Compare Your Fastest Race PR's To Your Fastest Practice Bests.

I finally made a thread that lasted for more than 2 pages.

200

practice - 24

race - 22 (split)

400

practice - 52

race - 48

800

practice - 1:59

race - 1:48

1500

practice - 4:32

race - 3:47

So does this thread prove that people run their workouts too fast? If you're setting PRs in practice... isn't something wrong with your training?

Well, my mile PR was only 5:20 (and I'm a guy), but I was never able to run that pace for an 1100y time trial in practice.

My 880 PR was only 2:21--best practice time 2:26(? I think).

AdamLocked wrote:

So does this thread prove that people run their workouts too fast? If you're setting PRs in practice... isn't something wrong with your training?

how can they be running their workouts too fast if they are setting prs? i dont understand. it'd be one thing if they were running their repeats too fast, but that's not the case - they are running personal bests.

and for those that say that time trials dont count... why not? 1600m is 1600m. if i ran a 4:20 on the track in practice, but have only run a 4:40 in a race, then my pr is 4:20, NOT 4:40.

3200 TT- 10:13

3200 race- 10:19

oddly enough i have always been able to fastest most often in practice while time trialing by myself

AdamLocked wrote:

So does this thread prove that people run their workouts too fast? If you're setting PRs in practice... isn't something wrong with your training?

More likely it means something is wrong with your racing.

flipside wrote:

More likely it means something is wrong with your racing.

Ah, this is more correct. Setting PRs during Time Trails is great. But I would think if you're having workouts where you're setting PRs during the actual workout instead of the race... then you're missing the point of the workout. Which is usually to run at a controlled pace/stress so that your body can adapt to it.

Sometimes the point of the workout is just to run as hard as you can. Not everyone goes by the "train don't strain" philosophy, including some of the all-time greats.

Some people are just poor racers.

you are a head case loser if your time trial-practice time is close to your best race time.

How about as for a fast (perhaps too fast) workout, compared to best time that season? A teammate of mine did 4 x 800m with 4:30-5min rest in 2:11, 2:06, 2:07, and 2:03.

His best time that season was 1:57

Hey...sorry you took such issue with my post. I guess the truth hurts, listen, why don't you stop taking everything so personally and run race where you actually feel the burn. Or I guess you can keep being a workout star. Kudos to you, you're king of repeats! Idiot.

Practice 400 - 53

Race 400 - 52.0 indoor

Practice 800 - 1:59

Race 800 - 1:54

Practice Mile - 4:30?

Race Mile - 4:21 (3:53 1500)

Practice 5k - 15:37

Race 5k - 14:51

I count my 5k and 10k PR's from ones run in practice. Granted I never really ran these distances in races but I ran 14:57 in the 5k time trial after cross ended my senior year and 32:26 in a 10k on the track doing the michigan workout.

For the races I actually did (800 and 1500)

never ever did mile repeats much faster than 4:45 to 4:50. Ran 3:51 in the 1500.

never have broke 2 in practice (though I have never tried) and I have raced a 1:52.

To answer whether the practice times are harmful requires that you look at whether they get adequate recovery afterwards, whether their practice times start to suffer after, whether they get injured more often as a result, and of course how the races go.

You can also explain away some of these practice pr's by rapid improvement (i.e. the shape that would produce an even bigger race pr at that time), better pacing in that controlled environment, and failure to get into a race at that distance when in that kind of shape.

I'd tend to think that you should do your workouts at an ambitious pace in order to keep improving, rather than at, say, actual 5k pr pace for 400 repeats. Substitute ideal goal pace for actual pr pace, and then run as fast as you can (with no finishing spring, of course), commensurate with finishing the workout and not being destroyed the next day.

4:00 for 1500meters

4:40 for 1600 in practice/time trial (acutally a naked mile but I wore race shoes)---felt the same. I guess adrenaline from a real race makes a big difference.

Brod wrote:

Hey...sorry you took such issue with my post. I guess the truth hurts, listen, why don't you stop taking everything so personally and run race where you actually feel the burn. Or I guess you can keep being a workout star. Kudos to you, you're king of repeats! Idiot.

Still missing the point, I see.

I am not the one running my PRs in workouts, ding dong. Other people are. But I am able to read what they write and understand it. So when they say they are racing poorly, I do not consider it a revelation that (gasp!) they are racing poorly. You apparently do.

Please try to read more carefully next time. Sound out the words if you must. It's not that hard.

Can't understand how anyone can get close to their race pr's in practice but I never ran very many time trials. All practice times came during a series of other repeats.

800 1:57 practice 2:00

1500 3:45 practice 3:55

3000 8:01 practice 8:32

5000 13:38 practice 14:53

8000 22:58 practice 24:00

10,000 28:33 practice 30:50

Except for the last two.

For the few who have time trials close to or better then their race then there must be an anxiety issue with racing.

I also agree that there does come a time when you need to go out in practice and blast an all out effort. I get tired of all these people concerned about AT effort LT pace.

Not all the time of course.

I jsut found it hard to run close to race times without the adrenaline boost racing gives you.