how to remain mentally focused during XC

Hammer more of your runs.

Hills?

Describe your "great tempos"

How often do you train on grass long enough to be "rough" at a golf course?

In regard to my tempos they are inconsistent and are easily the worst in regard to quality for my workouts, for example I can do 4X2K on grass in 6:20, 6:20, 6:00,5:58 with 4 min rest but when I go to do a 6mile tempo I am completely gassed at a simple 5:40 first mile and it just pisses me off to no end, I will run my milage at 6:30-6:40 pace for 80 miles per week in singles and none of it seems to transfer, I can hammer any interval workout but in long sustained workouts at threashold or long races at threashold I seem to fall apart like a cheap poker table and it infuriates me. But then every once and a while I will have a breakthrough workout where I will run a 5 mile tempo in 26:55 for example running the last mile in 5:07 with a last half mile at 4:53 pace and then its just not there other days and it just tortures me to know that its there but to not be able to consistently replicate it. And I will try to run at least one or two runs a week on our XC course which surrounds a farm and is all rolling hills and difficult footing. I just cant get past this becasue all I want to do is just race for varsity and it always seems to be within my potential but just out of my goddamn reach.

Run the first mile of the race in exactly 5:30. Make sure you never run any point of the first mile faster than 5:30 pace, even if you are last. Use a Garmin during your warmup to figure where the 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 mile points are and be sure you are running 5:30 pace.

Run the second mile in 5:30. You will not fall apart at 1.5 miles. The first time you try this, I suggest running the next two miles in 11:00.

You will then have 4:48 to run the last 0.97 miles of an 8k to run 26:48, your PR. That is only 4:57 pace. If you are as fit as you think you are you will be successful. If you are not fit you will not.

If you are fit, next time run the first 4 miles the same way except at 5:25 pace, no faster.

In each successive race slowly work your even early pace down to the pace you run the last mile. If your last mile is not the fastest in any race slow down the first 4 a little.

Sorry, missed your reply. You are racing your tempos and they are doing nothing for you. On grass, your tempo pace IS 6:00 for 4 miles and maybe 6:15 for 6 miles.

1. Man up

2. Don't stop manning up

Do you run your long run at 6:30/6:40 pace?

all of my weekly milage which stays around 70-80 per week with a down of 65 and an up of 85 depending on how I feel. I am often running with other members on my team so sometimes distance runs can get out of hand and I feel that we end up harshing off our own mellow.

You sound like you may be a bit more of a fast twitch speed oriented runner. I am the same way. Although I don't have the pre-race nerves you describe, I learned long ago that for races longer than 3K/2mi, I go through a mental and/or physiological transition in effort somewhere between about 1.5-2.5mi. I will have about a 1/2mi where the effort level feels very uncomfortable at a reasonable race pace. Somewhere soon after the 2mi point race effort starts to feel comfortable again. I have just learned that the difficult section will be coming and I try to focus on form or breathing or anything that will keep me on pace while I work through it.

Okay, you may want to approach your long run as a quality workout and slowly lower pace from season to season. You might also consider slowing down pace after a quality workout, 7:00 or a little slower to fully recover. What year are you in?

two words:

girls team

Meth

I would make my long runs harder by throwing in surges at or around race pace for 3 to 5 minutes and do 5-6 sets of that after the first half hour-45 minutes of your long run pace. Try and do this on a hilly route if you can, if not no big deal. If you do this type of effort and it should be taxing you may want to shorten your long run by a few miles, so 13 to 15 should be fine.

The other thing I would do is do an out and back long run and come back faster then when you started, atleast 10 to 15 seconds per mile faster-really push the last 5 to 8 miles depending on how you feel. These were my staple in my base phase to early season xc which got me use to being.

I would work in short hill sprints (8-10 seconds) 8-10 sets like 4-5 times a week and long hill workouts if you can.