Yet another HS coach who supports my argument that the majority know so little and often do more harm than good.
I agree with the post that she should sandbag it at practices and run at a comfortable pace that will help her prepare for the next day's race.
I will go one step further on this advice. Most high schoolers run far too many races of which most of these races mean nothing. I question why she is even running multiple events on consecutive days.
Look into how many league races each athlete must run just to qualify for the zones/regionals whatever and have the athletes run the bare minimum. Also your better athletes should tank most of these races or use them to try different strategies and scenarios (running from the back, surges, getting boxed in, etc)
Then as the season nears a close and the races count your team will be fresher and perform better. It also throws the other racers off when suddenly these guys/girls who finished at the back of the pack are now challenging for the lead.
My 2 cents.......