I am currently a junior in high school. Just recently ran an 18:20 5K, perfect weather at a mildly hilly course, felt excellent. We are currently about 3 races into the season. I would like to be able to run sub-17 by the end of the XC season. Is this doable? What kind of training would I have to add to get ahead of the competition without injuring myself?
I am at about 30 MPW. Tempo run once a week, track workouts like 5x1000 or 8x400, and lots of easy 45-min runs in between those fast days.
What can I do to supplement this? Would it be wise to run in the mornings to log extra miles? Should I trust that the continued amount of effort I put into normal practice will get me to sub-17?
This is my first XC season, tore my meniscus halfway through summer. Just looking for a way to catch up to my initial goal.