Tips for Hanging on In a Race?

Fight harder. Simple as

I think it helps to be so brutally honest about how sucky you're feeling that you make yourself laugh. This is the blues ethos, according to Kalamu Ya Salaam. I felt that way at the beginning of a workout this afternoon. It was 76 degrees and sunny, which is crazy for March 2 in north Mississippi. Actually, it's not crazy, it's just 40 degrees warmer than it's been, and there was an 8 mph breeze in my face from Step 1, and I said "F--k" in various forms for the first half mile, then eased into it, chuckled at my own candor about the sucky suckness of the f--king weather, and slowly got down to work.

And went on to have a good workout.

So don't dissociate from the pain. Treat it like an annoying friend. Talk to it. Insult it. Then you own it. And at the very least, you won't hold yourself back. That's what you want to avoid: adding that negative charge to the pain. Pain is pain. It's what it is. But you've always got a choice of how to frame it.

Frankly acknowledging it, saying "Yeah, this hurts," accepting it in that way: that has always helped me move past it.

I think that's what the people who say "Run on pure hate" mean. They mean you need to stare that monster in the face, get right up in its face, and say, "So?"
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Sounds like you are in the wrong race.

If all the field is 10 to 30 seconds faster in the mile, even if you are ready to bust a PR, there's not going to a shoulder to run off for long unless your strategy is to self destruct.

Sounds like you previously went out too fast, struggled, and got dropped like yesterday's dinner. Remember how that felt and don't do it again.

No amount of mental toughness and teeth-gritting is going to clear lactic waste or increase your aerobic ability.

Be realistic about your fitness. Your recent workouts and races should tell you what to reasonably pace for. Follow that and make only minor adjustments based on the field - you are racing for time not place.

In my first year of running, I had spectacular results compared to what was expected of me but I generally wasn't winning races.

In the summer time we did Junior Olympics. I advanced in the 1500m through to regionals, where I was seriously outclassed. At this point in the summer, we weren't running anywhere near peak times (I was running 8 seconds off the 1500m equivalent of my 1600m PR). My coach had been talking about his NCAA days when he ran against Rono and Salazar and other super fast guys, and how when he was over his head he would take the lead and try to slow it down.

So I went into this race not really thinking about that and got 800m in and I knew I was barely hanging on. I thought of that strategy on the spot and passed everyone (I was in about 10th) on the turn, then tried to slow it down a bit. That worked for a few seconds, then everyone started eating me alive. By the time many of them got around me and I was back in something like 8th to 10th, we hit the homestretch with 500m to go and I got last lap vibes and started duking it out with those around me. A couple people passed me but by the end I outkicked 2 people. I don't remember my place, but I PRed huge so I guess I tricked myself into running harder than I ever had before at that time.

Maybe that will work for you.

I used to repeat the word "horse" to myself late in races... idk why, but it worked well. Horses are fast.

Goal B and C is just something out of an excuse box. An excuse to struggle and excuse to allow failure, before even the race has started.

All starts by having a realistic goal. That has to be learned. If you always have B, C goals you never lear to plan realistic. And to achieve the B or C goal (sick), is just something to feal better after you missed your real goal A. B and C is the silver and bronce medal, a winner does not think that way.

Had to scroll to page 2 to find someone who knows what they're talking about! Why are people advising him to hang onto people 10+ seconds faster? They're basically telling him to set out way too hard and die.

You can have all the determination and mental toughness you want but you simply can't beat someone who is a lot fitter than you.

By the logic of some of these guys I might as well run with Cheptegei and just 'hang on' and 'have a winner's mindset' yes I'm sure I will beat him if I do that!

You should set off at a pace that is appropriate for you. If you're a 4:10 miler, for example, getting dragged through 400m in 60s is suicidal.

well come on it depends if we're talking middle school, high school or college or adult.

big improvements in your teens happen all the time. And the OP says he *will* be in that race - it's not optional for him as far as we know. So giving some tips for how to try to use the strong field to get a PR are totally appropriate.

