10,000 race help

go really, really fast. if something gets in your way: turn.

One word: pace. It's a long freakin race. Don't go out in 72 if you want to run 78's.

i've been advised that i may have inflicted damage upon your fragile butterfly soul. if any harm should come your way in life, please know that i support you 100% in everything you do. may you never suffer any of the setbacks that this cruel world has to offer. i shall go slash my wrists now, fair young boy.

Agreed. You are much better off going out in 82 than 72 if you are trying to run 78s.

Also, mentally you might want to think about breaking the race down into segments. Finishing the first lap and thinking "shit, I have 24 more to go" is probably not the healthiest thing to think. Whether you break it down into getting through mile by mile or 400 by 400, segment it.

I would recommend just kinda relaxing and acting like a tempo run for the first 2 miles. Look around and enjoy. This will make the race a lot easier mentally. Once you hit 4 miles to go, then start getting into the race mentality.

Start out on pace ... as mentioned previously ... don't go out in 72, and if you have to ... head straight for the back of the pack. I've found it useful to not count laps until say 10 - 12 laps to go. Simply get into a comfortable groove, make sure you are on pace and zone out until some number of laps remaining. After that, then you can start racing, counting laps etc. and really begin to focus on your race, try to bump up the pace ... see if you can run a string of 73s. I found 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, etc ... to be somewhat discouraging and even more so if the pace was too quick at the start.

Also, its helpful to have some team mates out there yelling for you ... I ran a 10K on the track at Tulane in mid May at 10:00 in the evening, 85 degrees, 100% humidity. Had it not been for team mates yelling at the start and 200m mark I would have been a DNF.

You are shooting for 32:30 with all those miles? You must be running some slow miles within your training if that is all you are shooting for. I would think you can run considerably faster than 32:30 if you've put in that kindof mileage. good luck---start slow and segment by 10minute (3X10) then kick

I know 32:30 isn't a blazing time but i am not reall very talented. My Mile PR is only 4:43.

I feel that i will be able to run faster than a 32:30 quite easily in the future but presently two 16:15 5,000s back to back sounds like a challenge enough.

One of my teammates always broke it up into 1,000s. Helps it go by quicker than 25 laps, plus you have to keep your head in it to remember when you've done 2 1/2 laps.

nobody wrote:

You are shooting for 32:30 with all those miles? You must be running some slow miles within your training if that is all you are shooting for. I would think you can run considerably faster than 32:30 if you've put in that kindof mileage. good luck---start slow and segment by 10minute (3X10) then kick

The ability to run all those miles and the talent to easily go under 32:30 do not necessarily go hand-in-hand. I was up as high as 130 mpw, nothing slower than 7, earlier this spring, am currently running 90+ on lots of quality, and I'm still looking at high-31s as a challenge.

Glad you're not letting the negative guy get to you.

In a 10,000, there will always be somebody who will do something rash to the point of stupid. To counter this possiblility, make sure to run your own race and, as stated above, keep to your planned pace in the beginning.

Few 10,000's have been won in the first two miles but plenty have been lost during that time. If you start out under control, you will be in charge of your own destiny the second half of the race, rather than be hanging on for four miles.

Good racing!

becrab,

first off, kudos for keeping up the mileage--good work!

secondly, i would hesitate--unless on your coach's advice and you're shooting for this ONE race--to drop your mileage to 40...just take two real easy, shorter days before the race, and you'll be alright.

i ran 8 weeks at ~90miles a week when my PR was 33:25, and dropped to a 32:07 without tapering other than taking out my morning run the day of the 10000. and i had similar enough mile times.

the critical thing is knowing what to expect: you'll feel great for a couple of miles, maybe more, as people have mentioned...then you'll start to wonder if you can hang that long--YOU CAN. once you just focus on rhythm and maintaining pace, and racing people and not just the clock, and only the last quarter of the race will you REALLY have to focus and fight. go out smart, but not slow, and shoot for even-ish splits.

good luck, and remember: the miles you're doing now are not just for this race, but will hold you in good stead for all the rest of your races in years to come. keep on building that strength!

greg

If your mile PR is 4:43 and you run 32:30, I think that would be incredibly impressive. All the more reason to go out in 78 to 80 and take it from there. Good luck!

As some posters have alluded to, one of the biggest things about a track 10,000 is that once you slow down, it's almost impossible to speed back up again (unlike CC or road races at 10k) except for a kick.

Therefore, start a few ticks slower than your goal pace and work into it. Obviously, it's much easier if you have people to run with. I kind of mentally broke the race down into thirds. At 2M, you shouldn't feel tired at all; by 4M, you should feel tired, but like you still have something left ... if you are slowing down before 5k, you're in big trouble.

Basically, I was a 30:45-31:30 runner in college. If I was stupid, or having a bad day, I might go out in 71 and 4:52, then be running 5:20-40 pace later in the race. In my best race, I was 73-75 the whole way with a 65 closer (30:46).

Also, if you're not a strength runner and it's windy or really warm, you better take that into account, too.

I don't know if you said what your 5k PR is, but you should shoot for a pace 10-15 sec./mile slower than your current 5k race pace. So ... hopefully, if you're shooting for 32:30, you are in 15:45 5k shape, or so.

Good Luck

I was a 10,000 guy in college. All the above advice is very good. Just remember, the worst sound in track & field is "24 laps to go!" Don't think about every lap. Segmenting the race is great advice. You should be relatively comfortable at 2 miles, feel it a little at 5K, hurting some but not falling apart at 4 miles, and, well the last 2 miles are not just a whole lot of fun, even if you do everything correctly. Keep pushing and be tough. 10K on the track is a tough race. It takes guts and intelligence to do it well (not to mention talent and hard work, but that's the case in any race). Above all esle, start conservatively!

Ben, if you're running at Sioux City on April 18th, I can help pace you.

Thanks for all the positive advice and thoughts.

marathnr,

i would love to have some help as i am quite intimidated by 25 laps. Go ahead and email. Thanks a ton or the offer.

Again thanks to everyone for the advice.

Also, keep in mind that it is a long race and that you can make up A LOT of time at the end of the race. If you're hoping to run 78s and have some quarters that are between 80 and 82, there is no need to worry about it. The last 2k is when I like to start to really focus on the finish line and try to knock the pace down. Also, if you close in a 70 that's 8 laps of 79s that you've made up right there. So my main advice is that you be patient, find your tempo, and work to close well the last 5 laps. I also agree that you should not worry about the lap counter. Just think of how comfortable you feel early on. Best of luck.

Dude:

Good luck with your 10K. I had similar goals for my first one back in 1994, and I pulled it off. Just don't pay attention to anything but your splits for the first three miles, and then count down the laps from there. Usually you can check with guys at the start and try to get a group together, esp. if it is not super competitive. That always helped me, but remember in the last two miles it is every man for himself. Stay focused on laps 11-21, and the last mile will take care of itself if you are in range of your goal time (4 laps NEVER seems as trifling as it does at the end of a 10k).

Brian