When is it ever a good idea to train with rivals?

If it weren't for the friendship and camaraderie, I'd never have taken up the sport. You definitely didn't sign up for the same sport that I did.

If you are "showing your cards" in training, you are doing it wrong.

It's always a good idea, as long as you keep it a workout and don't turn it into an all-out race EVERYTIME.

In answer to your question: most always

ripvanracer wrote:

If you are "showing your cards" in training, you are doing it wrong.

good post.

lenny stotch wrote:

ripvanracer wrote:

If you are "showing your cards" in training, you are doing it wrong.

good post.

"Showing your cards?" What would that even mean in running? I think it is pretty obvious that one's race day strategy will be to run very fast. Knowing that won't help your competitors.

Enemies? Hah! I just like to run fast and beat people. Even if they are very good friends. I have formed many strong friendships with runners from rival schools, and thoroughly enjoy running with them when I can. I'd train with them every day if I could. Like malmo said, you didn't sign up for the same sport I did!

A Skeptic wrote:

"Showing your cards?" What would that even mean in running? I think it is pretty obvious that one's race day strategy will be to run very fast. Knowing that won't help your competitors.

Agreed. You're not a football team. You don't have a playbook that someone is going to steal. Anyone who could be called a rival has enough experience running against you that they already know your basic strengths and weaknesses along with your preferred strategy, so it's not like you are going to give away the fact that you don't have good top end speed, for example.

Anyway, even if they did gain some advantage from seeing your cards, you would also be seeing their cards, thus you would gain the same advantage on them that they gained on you and no one would have an edge.

Just because you might not want to workout with rivals doesn't mean you aren't passionate about the sport or anything else negative, I don't care what Malmo or anyone else tells you. Everyone is different, we all have our different niches.

With that said, if I had never worked out with "rivals" I would have far less memories and friends involved with our sport.

Some of my fondest memories involve cool down runs with a great competitor, or Sunday long runs after a race with rivals, before they headed back home.

Doing speed work with a rival? Nah, not for me, but that's just me...

I imagine post collegiality things would be different, that would be fun I'd imagine, I certainly wasn't good enough to ever be in the position of meeting up with a fellow professional to run some 400's.

malmo wrote:

If it weren't for the friendship and camaraderie, I'd never have taken up the sport. You definitely didn't sign up for the same sport that I did.

Can you ever post a reply without sounding so condescending?

I'm way too competetive a person to be friends with or train with my rivals, I guess you just don't have that competetive fire in you. This is a SPORT after all, not some hobby.

You just don't get it, do you?

Training solo can be boring so if I have the chance to have training partners I don't care where they come from frankly!

Its good to have someone to pace and push oneself with anyway.

We are rivals in races but not training as we are all in the same sport, with tha same goals and aims.

By showing your cards I didn't mean that we'd be racing in training. Only that it takes away that psychological advantage gained at the starting line when a rival is left to wonder just in what kind of shape you're in. The "unknown" can be quite powerful as an intimidation factor.

Friendship and comraderie is all good, but there are certain individuals with whom the competition is just too fierce to sustain any such relationship not outside of running.

loch ness monster wrote:

Can you ever post a reply without sounding so condescending?

I'm way too competetive a person to be friends with or train with my rivals, I guess you just don't have that competetive fire in you. This is a SPORT after all, not some hobby.

This is hilarious. Post of the Day

loch ness monster wrote:

I'm way too competetive a person to be friends with or train with my rivals, I guess you just don't have that competetive fire in you. This is a SPORT after all, not some hobby.

Good for you. Training isn't competition, period. You just don't get it.

malmo wrote:

If it weren't for the friendship and camaraderie, I'd never have taken up the sport. You definitely didn't sign up for the same sport that I did.

I agree. I've made a lot of good friends out of running rivals. And to those who say it would diminish one's competitive edge, I know that in a race I am generally more motivated to beat a friend/training partner than I am a stranger. Also, Geb and Tergat get along well.

it's really never a good idea to train with rivals. go with milers for middle distance stuff and vents or matumbo's for the longer stuff.

loch ness monster wrote:

I guess you just don't have that competetive fire in you. This is a SPORT after all, not some hobby.

I'm sure a former AR holder probably was pretty competitive... just saying.

54321 wrote:

If the opportunity presents itself to do the same workouts with guys who are enemies on race-day, is it better to take a pass? I know that running with fast people will make you fast and will even make the workouts more doable. but something tells me that you can lose that "edge" when showing all your cards in training. Thoughts?

.

Training ain't racing and racing ain't training. Competitors only come out on race day. The rest of the time, we are all in it together.