The "High School Kick" is high key annoying

I don't know what most of the responses are talking about: you're right that it's highly annoying. I think you recognize that most of the guys who are doing this to you are faster than you, and would likely beat you by more if they paced the race better.

High school races are crazy in the middle of the pack, since no one knows how to race. It's really hard to get the most out of yourself when the runners around you go out way too fast, jog for a bit, surge, and then have a wild kick at the end. It's particularly tough if you're with some guy with 600 to go, feel like you've got a good kick ready, and then he destroys you. What it means of course is that he should have been ahead of you already, but that doesn't make it suck any less.

The good news is that you're not too far off getting past the worst of this problem. I feel there's a lot less of it in the 10:45 range. The other posters are right that you went out too fast. Really hard to pace yourself though when everyone else is making all these surges. But keep training, work on your speed, and remember you're racing yourself as much as anyone else.

OP,

While I agree that high school racing is often characterized by ineffectual strategy, I would also argue that there is nothing inherently wrong about holding back for a strong close.

Racing cannot be divorced from context. If both a 47 second 400 runner and a 4:10 miler were both trying to run a 1:50 800, the former would be better served splitting 51/59 while the latter ought to aim for something like 54/56.

This applies to each event (though slightly different as the distances increase; there isn't AS MUCH of a difference in the relative skillset of athletes).

Another consideration is the experimental value of running races in different ways, especially as a high school athlete. The better and more serious you get about track, and the higher the level of competition, the less control you assert racing in a pack strategically. You are subject to the "terms and conditions" of the race you are participating in, and if you want to win, you have to be able to race in a variety of ways, and recognize your relative strengths vs those of the field. (For example, if Nick Willis and Timothy Cheruiyot race in a mile, you better believe Timothy isn't going to slow it down and let Nick Willis have a chance in a kick, so he might go faster earlier in the race than he normally would to force Willis's hand).

You didn't simply even split - your race is more of a positive split race. That in itself isn't a bad strategy (I always liked to positive split 3k's, relying on 800m speed and not trusting my kick against stronger distance runners), but it sounds like you simply got outgunned by a competitor who may have had a valid strategy so long as his splits weren't too crazy. There's nothing wrong with negative splitting a 3200m/3k.

Just a few thoughts from a midpack runner at the D1 level.

Yea it is annoying, but the truth is alot of these kids don't know how to push themselves yet. They don't handle it well psychologically staying in the moment. They either get scared of the projected pain "hurts already, what about in another mile" or just think that is all they can take. But when it's 100m to go they think "cheering crowd, only 15s to go" I can unload the tank. And that 100m kick doesn't really hurt, because 100m isn't enough to go deep into the red, unless you're already deep into the red which these kids are not.

Maybe there are a few kids that legit save it for a viscious final burst, but I doubt it happens often. I imagine most of these guys don't realize there is a big jump from "damn, this pace isn't especially comfortable" to "race level, saliva dripping suffering"

Spend less time bitching and more time training. Slow kids like you dont get to have an opinion. You do realize 7th grade girls could also kick past you in a race, right?

ConsistencyIsKey wrote:

I don't think I slowed down at all, he just sped up way too much.

This is possibly the most ridiculous thing I've read on here (well, today anyway). It doesn't matter how he beat you. What matters is why and the answer to that should be obvious.

Get faster, you big cry baby.

This is not just a high school thing. Look at Eamonn Coghlan, 1978 European Championship 1500m final. Coghlan was not racing to win the race. Coghlan stayed near the back until 150m to go. Coghlan was clearly racing to get either a silver or a bronze.

Was Ivo van Damme racing to win 1976 Olympics 1500m final? If van Damme were racing to win, he would have been closer to Coghlan and Walker with 450m to go.

Think of most men/women who end up with bronze medal in races 800m to 1500m. Most were in fifth place or worse with 200m to go. Many runners do not race to win and save a kick to simply finish in top 3. There is no right answer for runners. It's situational judgment.

Interval workouts see a similar phenomenon to that of lagging for much of the race, then kicking very hard, in that some keep up an even pace, while others can only put out that effort for a short period of time to kick it in at the end of each interval. To do the former, you need to be able to hold a higher heart rate for a much longer period of time. To do the latter, you can hold a lower heart rate for a long period of time and are only tough enough or in shape enough to kick hard for a few seconds. Ultimately, if you want to race well, you are going to have to get used to harder tempos and a more consistent pace in workouts, although there is still some virtue in practicing kicking in intervals to make it the default for races as well.

