Mental aspect of racing is ruining my races? Please help.

So you run 17:20 in practice and can not break 22' in competition ?!?!

Either you are a troll or you have indeed major pacing issues, or mental issues.

Are you just not starting way too fast?

Im not a troll. It takes me a little bit to get my pace and feel comfortable but I usually start out horrible and don't feel comfortable. I then stress about not doing so well in the beginning and can't keep my pace or anything for that matter and have a mental breakdown while racing. I have been trying to push through it but nothing is working. Also, I think that the fact that I only run in my flats during a race makes me feel uncomfortable because I am not used to running fast in flats, only trainers.

who needs to get used to running in flats for races? you shuold be feeling lightning fast in flats, weather you where them in practice or not.

I don't feel fast. I feel clumsy and I feel like my stride and everything is off.

So...

One last obvious question : do you warm up correctly ?

Also, get used to running in flats or just run in trainers if that makes you feel better, it won't matter that much.

Actually, another question: are you used to running at the time your races happen ? And do not eat 3 hours before the race.

If all this is ok, maybe you need some kind of mental coaching.

Please post the link to your most recent race where you bonked with name and/or number?

I find it almost impossible to believe that you can run 5 mins slower in a 5K race with all of the added adrenaline etc.

Only trolls are know to display this type of phenomenon or indeed the inverse i.e. they can run sub 13:00 but not break 20:00 in a tempo run.

Im not a troll because I am replying to these posts... If you don't believe me then you can get off but I am being serious about this

Troll status confirmed.

blank is registered name wrote:

So...

One last obvious question : do you warm up correctly ?

Also, get used to running in flats or just run in trainers if that makes you feel better, it won't matter that much.

Actually, another question: are you used to running at the time your races happen ? And do not eat 3 hours before the race.

If all this is ok, maybe you need some kind of mental coaching.

This.

Anxiety has been know to bring on atrial fibrillation. Afib has the effect of reducing cardiac output by a material factor producing the phenomenon you suggest. Just a thought and a heart rate monitor would quickly confirm or dismiss this.

Race more, train less. Race every weekend (or twice a week if you can) for a month or so. Good stuff above as well, a la anxiety etc.

In what miraculous alternate universe did you pull off the 16:45?

kimani wrote:

Race more, train less. Race every weekend (or twice a week if you can) for a month or so. Good stuff above as well, a la anxiety etc.

+1

just race more. That's why salazar has Mary Cain running local xc races - he's trying to get her to learn how to race.

There's an old trick you can try - run the first mile of a race at tempo pace, no faster. That's easy. Then from there you will look around and see the slowpokes you should be ahead of, and voom off you go.

The point is to ease your anxiety - tempo pace is easy.

And don't race the workouts. Take them down a step. Many kids use up all their fight in workouts so at race time they are exhausted mentally and can't summon the fire.

This an extreme situation, but I can relate. I'm an 800m specialist, but have always been told about my potential as a longer distance runner. I love cross country but have never felt like I was hitting my ideal times. After building up a full base for the first time this summer I thought I could take my 5k xc PR from a 17:40 to a 15:xx, not only because I ran a 4:30 mile, but split a 1:53 800m(all prior to having built a base). I opened the season strong with a 16:40, but got stuck running 17:0x - 17:1x for the rest of the season. Although I got out at a strong 4:55 to 5:15 my mind got the best of me when I was passed and I ended up finishing in 6:00 pace. I resolved this problem at my championship race when I finally came back and ran a 16:40 on a hilly course, it wasn't what I wanted, but it was more than I could ask for.

My advice to you would be to shrink your ego, don't assume you can run something if you're not even close. That 15:xx goal might be too much for you to handle, aim for something more subtle, like a 16:50 or even 17:00, progressive is better than aggressive.

Do not quit. Just keep running and racing. Make sure you don't race your workouts.

XC courses can be all different distances. Since you aren't really on a team in a league where you run lots of races, a couple miss measured courses, an extra hot day and a late Friday night could easily set you up to lose confidence.

Sometimes it takes a while for a good summer of work to really kick in. Run winter and spring track and see what happens.

Try to get your race routine as close to your workout routine as possible and see if that helps. Either try doing your workouts in flats so you can get comfortable in them or try racing in trainers to see if there is a difference. What about wearing a watch? Do you take off your watch during races when it is something you heavily depend on during practice?

This might sound crazy, but your situation sounds crazy, so... I want you to think like this until you get your head right:

"Racing" is just another word for "hard workout." You know what, screw it. Wake up, stagger to the line without a warm up, and just run it like it's a day at practice.

Might sound idiotic, but if you have such bad mental issues with racing, maybe you should start from square one. Be more than chill.

massrunner12222 wrote:but when I line up for a race I can't even break 22 min for a 5k.... It doesn't feel hard but I just can't go any faster. I start out well then my legs just get heavy (literally 2 min into the race) and I already contemplate dropping out.

How fast are you going out in your races? This sounds to me like you could be sprinting off of the start line, and it feels really easy even though you're maxed out, and then it catches up with you. I see this happen a lot with people who are more fast twitch/explosive - it's so very easy for them to burn all their matches at the start of the race.