My high school XC coach told me to go out with a 5:30 first mile for a 5k and follow it up with a 5:40 second mile, then try all I can to hold on to the finish. I have a meet tomorrow and the coach is viewing it as more of a workout/chance to get used to race strategy for the postseason than a meet he wants us all to go all in on, but this strategy still sounds like suicide.
5:40/6:00/6:20 for high 18:30s is probably more reasonable for my ability as I haven't had a good race yet this season, but an 11:10 2-mile split? It's insane considering that I only ran 12:00 in a 2-mile season opener. Should I do what my coach told me to do and risk a possible DNF for the sake of a workout, or try to pace it more intelligently and run a much better race?