I am guilty, as is anyone who lags in the third lap of a mile race and the middle portions of other races. High school runners are usually guilty of going out way too fast, recovering much of the rest of the way, and kicking hard at the end, though it doesn't sound like that is what the OP's fictional opponent did.

This happens all the time wrote:

This is not just a high school thing. Look at Eamonn Coghlan, 1978 European Championship 1500m final. Coghlan was not racing to win the race. Coghlan stayed near the back until 150m to go. Coghlan was clearly racing to get either a silver or a bronze.

Was Ivo van Damme racing to win 1976 Olympics 1500m final? If van Damme were racing to win, he would have been closer to Coghlan and Walker with 450m to go.

Think of most men/women who end up with bronze medal in races 800m to 1500m. Most were in fifth place or worse with 200m to go. Many runners do not race to win and save a kick to simply finish in top 3. There is no right answer for runners. It's situational judgment.

agree-similar to Ian Stewart in the Munich 5000m--he was nowhere near Pre when Pre surged with over a lap to go--he knew better that other athletes such as Viren would get the W and he was content hanging around just enough to nab a bronze from a gassed Pre at the end-nothing wrong with this tactic-having realistic expectations...

ConsistencyIsKey wrote:

I've learned over the years what it feels to go too fast, go too slow, and eventually now almost every race I can nail laps that are no more than 5 seconds deviated of each other.

5 seconds per lap is a huge difference for a 400m track. Indoor it's doubly huge. You suck at pacing.

Even if we ignore everything that has already been pointed out, WTF is with the idea that competitors aren’t supposed to do anything to annoy you? They are running against you. They aren’t supposed to run the race in a way that makes you happy.

At 3:36 pace per 1km for a two mile race, no one around you is experienced. Your times don't reflect this wisdom you're trying to give us on how to run a proper race.

For all you know, the kid with the kick might have been working hard the whole time and just more motivated than you to go fast at the end. A hard pace doesn't mean you have to finish slow. My 3000m pb is a rather average 9:33 and boy let me tell you that 78s per lap was absolutely miserable for me and I was dying. But I still pushed like hell and ran the last lap in 66s because I desperately wanted to break 9:40.

There is no such thing as "speeding up too much" when finishing a race. I guarantee coaches and athletes took more notice of the kid ripping it the last 200m to reach a goal than the pretentious kid thinking he's somehow superior for losing on a steady pace.

Classic LR wrote:

This post belongs in the LRC ignorance Hall of Fame.

I believe it is a highly detailed, perhaps 10/10 troll

start racing how they race, sit behind, draft draft draft and then first sign of weakness, blast as hard as you can and own the race. never lead unless you are sure you will win

I'm not a Trump supporter, but you sound a bit like Hillary.

I think you forgot that there were other people in the race.

You went out with a plan, and seem surprised to find there were others who could run faster, and used you as a step off point in the run.

Either you enter competitions where you know everyone is slower, or you learn to race, and find an acceptable pace that you can compete at.

So many people think that the harder they train, the easier a race will be. Not so. You train hard so you can ignore as much of the pain of competition as you can.

Training, no matter how hard, is never as hard as a race that pulls you out of your comfort zone. You seem to have set up a couch in your comfort zone, and don't want to leave it.

Go out and explore your limits. Stop whining and start stepping over the safe line.

You'll likely never make the Olympics, so learn these lessons for life. Racing is about learning and developing a persona.

Its really not about winning races.

Work on your finish.

Anyone can have a good finish. Part of it is in the mind.

You are tapping into a different energy system unused in the race so far.

Welcome to normal track races, where you ran a pretty average race and someone better than you out kicked you. It's not rocket science, you just lost.

maybe its because you are slow to the point to where kids who don't know how to run can still beat you with a last second roll

if you were faster this stuff wouldn't happen (btw your not very fast and honestly not that experienced)

You're in a race - that's part of racing. Are people only supposed to run the way you think is best?

If you're looking to time trial, then go find a track somewhere solo. Otherwise, man up and actually race.