It makes no sense to run a race if your not in shape yet

i'd like to suggest a sports psychologist instead

sdfkjbndsbvksndfklvnskdfvkj;sdfnvdfslvbn wrote:

i'd like to suggest a sports psychologist instead

No this is true. Many runners go to camps and workout for months, then race. They dont race then go to camps. Long blocks of workouts, then race. Kipchogie dosent race till he is done with months of workouts. He enters the camp unfit, then gets fit, then races. He has 3 stages he goes through before he races. There is no way he is showing up at a race unfit.

you say wrote:

sdfkjbndsbvksndfklvnskdfvkj;sdfnvdfslvbn wrote:

i'd like to suggest a sports psychologist instead

No this is true. Many runners go to camps and workout for months, then race. They dont race then go to camps. Long blocks of workouts, then race. Kipchogie dosent race till he is done with months of workouts. He enters the camp unfit, then gets fit, then races. He has 3 stages he goes through before he races. There is no way he is showing up at a race unfit.

7/10

Maybe people use some races as a time trial to set a baseline of where they are at before starting a new training cycle.

Why would they be ending a previous cycle if they haven't done any races or time trials? What were they building towards and what signified the end of the cycle?

Instead of doing a race when you're out of shape just so you have some 'baseline' for future training, surely they can base this off previous PRs, recent performances or weeks' worth of training results...

Plus also, why do you have to have an exact performance to base your training off? Why not spend the first month or two running off feel or HR. If you're doing a race out of shape anyway, the results are only going to be useful for training for about 2 weeks before you're in better shape again, they you've potentially embarrassed yourself in a race for next to no reason.

sdfkjbndsbvksndfklvnskdfvkj;sdfnvdfslvbn wrote:

i'd like to suggest a sports psychologist instead

Better to seek comfort from mommy.

I'd like to suggest neither mommy nor a sports psychologist but just quitting the sport. I mean can't they put the race in context? Like it's a sharpener?

What if they have a breakthrough and race a lot faster than they expected?

*you're

Racing is definitely more fun then time trials. Races can be motivating even if the time is slow as well. For example say your a 16:00 guy and have been doing base only. You jump in a race and go 16:30. Wouldn’t that be an encouraging result knowing once you start specific work etc you should be well under 16?

some athletes are head cases wrote:

Some people are head cases

When you say "some" it means the minority.

Your title implies that all runners should follow your suggestion.

For some runners it makes no sense to run a race if your not in shape yet, especially if you are a head case.

But for most runners it is good to race yourself into shape and learn what you need to adjust in races and where your fitness is.

It's a mixed view for professional runners.

Some pros only race when they are ready and always have good performances.

Some pros will break the cobwebs early in a season and use the races as workouts and allow some losses on their record.

I agree that professional runners are likely making different calculations that most of us. For most of us, sponsorship and appearance fee dollars don't depend on posting consistent times. I find that a race (5k or 10k, not a target distance race) is a great way to jump start my training when I am trying to get back into faster running. Even if I have been doing workouts, nothing matches the feeling of being in a crowd and pushing to pass people over.

Star wrote:

some athletes are head cases wrote:

Some people are head cases

When you say "some" it means the minority.

Your title implies that all runners should follow your suggestion.

For some runners it makes no sense to run a race if your not in shape yet, especially if you are a head case.

But for most runners it is good to race yourself into shape and learn what you need to adjust in races and where your fitness is.

It's a mixed view for professional runners.

Some pros only race when they are ready and always have good performances.

Some pros will break the cobwebs early in a season and use the races as workouts and allow some losses on their record.

How are you going to work on not being a head case if you reinforce the illogical fear of racing by doing it less often? That makes no sense. It's more important for that person to race more often.

I once raced myself into shape and won a state title in Florida. OP logic is illogical and false.

Id encourage racing even when out of shape. Racing is a good workout in and of itself so why not replace a hard run with a race? Discouragement will happen with or without racing but someone might as well compete and beat someone or lose and see their race improvement when they are in shape.

It's very possible to race yourself fit and workout times do not automatically translate to the racing performances they indicate.

Overall I agree with the statement. However, at times I have entered a race early in the training cycle, treating it as a tempo run.

For example I've done it preparing to race 5K on the track. One early season, I ran 50 seconds slower than ultimate season goal pace as a workout. A few weeks later I raced twice at goal pace.

Another season I ran a 10K on the road through 4 miles at goal pace. A few weeks later I ran a 10K road PR at a faster pace. Both times it was a successful strategy to prepare to meet a specific goal.

However, when I was in younger, we'd be thrown into early indoor meets in dubious condition. This was OK if you understood it as a workout. There were times however when it was a bit demoralizing.

You know that some contracts dictate otherwise, right?

malmo wrote:

sdfkjbndsbvksndfklvnskdfvkj;sdfnvdfslvbn wrote:

i'd like to suggest a sports psychologist instead

Better to seek comfort from mommy.

What if mommy is a sports psychologist?