Yeah, there are often threads where people suggest there is some mental aspect of running where someone can out run their natural ability and fitness. The other guys in the race are just as tough as the OP could possibly be, and in the short term, the only way for him to close the gap is by improving his fitness.

Focus as much as you can on running as efficiently as possible for as long as possible. Draft, inside lane. Relax any muscles that you can. Good posture, form, etc.

Lots of good posts in this thread.

OP - if you want to run your own race, that's always good solid conventional thinking. If you're ready for a PR, it will happen. Talk to your coach and make a plan.

Or - maybe have a little fun & challenge (with the possible risk of crash & burn haha) if you're up for something different, and if your coach isn't dead-set against it. This thread has some good ideas for you.

Going off your description of how everyone else is 10-30 sec faster, here's an idea. This would turn the race into a bit of a workout. Stick with the back of the back, on someone's shoulder, for 800m. 2 hard laps, then back off and recover a bit for a lap. Then pickup steadily for the last lap, each 100m progressively harder, ending in a full sprint for the last 100.

Maybe also hop into some shorter races the same meet. Like 200m and any relay leg. Let this meet be more about development and less about a test of your peak racing fitness. It is early season, after all.

A coach can make suggestions but race strategy is completely under the control of the runner. There is nothing fun about a big negative split and not only will he get dropped by the front group, he will be passed by inferior runners during the last lap. Your last lap strategy will only work if the OP has something left in the tank after 3 laps.

I like threads like this. Lots of good information and strategy here.

The truth is everyone is different and what works for one person may not work for someone else. There is no one exact way for everyone to succeed.

Running is far more mental than many understand.

Some tips:

- Lock your eyes straight ahead onto a specific part of the runner ahead of you - like stare at the logo on the back of his jersey, or the back of his head, etc. depending on height.

- Visualization can be great, but if you're the anxious type, as it sounds like you are, I'd suggest the opposite - Do not think at all about the race, just focus on the present moment from the bus to warm up to the start line, no details or thinking about what's coming. Then, let the gun go off and float on the adrenaline as far as you can. The more boldly you run and further up you are than you'd expect, the more adrenaline will pour. Don't question it or try to out think anything here, thoughts will only slow you down.

- Focus on cadence

- Pick some part of your body or form besides your quads, hamstrings or calves. Like, the small of your back, the back of your head, your biceps, abs even and focus completely there, not on the major muscles that will be hurting.

Forgot to mention who turned me onto the second tip - Bob Schul in his memoir talked about how we never thought about races during training or anytime besides the race so as to maximize that magical special race feeling.

I believe it’s 100% talent and fitness and past a certain level, everyone is mentally tough. If someone does weightlifting reps, there’s a point where another rep is impossible. Distance running is no different; if someone is running too fast, it will eventually become physically impossible for him to move his arms and legs fast enough to maintain pace.

One year, our All-American XC runner decided to take on Thom Hunt at the Aztec Invitational. They went through the mile in 4:20 and he later told me that it felt as if he was sprinting at the 2-mile mark and had to let go. There was a photo in the school paper of the lead group at the mile mark. Besides our guy, the group included Rudolpho Gomez, Steve Ortiz and a U.T.E.P Kenyan. Hunt looked comfortable while the others were visibly straining to keep up. All those guys were mentally tough, but Hunt ended up winning by 20+ seconds.

Use the faster guys as pacers and windbreakers; draft off of them as long as you can, it will help pull you to a faster time, even if you don't beat them.

if you read about the East Africans, they don't really think this way and I think that's one reason they succeed. They have more of a 'we're all born equal but some of us train harder and are tougher than others' way of looking at the world.

Plus, you talk to professionals and many of them are are pretty much just as convinced as we are that their peers are more mentally tough than they are.

Point is, Americans tend to focus on talent as a bigger piece on the puzzle than Africans, and worries about mental strength are found in all ranks. There's not some speed level you pass when you stop being worried that you are mentally strong enough.

This is great advice. Too often we treat every race like it's the Olympic finals. Give yourself permission to stay with those guys as long as you can. If you have to jog the last lap or 200m, so what?