Forums >Racing>Improving Race Day Performance
Hi Everyone,
My name is Chris and I have had a concerning problem with my racing lately (high school 3200m). For a little background, I come from a training group that does more mileage workouts and training runs, since our primary event is the two mile (3200m). We have great workouts that I feel have adequately prepared me to run well and be in good shape for the two mile. I ran 10:07 as an indoor best for it and am still looking to improve and break 10 minutes soon. The problem is that I haven't even broken 10:30 recently in my first outdoor races. The first mile of the race feels okay, but the next half I feel horrible, like someone punched me in the gut and sucked all the air out of me. I have been extremely disappointed with my performance these last couples weeks and want to fix it. I'm not sure what's going on. At first, I thought it was mental, but I am always focused and ready to go with a plan. There's got to be some physical link that's slowing me because I feel horrible during the last half and end of the race, and that has been after running about 10:32. I should not be that tired after running that time considering I ran 10:07 indoors. The bottom line is, I train well and mostly do the right things for nutrition and recovery, but here recently I just cannot break my barriers, whether mental or physical to get the performance I want, to at least run 30 seconds faster. I definitely train well enough for it, my coaches even tell me so, as I feel fine and challenged in workouts and have consistently been in the front of intervals and reps but I just can't race well. It's my last season and I really want to break 10 and even qualify for state, to do something great, but in races, my body just refuses to do what I want it to. One key thing I've noticed is that I haven't eaten my banana before races the past two weeks, and I always eat a banana everyday before practice. The correlation is no banana on race day the last two weeks, bad races the past two weeks. There's got to be more than this though. Can anyone help me out in how to get my groove back in racing and improve my race day performance to where it was and better? I'm very concerned and need to get this problem fixed before the big meets, or else running on varsity will be history for me.
Thank you for the support, Chris
#RunEveryDay
Have you talked to your coach about it?
Half Fanatic #9292.
Game Admin for RA Running Game 2023.
When is State?
Right now you are racing on tired legs and training through events (my assumption). As I tell the athletes I coach -- I don't care what time they are running right now. I care what time they are running at the end off the season when the races count.
Stick with the process and trust that you will peak at the right time.
With that said, might want to talk with your coach about pacing. When I read your comments, it sounds like you might be going out too fast the first mile (even though it feels okay).
And you can quote me as saying I was mis-quoted. Groucho Marx
Rob
Thank you for the support. I talked to my coach about it and he definitely said I'm training at the level I need to be, but he thinks it's mostly mental and that I should approach the races as I do in workouts, but the thing is I am mentally ready and do approach races agressively, it just hurts badly during the second half. He suggested I try to modify my race day diet a bit. I can't be going out that fast because during the 10:07 race, I took the mile out in 4:56 and then closed in a little over 5 minutes, so it makes me worried when I go out in 5:07 and then die hard to 5:25. My coach also ephasized nutrition and sleep, which I stay on track for the most part. I agree, my body is somewhat fatigued, but I'm worried because I felt terrible running slower when I should feel good. But you are right, I should just keep training and focus on the bigger picture. It just worries me that I feel bad during these last couple races and haven't even been able to break 10:30 recently. Sectionals is May 18 with State the following weekend. I've got to do something to reprove myself as a high caliber varsity runner. Do you think not having my banana makes that big of a difference?
SMART Approach
You may want to back off the work outs, you may have already peaked and you have to adjust your training (less intensity mid week bit keep your miles) so you can get back. Talk to your coach. When you say, "I am always in front of intervals and reps". I think you may be putting your racing efforts into your training run/work outs and trying to be a hero there. In a sense, too many hero work outs can lead to regression.
Run Coach. Recovery Coach. Founder of SMART Approach Training, Coaching & Recovery
Structured Marathon Adaptive Recovery Training
Safe Muscle Activation Recovery Technique
www.smartapproachtraining.com
High School runners are overworked ~ I do not know why, but maybe we think they are young and resilient.
