10,000 race help

Greg Ward makes an excellent point I forgot to mention. No matter how good a shape you are in or how controlled the pace, it is the nature of the 10,000 beast that you WILL feel periods of weakness. It comes in waves, and if you are well-trained, you will be able to ride those waves out. That's where knowing you've done the physical work will make for the mental toughness needed to overcome your body feeling this temporary weakness. Henry Rono used to say he looked forward to feeling this "pain" because he was mentally ready to "break the pain" by going beyond it. He turned the weak feeling into a competitor he could then beat.

And, as Woody Wilson says, you can do some personal miracles late in the race, providing you stay in control early on.

Go get 'em, Champ! Let the board know how it turns out.

Coach Joe Vigil used to do the same drop as far as aiming for the peak race. You and your coach are doing fine. No doubts, now!

i agree with greg ward on this one. i would not hop down to 40 miles after "all that mileage." i have found that just a little drop would do the most good. maybe try running 60-70 miles that week. if you drop down too much, you run the risk of your legs getting stale and you body not knowing how to react to such a rapid change. just my $0.02

Coach Vigil used to have a series of drops. Mileage would be around 35-40 after the last one.

man you suck running all those miles and only wanting to run 32:30. how about you stop jogging those 100 mile weeks and be a real man and start doing some track workouts. long slow miles only teaches your body to run long and slow!

man you suck running all those miles and only wanting to run 32:30. how about you stop jogging those 100 mile weeks and be a real man and start doing some track workouts. long slow miles only teaches your body to run long and slow!

Ignore this piece of crap.

The 10,000 is a race for mature runners, mainly because of the time/miles needed in training to break through. You're probably on the verge of a breakthrough, either this time or next. The training has to come before the race result, and you've done that. Your PR will be 'way below 32 in the next couple of years.

I can't add too much to what's already been said. However, I can tell you that my mile p.r. is 4:45 and last year I ran 32:17 for a track 10k. This year I'm shooting for sub-32 at the same meet, still with the same mile p.r. Hammering out those 100+ mile weeks can really help guys like us overcome a lack of speed/talent. Also, don't freak out if you go out a little fast- when I ran that 32:17 I p.r.'ed through 5k in 15:58. I was naturally scared that I would die, but then I realized that I felt fine at that pace and held on for a :50 10k p.r. Good luck!

So, all of this 10k talk has me curious what the concensus thinks I will run in 5k/10k this year.

I have been running 90 mpw for 15 weeks, lots of hills, a few good tempos, and now some repeats.

My prs are 16:30, 34:30, and a 4:50 mile. I also ran a lot of quality last summer training for my first marathon which was 2:45. What do you guys think I will run in a 5k and 10k in 4 weeks? I want to run 16:15/33:40.

Are you running any other races? While you are at this point and taking down your mileage, why not try to knock out a 5k PR a few weeks after your 10k? Taking the time now to run a few more races can only give you more experience and confidence, racing will make you a better racer. Good luck with the 10k!

Not sure what you will run, but 16:15 does sound reasonable. A second a lap over your previous PR with all of the mileage seems like that would be the direction you would go. Good luck.

I might run a 1500 or a 5 the week after the ten but i would really just prefer to take an easy week, and then start my summer training for xc.

olympic here wrote:

man you suck running all those miles and only wanting to run 32:30. how about you stop jogging those 100 mile weeks and be a real man and start doing some track workouts. long slow miles only teaches your body to run long and slow!

Actually, the longer you go, the more of your fast twitches muscles are recruited to help with the workload. Therefore, going for 11-13 mile easy days will definitely work your fast twitch muscles. Perhaps a Phys. and Anat. major could enlighten us to the actual science of it all?

Another thing about the track 10000 that's probably more important here than any other distance is rhythm. If the competition is such that you don't have to pay too much attention to other runners and you can get in a groove, that can be a huge benefit. It's not something that you can plan too much before the race, unless you know you're going to be practically alone, or that a certain pace is going to be rabbited for you. But if you can find it and settle into it, 16 laps can go by like nothing.

Of course the best runners can go with shifting rhythms, or cause them themselves to break others, but as a neophyte, that's not easy.

I kind of disagree with the poster who said you can make up a lot of time late in the race. You have to have an awful lot left in the tank to really pick it up. Picking it up significantly in the last few miles is damn tough to do unless you're in a championship race or something where you've been conservative early.

I can't imagine there's any more satisfaction in a track race than running a really good 10000 ... getting to 5M in PR pace and knowing (almost knowing, since anything can happen) you've got a big PR in the bag ... or more pain then running one that really sucks, especially if you're at 4M, slowing down and you can't help yourself.

There were 10000s late in my career where I was so set that I was ready to PR, that when I went (for example) 4:55-5:05-5:08-5:12, and knew I couldn't break 31:00, I was so discouraged that I dropped out. That's not good.

THIS is really helpful. I've only run 2 track 10ks -- a loooong time ago (one was okay & one was dreadful -- and I was in much better shape for the dreadful one).

I've been thinking about attempting another one, but I was/am really anxious about the mental aspect of it. My running strengths indicate that I'm probably a better 10k runner than a 5 -- but the 5k seems so much more manageable than a track 10. 24 laps to go is just a horrible thought.

This thread has been great in terms of thinking about how to mentally take on a 10k. I'm still a bit nervous, but you guys have given me a got of good stuff to work with. Thanks.

There's nothing more mentally defeating than slowing down as the race goes on. On the other hand, there's nothing better mentally in a 10k than feeling good mid-race and being able to pick up the pace.