How should race pace feel like? (Read 1574 times)

Wing


Joggaholic

    I just ran a 5k race this past weekend. I don't race much, in fact I had only done a 5k once a year so far for the last 2 years. My limited experience is that race effort really really hurts. Gasping for air the whole way, heart seriously pounding, and feeling like I could pass out at the end, and had to lay dead on the ground for like 5 minutes before I could stand up again to get a drink. What I'm wondering is, if trained properly, will these feelings get better? Or will it always suck like this because one is running at redline of his/her current fitness level during a race? (Do you get used to the pain or does the pain actually lessen with training?)

    Chris UK


      Nice try but best effort demands that you puke at the end. Dead

      2013

      3000 miles

      Sub 19:00 for 5K  05-03-13 Clee Prom 5K - 19:00:66 that was bloody close!

      Sub-40:00 for 10K 17-03-13 Gainsborough 10K - 39:43

      Sub 88:00 for HM

       

        Congrats on a PR.

         

        I don't run a lot of races, but I actually think that they get more painful as you get fitter, but you know you'll live (esp the 5K) There has not been a single race that I ran decently where I did not entertain thoughts of giving up and going home, a few times I did give up when racing sporadically and either slowed down or outright walked. 

        Wing


        Joggaholic

          Nice try but best effort demands that you puke at the end. Dead

           

          Actually I almost did, but nothing came out, so not-quite best effort...


          Why is it sideways?

            It gets harder, but you get tougher, so it all works out.

              Congrats on a PR.

               

              I don't run a lot of races, but I actually think that they get more painful as you get fitter, but you know you'll live (esp the 5K) There has not been a single race that I ran decently where I did not entertain thoughts of giving up and going home, a few times I did give up when racing sporadically and either slowed down or outright walked. 

               

              I found that the pain level stays the same, but the feeling of panic goes away as I run more races. And the panic feeling was MUCH worse than the physical pain.

              stadjak


              Interval Junkie --Nobby

                An Olympic athlete (Rupp?) was asked how they run a victory lap after running a 5k at full effort, when most hobby-joggers want to collapse after a 5k.  The runner told the interviewer that during training they are often at that level of exertion, and are familiar with it.  Therefore, they are familiar with how to handle it so the effort doesn't crush them.

                 

                Or what Jeff said.

                 

                Personally, I've come to think of this experience as what veteran runners are referring to as "race experience", rather than the pacing, tactical running and hydrating that I used to think it referred to.

                2021 Goals: 50mpw 'cause there's nothing else to do

                joescott


                  Nice try but best effort demands that you puke at the end. Dead

                   

                  +1.  This is what I aspire to, but have never attained. 

                  - Joe

                  We are fragile creatures on collision with our judgment day.

                    +1.  This is what I aspire to, but have never attained. 

                     

                    All I need is a whiff of somebody else puking, and I'll join the club.

                    AmoresPerros


                    Options,Account, Forums

                      (I'm far from elite, but I have raced a fair number of 5Ks.)

                       

                      I find it feels pretty good for the first half mile (of a 5K) - sometimes through the first mile. Usually by midway through the second mile it is so unpleasant that I am fantasizing about quitting - by the time I'm into the third mile, I've abandoned hope that there is any way I could quit, and I am entirely focused on getting the darn thing over with, so I can stop (*). There is plenty of panting in the second half. However, my best two 5Ks (one of which was last week), felt not as bad as usual through the middle parts. I don't know why.

                       

                      *Note: Also, I am aware that for me, from the halfway point on, the only way to not slow down is to try to speed up, even though it hurts.

                      It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.


                      Why is it sideways?

                        I found that the pain level stays the same, but the feeling of panic goes away as I run more races. And the panic feeling was MUCH worse than the physical pain.

                         

                        This is a really astute comment. The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.)

                          A clubmate of mine is able to run himself into the ground on a pretty consistent basis, for a while I used to worry about him after the finish because he would just be laying on the ground in limbo between the living and the dead.  Now I just ask "you OK Matt?" and he just kinda waves me off or moves his head a bit.  I don't think he has enough energy left to puke, but five minutes later he's fine.

                           

                          All out race effort is a beautiful thing to see.

                          E.J.
                          Greater Lowell Road Runners
                          Cry havoc and let slip the dawgs of war!

                          May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your SPF30, may the rains fall soft upon your sweat-wicking hat, and until you hit the finish line may The Flying Spaghetti Monster hold you in the hollow of His Noodly Appendage.

                            I think the better/fitter you get, the more you can push yourself, and in some respect you'll have more pain at the end, but you know what to expect.  Races, if actually raced, hurt.

                              This is a really astute comment. The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.)

                               

                              Wow. Really interesting comment here, and I think this may have alot to do with where I go wrong all too often when I race. I get to mile 2 and think how am I going to deal with this for another mile and then start backing off. I also find that when you start thinking about how bad it's going to hurt down the road it makes the present worse.

                               

                              Thanks for that thought. 

                              They say golf is like life, but don't believe them. Golf is more complicated than that. "If I am still standing at the end of the race, hit me with a Board and knock me down, because that means I didn't run hard enough" If a lot of people gripped a knife and fork the way they do a golf club, they'd starve to death. "Don't fear moving slowly forward...fear standing still."

                                +1.  This is what I aspire to, but have never attained. 

                                 

                                I had dry heaves after a race this Summer. Ever since, my goal has been to be heaving on the sidelines at the end of the race, but it is HARD to push myself that much.

                                 

                                Maybe we need a goal thread for throwing up at the end of a race. Smile

                                 

                                --

                                Nashville, TN