If that's what you're looking for it's out there but that's just training. If you're not there yet, do the training in front of you. Don't overtrain or look for short cuts. You're going to get a lot better.

If your building up to 60mpw what was it before? If your coach already gave you a plan follow it. Remember your goal is to PR at the last couple meets so if you run 26min the first race thats okay. If your running summer road races remember the road is a faster surface. You may run 25:30 in the road just before going to college and then potentially be a minute slower on a xc course. I used to find when i tapered i would run close to that preseason road time or better.

People are gonna recommend a lot of different workouts.

What you should really do is look at the demands of the event. It’s 8000 meters. You’ll go up to 10k if you run well enough this season to make that regional squad. Its way more aerobically inclined of an event that the 5k was in high school.

Handle as much mileage as you can comfortable handle and get good at whatever tempo type workouts your coach favors. Long tempos, progression runs, long runs with tempo component, short tempos, broken threshold work, whatever, etc.

That will set your ceiling on what’s possible this year. Any race specific work and faster than race pace work will help you reach the tippy top of your ceiling.

Mileage and tempos. Simple stuff.