"I think I can...I think I can...I think I can..."

If you are a runner and participated in a race, you have by now discovered the importance of pacing. Usually it's learned the hard way. You start out too fast and end up wheezing, staggering and praying for the finish line. Sound familiar?
So you learn and hold back in the beginning making it to the finish line without vomiting. WOW! I have arrived! So you become a good conservative runner finishing barely breathing hard. Now what do I do?
Perfecting your pace can be a tricky, but important art. A clock is important to most of us as runners, but inevitably we run more by "feel". We decide to speed up, slow down, or hold steady based on how much 'discomfort' we can manage. Your brain reads whats going on in your cells and tissues and uses that information to get you into a rhythm as you settle into a pace. Learning how these internal sensors work is the key to developing a better pace.
Feelings of fatigue are often just in our head. Our bodies have much more in reserve than our head is telling us. We have to train our mind! Our bodies naturally protect us by anticipating the finish in order to keep us from reaching a failure point before we finish. Our brain receives signals from the body and checks in with all the necessary systems asking, "do we have what we need to perform at this level"? Then your mind adjusts the body accordingly. So how can we prevent the brain from hitting the brakes prematurely?
Experience, experience, experience!!! The more your experience fatigue, the more your body becomes in tune with its limits. This is best done by training at race pace periodically. Negative-split training is a good simulation of this conditioning. Running the second half of your workout faster than the first half will train you to override your mind when it tries to slow you down. This will enable you to say "no" to what your mind is trying to tell you from the signals your body is sending.
Learn to read these signals and override them by pushing through to the finish. So when you hear the coach yelling "push", set your mind on the finish line and you can slow down when you finish :)

Dress Rehearsal

"Simulator runs" train your body and mind for race success! When you step up to the start line, do you know what you're getting into? If you have put in the time in critical workouts that mimic the pace, terrain, and conditions of the upcoming race, you DO! Here are some suggestions.
1-Try to schedule your simulator runs two to four weeks before your actual race. 2-Do the run on a surface that is as close to possible to the actual race course. 3-Start your run at the same time that the actual race will be run. 4-Visualize the parts of the course in your mind as you run; forming strategies for each section. 5-Keep on your race pace during this run. This may seem tough to do, but don't let that worry you. On race day it will pay off dividends in that you will feel even stronger.

Back In The Day

It seems that coaching ‘now’ and ‘back in the day’ has undergone some changes over the last 50 years for coaches as well as athletes; particularly in track [XC]. I have noticed the good and bad coaching changes have gotten a lot clearer after I became a parent. Consequently, I believe that an old coach from Texas put it best, “that the three best qualifications for any coach are children of their own, a sense of humor, and a spiritual side”.

“Back in the day” many coaches had a ‘pick’em up and lay’em down attitude; like a “drill sergeant” approach. The belief was that an athlete had a “God-given” talent and little could be done to improve it. Sadly, along with that belief came the idea that injuries were just “part of the game”. As a result, what you found was that ‘bored’ athletes just “acted up”.

“Acting up” is seldom a problem when coaches are disappointed FOR athletes instead of IN them when goals are not reached. Does this mean coaches should not maintain discipline, eliminate bad habits and improve attitudes? Certainly NOT! Humor, rest, imagination, encouragement and rewards can all bring about desired results. The “key” is to get athletes to enjoy what they are doing; to compete with themselves as well as others.

Unfortunately, many coaches today do not take time to really understand the “why” of their coaching. Coaching any sport is not “a one size fits all” responsibility. Training reaches a point of diminishing returns if coaches don’t know where athletes are before they start and when they get there [conditioned]. “Coaching is teaching and if it is done right will gain immortality.” Some of the best coaches I have learned from are dead, but live on through the lives they touched. Most everything I know about coaching I learned from someone who was willing to invest in me what they knew; not just fill a position.

Your Race

Things are different for distance runners. Among their various eccentricities, they refuse to measure life in months or years. Rather, a runner's existence is noted in mile runs, weekend races, and bouts of tendinitis. There is only the simply process of wearing down the treads of countless pairs of shoes with hour after hour of perennial motion. They see life differently on foot without the ens of a car window.
Like life, racing itself is almost totally unpredictable and rarely follows a script, no matter how well you plan. Does going out too fast in the first mile(s) because you're over excited and hyped up, sound familiar? What about feeling fatigued early in a race? How about having to decide whether to stick with a competitor or let them go and hope they come back later in the race? How do you react to these race situations? Do you react with calm, calculated reactions, or panic and fear?
Your reactions to the ever changing environment of running, both before and during races, can have a huge impact on your race performance. When you react to any situation with panic or fear, your stress response kicks in. While runners need this response in optimal levels, an over heightened response can mean wasted energy and a compromised ability to make logical decisions.
When things don't go as planned, both before and during a race, you need to be able to control your thinking in order to control your reaction to the situation. When something doesn't go as planned in your running try to simply look for alternative ways to deal with the challenge.
If you get to a race later than expected getting angry and stressed is not going to give you more time to warm-up. Just tell yourself to be calm and plan your warm-up around the time you do have left. If you feel fatigued early in the race, don't panic with lots of negative thinking. Just remind yourself to relax, stay positive, and remember the sound preparation you have behind you.
When you develop any running plan whether it be training, racing, diet or mental training, be sure to include many possible scenarios in the plan.
A very important point to keep in mind for reducing anxiety and stress is to focus your attention only on things you can control. You can't control weather, other runners, or the number of hills on the course. You can control YOUR RACE! So, run it!