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Would you run faster if... (Read 354 times)


CT JEFF

    Would you run faster if someone were chasing you or if you were chasing someone?

     

    (yes, my initial thought was - 'is there a knife involved?' Wink

     

    However, this is a question a doctor puts to all his patients.

     

    If the response is "with someone chasing me" - the person tends to be driven more by fear. And his approach to the recommended therapy will be to address the downsides of failing to comply.

     

    If the response is "with someone in front of me" - the person tends to be more of an "A" type motivated personality. The doctor's approach would then be to accentuate the positives of complying with therapy.

     

    I dont know if this is because I am a runner, or if my psychological makeup fits neatly into one box, but I chose B. As a runner, I can imagine the person in front of me and wanting to run harder because of it. The person behind me doesnt concern me as much.

    RUN SAFE.     Barefoot 1st: 6/9/13. PR: 5k=22:50 10k=47:46 HM 1:51. FM 4:28 Oct 2015 joined RUN 169!

     

      It depends.

       

      Big grin

      Live the Adventure. Enjoy the Journey. Be Kind. Have Faith!


      Latent Runner

        It depends.

         

        Big grin

         

        Agreed.

         

        This morning before dawn one our horses managed to unlock the pasture gate and get out (I have to double lock it once all of the horses are out as I've seen him messing with the catch before) and headed for the highway bordering the west side of the pasture.  The last thing I wanted to see was this all black 1,200 pound horse run out in front of a car doing 55, ewwww, messy; I was stunned how fast I circled around in front of him and chased him back toward the gate.  Of course once we got back to the gate he decided, "Geee, this is fun, let's play some more!"  It probably took me a good ten minutes to corner him into giving up and letting me lead him calmly back to the pasture.    Joking

         

        So, yeah, it depends.

        Fat old man PRs:

        • 1-mile (point to point, gravity assist): 5:50
        • 2-mile: 13:49
        • 5K (gravity assist last mile): 21:31
        • 5-Mile: 37:24
        • 10K (first 10K of my Half Marathon): 48:16
        • 10-Mile (first 10 miles of my Half Marathon): 1:17:40
        • Half Marathon: 1:42:13
        scappodaqui


        rather be sprinting

          I'm more motivated by anger than by fear, so probably if I were chasing someone and they'd stolen something of mine.

           

          That said, in some races I've done my best when being closely chased by another runner, but I'm still feeling not so much afraid that they'll pass me, as ANGRY that they would dare to do so.  So... front of pack in actual races but I totally fantasize about chasing people down...

          PRs: 5k 19:25, mile 5:38, HM 1:30:56

          Lifting PRs: bench press 125lb, back squat 205 lb, deadlift 245lb

            In the back of the pack of small races, I may not see anyone in front or behind. Wink

             

            That said, my PR on my technical 10k was set with someone running on my shoulder on a single track. She was breathing so loudly in my ear, I couldn't hear my own breathing, which is a problem when you run by feel / breathing. She was definitely in my personal space. Wink  I couldn't shake her (younger), but I wasn't as out of breath as she was at top of hill.

             

            The flip side of that is a 4.5miler which starts mid way through an 8-miler (which starts on flatter, less technical trail), so we normally get passed by the fast folks. For whatever reason, this year I seemed to gain speed from trying to stay on their tails - at least the ones that I didn't pull off to let by.

             

            I would rather chase than be chased so I can see what I need to do.

             

            And seeing a brown bear on other side of river, grazing its way toward the same river I was headed toward, led to an interesting elevated heart rate about 15mi into 50mi race. I decided that I could get to the river first, as long as it didn't start running. I don't remember if I looked back, but I know I kept running to the next trail intersection, where I bumped into some backpackers with a shotgun (lot of bear attacks that summer) and looked back then.

            "So many people get stuck in the routine of life that their dreams waste away. This is about living the dream." - Cave Dog
            Fruchtenstein


              I run faster when I see a cyclist in front of me. I have no idea why, but I don't really care about runners, only cyclists. On even road, I can only keep up with them and wait for a climb. And when we start going uphill, this is my moment of glory! I dash past the cyclist, and when the gap between us is large enough, I turn to a darker alley to restore my breath and to avoid the revenge. And no, I carry no knives on the runs.

              SShaw490


              SShaw490

                Well, if it was my doctor chasing me, I would just run my normal pace. My doctor is about 5'5 and 200 lbs.

                  I have run PRs and I have won races but never at the same race*. I guess that means I run faster when I'm doing the chasing rather than being chased.

                   

                  *Excluding a win at a 2.7 mile race which was only technically a PR because I don't run many 2.7 mile races. It was slower than my then 5k PR.

                  degregorius


                    I have found that I run faster, if there's a bus or an L train to catch.  true, it's for a short distance-say 20 yards at most.  However, I'm not gasping & wheezing afterwards.

                      Both.  If you are in second place you are chasing first and running from 3rd.

                        I think the fastest I ever ran was when some guys mugged me, knocking me over from behind and taking my purse...I lay there for a second, then got up and, blinded by rage and adrenaline, CHASED THEM at a freaking sprint to a nearby council block (British for public housing), saw them go up the stairs, and realized that following them up there was probably not such a good idea. I always thought I didn't have any fast-twitch muscle fibers, but it turns out they're mainly motivated by petty crime.

                         

                        Anyway, I had wicked DOMS the next day. And I never did get my stuff back.

                        LedLincoln


                        not bad for mile 25

                          In races I enjoy trying to pick off runners ahead of me one by one.  I don't look back.  That said, I'm rarely in a true race situation, since in local races there's not usually anyone in my age group ahead of me.

                          NHLA


                            It depends on who is after me.  When I was a kid I would catch wild baby pigs then turn them loose.  If mama saw me and got after me I could run to the nearest tree faster than lightning. That was the fastest I ever ran but nobody timed it.

                              If it is a life or death situation, I would probably run faster if I am being chased.  If it is a race, I tend to run faster when I am doing the chasing.

                              If it is a hot woman, I run much slower when I am being chased and much faster when I am doing the chasing Wink

                              obiebyke


                                I am well aware that I am a fear-motivated person. Person chasing me, no question.

                                 

                                In a race, I have tunnel vision. It's just me, myself, and I. I barely register my surroundings.

                                Call me Ray (not Ishmael)

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