Thinking about false starting an 800m on purpose...bad idea?

*drop out at 200m in to the 800m I meant

You are a pansy.

Frustrated high schooler wrote:

At my championship meet tomorrow, the 800m and 3200m are almost right on top of each other (800m first)

Two things can't be "on top of each other."

Don't.

Without getting into the coaching conflicts you have, false starting would look a lot better than dropping out at 200 or running 2:25 because the other two would almost certainly lead your coach to kick you out of the 3200m. It is hard to fake a false start, and it's hard to get an official to kick you out for it in the 800m, most of the time, in my experience, they would line you up again. Maybe throwing a hard elbow or stepping egregiously inside the curve would be better or more likely to get you DQ'd but that really depends on how good your officials are. I've seen some pretty bad fouls in those areas that weren't called on the high school level, so good luck with that. If you do go through with this though, you have to act really pissed off about it though, you need to sell it that you are upset about this. Especially since you have already voiced your concern, because that means it will be a lot harder to sell.

Ya I think starting the 800 and then just continuing to go for the 3200. The head start you get should be enough to put you in for the win.

Good plan op!

Last week at work I was extremely busy, overtime already on Monday to reach the week's targets.

And can you imagine, my boss made me travel to see a client on Tuesday! Duh! A 16 hour day including travel, calculated door-to-door.

Suck it up, snowflake. Be a man, not a wimp.

WTF championship meet is on a Wednesday in early April?

Give this troll thread another try in a month when high schoolers are actually running championships.

try again next month wrote:

WTF championship meet is on a Wednesday in early April?

Give this troll thread another try in a month when high schoolers are actually running championships.

I never said state champs. It is a regional championship meet that is very important to me nonetheless.

My coach did something like this to me. I ran both. Got a PR in the first race and my legs were dead. I was pissed and just laid down & put my legs up. No warm up for the second event as I was pissed just two strides.

I ran a PR.

Don’t know why your coach would run a pointless race in a championship but don’t underestimate what you can do.

Do your best in each event. I don't know what you consider as "right on top of each other" but if it's really close maybe your coach is unreasonable or even stupid. Do your best anyway. If the 800 takes too much our of you to place in the 3200 you can lay the blame on him. If you really decide not to run the 800 be honorable about it. Tell your coach that you won't run the 800. If he also pulls you from the 3200 again, it's on him.

Maybe your coach is an idiot. Maybe he knows more than you do. But if he is an idiot don't use his idiocy as an excuse to make yourself into a weasel. Do what you know is right and live with the consequences. In the long term there's a much better pay off to being honorable. And if, as you say, you and he have other issues you'll only make those issues worse by pulling a stunt like you're contemplating.

Frustrated high schooler wrote:

I am good enough to compete for top 3 in the 3200m but not the best in the 800m.

So you might have a chance of finishing in the top 3 for the 3200, but you won't win the 800? Easy decision, go all out on the 800 and try to get a PR and/or 2nd place. After that, run the 3200. If you don't do well in it, blame your coach.

Run both, but run the 800 smart. Use this as an opportunity.

Since you don’t care much abt the 800, do an experiment: run a big negative split. Make a point to be near the back of the pack (assuming nearly equal ability levels in the field) - or just be a solid :05 off your PR pace, if you are that disciplined - and pick off as many as you can on the second lap. Turn it into a 400m race for you; you will recover much more quickly for your main race, and you will learn something about what it feels like to think through a race. I bet your time will be better than you think, too.

Don’t be a weasel; submit to your coach’s authority, and use this chance.

theJeff wrote:

Run both, but run the 800 smart. Use this as an opportunity.

Since you don’t care much abt the 800, do an experiment: run a big negative split. Make a point to be near the back of the pack (assuming nearly equal ability levels in the field) - or just be a solid :05 off your PR pace, if you are that disciplined - and pick off as many as you can on the second lap. Turn it into a 400m race for you; you will recover much more quickly for your main race, and you will learn something about what it feels like to think through a race. I bet your time will be better than you think, too.

Don’t be a weasel; submit to your coach’s authority, and use this chance.

What he said, minus the weasel part. Jog/run the first 400 and let it rip the last 300 or so. Your legs shouldnt be to damaged. I don't think your a weasel because i have similar experiences with stupid coaches

Best,

Daniel

not possible wrote:

Frustrated high schooler wrote:

At my championship meet tomorrow, the 800m and 3200m are almost right on top of each other (800m first)

Two things can't be "on top of each other."

This made me chuckle.

Banana Bread wrote:

not possible wrote:

Two things can't be "on top of each other."

This made me chuckle.

Literally?

Frustrated high schooler wrote:

try again next month wrote:

WTF championship meet is on a Wednesday in early April?

Give this troll thread another try in a month when high schoolers are actually running championships.

I never said state champs. It is a regional championship meet that is very important to me nonetheless.

Please enlighten us on your championship schedule where you run a regional championship in early April but try to qualify for the state meet in mid may.

If the meet is tomorrow, it is likely too late for your coach to make the change. Championships are normally "no scratch" meets, so he can't change the entry now, nor can you avoid showing up at the starting line. False starting would get you out of it, but elbows or stepping off the inside of the track wouldn't--these DQ's would happen after the race is over. Jogging a slow time is against the "honest effort" rule and could get you thrown out of the 3200 as well.

He probably has a good reason for running both (i.e. points). What one poster said about taking the 800 out slower is good advice, but as a high school coach myself, I have a different reason. Most high schoolers, including good ones, take out their races too hard. Yes, this probably means you too. This slows down their final time AND makes them more tired for subsequent races. Run with your head the first 300-400 meters, pass a bunch of people, surprise yourself with the result and get ready for the next one. This will be better for you and for the team.

Yea bad idea. Just listen to your coach. You can do whatever you want after high school. Years from now you can tell everyone what a moron he was-and how much smarter than him you were.