Talk to any college runner ~ They run many less meets ... less than half of a high school runner. At least in WI ~ High School runners are usually competing at least twice a week in races and doing workouts.
Since you performance has dropped ~ It is not like you are "Wishing" you were better.
Your body is trying to tell you something ~ Either there is something medically wrong with you (Mono, low iron etc) or there is something physically wrong with you
1) It could be nutrition, hydration and sleep ~ You cannot recover without plenty of sleep and the right nutrition and hydration
2) It could be you are over-trained ~ You still have to time to take an easy week and peak for state (Some coaches will not like this)
* Can you invest in 7-8 days of less stress
* Do not race or race relaxed and not all out ~ Races do suck the life out of your legs
* When you run you easy pace ~ Slow it down by 1 minute per mile
* When you do workouts ~ Lesson them or slow them down ex)
a) Instead of doing 1,000 repeats - Do some 200 or 400 repeats ... but not too many
b) Or just slow them down to comfortable hard and do 1 repeat less
* To compensate you losing the snap in your legs ~ Add some striders
Do what you need to do ~ But again you have classic signs of overtraining. If you can give your body 7-8 days of much easier work, but still do some lighter speedwork ... you have a good chance to get health back in your legs to run the 2nd 1600 strong.
Long dead ... But my stench lingers !
Leo
Chris,
I am a junior in high school and I can totally relate to your problems. Last year, I started off the season with a 10:30 for 3200m, a personal best for me. The PB's continued to come, and I ended up peaking at 10:12. That came mid-season, and by end of the season, I couldn't break 10:40. Similar to you, I couldn't figure out what was happening. To this day I still cannot pinpoint a central cause of this. The only conclusion I can draw is that consistency will only come with experience. Last year marked only my second year of running, so I cannot attempt to force breakthroughs when they are just not ready to happen. I ran consistently over the winter, strength trained, ate right, slept well, and now my junior track season is going great. I am already down to 10:18 in the second outdoor meet. All I can say is give it time, and give it your all even if it isn't where you would necessarily want to be. Pace yourself in the first mile, you should feel like you ran run faster at the halfway point, and don't worry about everyone else. Sometimes your body will just be randomly fatigued, and that's normal. I'm afraid the best option from this point might just be to rest as much as possible, give your final races all you have, and take a week (or two) off after the season. Attack the next season with a chip in your shoulder.
Future marathon runner."Doubts kill more dreams than failure ever will"Current PR's as of May 13, 2017:800: 2:131600: 4:493200: 10:135K: 16:4610K: 38:4615K: 1:00:00Half Marathon: 1:25:15Marathon: soon!
Are we there, yet?
High School runners are overworked ~ I do not know why, but maybe we think they are young and resilient. Talk to any college runner ~ They run many less meets ... less than half of a high school runner. At least in WI ~ High School runners are usually competing at least twice a week in races and doing workouts.
I'll second that. I had an interesting discussion with a fellow masters runner years ago who was also a HS coach. His teams always crushed mine early in the season as he worked them consistently hard. They showed quick improvement, then stagnated or got worse at the end of the season. The result was that my girls whom I brought along slowly, having them back off on meets I knew we would easily win, and making sure they had easy days, were at their peak at the end of the season. My team went to states; his didn't.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
One day at a time
Every XC season, my son's former high school team doesn't do very well at Regionals and everybody wonders why. It cracks me up every time - the coach is saving the kids for the state meet! He has one of the most successful teams in our state because he's a smart coach. He agrees that HS runners run too many races, and always holds out one or two runners every week.
I wonder, honestly, if not eating the banana is affecting you mentally. Runner's are creatures of habit and one little thing can throw them off. For me, I never eat prior to workouts, so I don't eat prior to races. If I were to change that up, it would certainly throw my body off and my mental state.
So, my suggestion, eat that banana.
My Bio (Post 35 Years Old):
Mile - 5:19
5k - 17:10
10k - 38:04