Please help with a SERIOUS PROBLEM

BTW this problem started 2 years ago, I've been running for 5 years now and I can remember what normal pain in a marathon felt like. God what I wouldn't give to get to that point again.

NERVES for sure!

Having it happen BEFORE you race was the give-away. You get so worked up over the race that you are doomed before the gun even goes off.

The cure, if there is one, is to make your workouts MORE stressful! Start at an all-out sprint for the first mile of a long run. Come in at a dead-sprint the last half mile of your runs. Build up so much stress in your bod that racing does not build up stress.

Yup, this thing used to happen to me ALL the time, my stride would be terrible from nerves. About 300m in to a 5k I would start feeling nauseous and on a couple occasions I would vomit on the sode of the course only 300m in!!! People looked at me like I was a ruhtard. But now I've been training alot more seriously 75mpw and my confidence has gone up. I now don't feel worried or nauseous. I know I've put in all the hard work and the race is just a 5k compared to the 10-12milers I've been doing.

Sounds highly unfortunate, sorry.

Have you tried running a race as an easy run, just to prove to yourself you could get through it?

One imagines this is exactly what sports psychologists are for...

Took sports psychology last year in school, exercises don't seem to help, the hold set minor goals in races, etc. thing. I mite seek one, I'm getting more and more desparate. Gerry if thats actually you Gerry Lindgren it's funny I've heard you post that a few times and while it sounds ridiculous I've done this on occasion, out of boredom while not training for anything in particular. It goes like this, 1st mile 5:2x, gentle jogging, more gentle jogging, 6:0x mile, rest of run is crap. I used to sprint everything short of very easy runs in. I've never been that fast but I've put in work over the years. Any advice is greatly appreciated, there's alot of good runners on this board and I'm sure someone else has overcome this problem. To the guy who posted about the 300M, 5k problem, what was the first race you got over it in?

I forgot to adress part of this : yes I have running a race as an easy run. I recently ran 7:3something pace for the first 6 miles of a marathon and still encountered the problem. I can run this pace all day long but could not do it in the race. I've had one "success" doing this and that was running a 1:29 half after having run a 1:28 on the first 13.1 of Boston as a MP workout that didn't tax me too much.

All in your mind. Believe in your training and have confidence in what you've done.

Can you go to the track and do a time trial?

I've had confidence in what I've done. Training for Boston I ran 20+ milers on the course consistantly over the winter all alone. Even a handful during snowstorms, no water, no nothing. I've been very anxious before a race, and I've been 100% confident and fine. The problem persists. I now go into races very lacidasical in my approach, still I have the problem. Yes, I can do time trials, but I can't be the best I can be posting times alone with no verification. Bump.

Bump again need to get this to the front page. Any help is appreciated.

alexfromMA wrote:

Bump again need to get this to the front page. Any help is appreciated.

That's your problem right there. Do you freak out when you miss a day of training that you hadn't planned on? Or if your runs aren't at the pace you want them. Even if the answer to those are no it is clear that you're just worrying too much. Your "need" to find an answer to your problem is holding you back from seeing that there is no problem. You are fit enough to reach your goal, so nothing that people tell you on this board will help you until you think you will reach your goal. Even if someone tells you to do something, when you go to do it you will be thinking "Okay, I need to do ____,____ and _____." Then you will most likely be expecting immediate results, and will give up on that idea if it doesn't work out the way you were hoping it would. You just need to look back on your training and convince yourself to believe 100% that you will reach your goal, or else when you're running you'll feel a tiny twinge and your mind will run with the idea that you're going to fail again.

Seriously, go see a psychiatrist. Not a sports psychologits, a regular psychiatrist. Your race nerves may not be coming from the race but may be coming from something in the rest of your life. I knew a guy who played golf in college. He got the yips putting. Tried all the sports psychologist stuff. Still had the yips. Sat down with a real psychiatrist and got out some big family issues that had been locked up for a while. Yips were gone after that. Nerves that manifest themselves physically are very serious and need professional attention. Don't think that you are weak because the nerves are doing this to you. The weak people are the ones who think that you can just go it alone and work it out. It takes strength to be honest with yourself, sit down with a mental health professional and get things worked out. Insurance will usually cover the first ten. Good luck.

You sound like your suffering from anxiety attacks. It's a legit thing, ignore people who say believe in yourself or it's all in your head. Panic attacks can lead to blood not flowing properly, which might be why your having heavy legs. Nausua is also a very common symptom. Having dated someone who had these, I know anxiety attacks are debilitating.

I agree with everyone here who says go see a mental health specialist. Running is probably your trigger. For my last girlfriend it was fear of abandonment. Anti-anxiety medication will help, but finding a real solution could be hard. Again, I'm not a doctor, it just sounds a lot like something I've had experience with. Good luck.

I've been seeing someone for a few sessions now, she has worked with a few olympians but she's not a sports psychologist just a regular one. I'm going to continue to work with her. Thanks for the support from everyone so far.

Let go. Your problem doesn't matter. This thread doesn't matter. Breaking 3 hrs doesn't matter. You don't f***ing matter. When you get to that point when you realize none of it matters is when you'll free yourself from yourself.

It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything.