My kids have been avid youth runners since they were about eight. We always kept mileage real low and just started raising it into the teens this year for our oldest boy (he's twelve). They have had some incredible years winning basically everything they entered including indoor nationals, but they have also had some really rough years. Well anyway, the twelve year old recently ran a five minute mile (5:00.96) with us during a time trial but he refuses to start very quick. We know at nationals those kids in his age group (13) come out blazing fast and it has messed with him in the past. Their first lap will be roughly a 1:05-1:08 and then they slow down considerably in the last lap My son refuses to start out that fast even though he is blazing fast. He can run a 400m in around 57-58 area on his best days, but he's guarded when running any distance over a 400. In the 800m he can run roughly a 2:16 right now when he runs his way, but if he runs like they (guys who win at nationals) do, he will run around a 2:20-2:21. He correctly states that most great runners run very even or slightly negative splits, but having seen him in the past, I know he will get discouraged and not stick to his plan.
He will just start giving up after the second lap instead of running his race and being up there with the best of the best.
It kills me because he had the speed and he is probably doing the right thing, he just doesn't have the mental toughness to stick with his race plan when he sees people flying in front of him. It's sad because when he runs on his own he does these great things, but refuses to stick with it when he sees those guys getting so far ahead of him on the first lap. I've tried to work on speed endurance and he has it. He can easily run 4 X 400 in 1:05 with a one minute break and 2 X 800 in 2:22 with a one minute break on his toughest workout. He also does a long run during the week and then some short stuff or mile repeats depending on how many days and miles we have to work with. He is like an animal in practice, but he's so self conscience when he runs, he thinks everyone is so much better than him. I'm at a loss if I should keep telling him to run his race and let him figure it out, or if I should push him (I really never have) to be a front runner. He just gets so uncomfortable when he tries it and usually gives up by the second lap. It's sad because he always has podium times throughout the season, but rarely gets on it because of this issue (when he's against some of these kids who start out so fast and can basically hold it until the last lap). Any advice would be appreciated because he is starting to worry that his first lap 1:13 is going to screw him up again this year even though just by shaving a second or two in two months he could easily get on the podium in the 1500m