XC race strategy

Most high school xc runners go out too fast. You are right that being a little more conservative early can be the right way to pace things.

However, the course has a lot to say about that. If the middle of the course is in the woods, single track, etc., you'll find it takes a lot of energy to get by people along the way. Or, if there is a place early where the race "cuts down" to a small area, you can get sort of thrown off the back of the field.

I'd advocate you go out a bit more aggressive, but not in a stupid way. Moving from 40th to 2nd is too much. Maybe get out in 15th-20th in a race like that.

In terms of workouts, I think the best ones for this are speed days where you begin with a fast long interval, and then do a normal speed routine on tired legs. Something like run a hard mile, and then do some 400s, without a lot of rest from the mile.

Yeah the last course didn't get super narrow so I could still pass people. But there are some courses where I wouldn't be able to so Ill go out less conservatively to start at a higher spot.

As for the workout should I do just one hard long interval and then fast ones or a couple fast ones after a workout with long intervals?

Think of having 2 fuel sources (#1) available each minute is a regular fuel sources that is always with you. (#2) your anaerobic "booster rocket" fuel source, that is just worth about 1 minute of the fuel available in your regular source. If you use the booster source all in the first couple minutes, it is gone until the race is over and you can recover it. If you use just part of the booster source early then you can use a little of it each minute and go a little faster than the regular source will allow by itself, or use little of the booster during the majority of the race and use it all for a kick at the end. For example, if you have a regular source of 4 liters per minute and a booster of 4 liters (total), you could run at a speed that requires 4.2 liters per minute and the booster will last 20 minutes, or various combinations of the two sources. You will feel better throughout the race if you don't use all the booster fuel in the first couple minutes. Bear in mind that you have to use a fair bit of the booster fuel in the first couple minutes while the regular sources is building up to its capacity.

Nice race. I think what you did this past race was perfect. It gave you a different perspective on how to run a race. Not all races should be run to win, a lot of experience can be gained from different strategies.

Now you've learned something new and can approach training to work on strengths and weaknesses.

In terms of speed - you may very well be more endurance oriented - there are a fair number of distance runners who have great speed, but haven't built the endurance, or are more geared towards shorter events (think 400-800 rahter than 5k xc). That's fine, you may be more distance oriented.

Lot of different ways to work on handling a fast start. As the season progresses and you do more hard work (mile to 2 mile efforts) you'll get used to the faster speed. Added to that: On occasion the hard rep before a workout can work, e.g. 1 mile before quarters, a really hard 400m or 800m with short (and then almost no) recovery before a 3-4 mile tempo run, and during intervals you can do the first 200m of each 1k hard (in say 5x1k), so you'd do the 1st 200m fast, then quickly settle to goal pace the remaining 800m. Flip around for practicing hard finish off pace.

These modifications of your current work can help, be careful not to add in a bunch of extra stuff on top of what your coach is having you do (strides and drills 2x per week will help with speed without too much extra stress)

How is your gluteal (butt) strength? Weak glutes = slower than optimal speed, they are the engine. Does your team lift weights? Squats and lunges can help.

I agree that just doing strides will help you immensely without requiring you to take more recovery between runs. Strides help turnover and coordination, so just doing them every other day makes a big difference when it comes time to run quickly comfortably.

Out of curiosity, what state are you in? 17:30 is good enough to win the varsity race here on long island.