To get really fit, you need to push the pain barrier. I’m afraid it’s impossible to teach. Either you are mentally tough or not. I’ve seen lots of kids get to the pain barrier and not push through simply because they think the pain isn’t worth it. They’re not wrong. but to excel, pain tolerance is key.
Everyone is mentally tough. It's called survival. It doesn't have to be taught, it's innate.
When you're in peak shape, the discomfort of pushing yourself to the limit becomes a matter of pride, not pain, but until then we are just going through the motions.
1. You need pre race mental prep. Tell yourself over and over again that the race will hurt bad. Do this during your workouts.
2. You also need some longer intervals to get used to being in stress later in the race. 4-5x 1K repeats are excellent for this, at between 3k-5k race pace. Run like you want to race by pushing from 500-800m. 2-3min recovery jog, not walk.
You have plenty of speed. Keep that up with 150s at end of workouts, but do the longer repeats first. That helps make you run fast when tired, like a kick.
Good luck. We're all counting on you.
update: ran 4:38, and beat 4:35 guy, splits of 2:14-2:21 so i believe i can go faster with better pacing, also was pretty windy and lead chase pack but was a fun race
1. You need pre race mental prep. Tell yourself over and over again that the race will hurt bad. Do this during your workouts.
2. You also need some longer intervals to get used to being in stress later in the race. 4-5x 1K repeats are excellent for this, at between 3k-5k race pace. Run like you want to race by pushing from 500-800m. 2-3min recovery jog, not walk.
You have plenty of speed. Keep that up with 150s at end of workouts, but do the longer repeats first. That helps make you run fast when tired, like a kick.
Good luck. We're all counting on you.
update: ran 4:38, and beat 4:35 guy, splits of 2:14-2:21so i believe i can go faster with better pacing, also was pretty windy and lead chase pack but was a fun race
But tell us how you did it. Mentally. Did anyone's advice help you? What did you do differently from your previous races?
I also think this is relevant since this was the whole point of the thread!
i went in with a goal of sticking with the front guy/pack for atleast the first 1000, i tried visualizing how bad it actually was going to hurt, which made it actually feel easy, and since i was already a 1000 in, the adrenaline from the bell lap kept me within about 6-7 seconds behind first guy over the last 600, compared to thinking i’d be closer to 14-15 seconds
It starts way before the gun goes off. You gotta want it. Not just want it before the race but all the time. Want it bad enough you won’t give up when it gets tough