‘Races’ Articles at , Page 4

Runners Saying it Like it Is: “PR’s are fun”

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Cait — 18 Comments ↓

After running the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half-Marathon in New Orleans Shalane Flanagan Tweeted something all runners can relate to, “Running PR’s are fun!” Succinct. To. The. Point.
kara goucher and shalane flanagan
Flanagan followed it up in THIS Competitor recap with, “I think anytime you can run a personal best, that’s something special. You can’t take those for granted.” So true. The thing with PR’s is they become quite rare. Elusive like that unicorn that poops out gold bricks. 😉

They are especially rare as you improve and get faster. Sure, you start running and the improvement curve is such that you could lop minutes off of successive 5k’s like it’s nothing. That incentive to keep stepping up your game becomes more enticing, you cross the line fresh off of your last PR and think, “Okay, bring on the NEXT!”

From there the PR’s probably still come, but they are in shorter intervals, no longer full minutes. They become more hard fought, you must start reaching into new levels of mental toughness. You get more calloused as a runner both physically and mentally.
peacock runner
It then gets to the point where those PR’s stick for awhile. Weeks, months, years maybe. Funny how much HARDER you must FIGHT and PUSH for single seconds. Tenths of a second. Hundredths even. Regardless of level, elite or mortals of the world, everyone is fighting for those dang seconds.

Time hangs in the balance, the irony is that as you watch the clock tick down as you barrel for the home stretch on the cusp of what could be a new PR, the seconds FEEL excruciatingly long but they seem to TICK OFF much too quickly. Will you make it to the line in time?

Then there are the days when you know you are a much better runner than the ‘old’ you. It’s been awhile since you dusted off that PR and it’s high time you smash the crap out of it. THOSE races are da## exciting. Running for the finish line you don’t even have to plead or bargain with the clock. You just know.

Those days are what make all that hard stuff worth it. Though the rewards can be tauntingly bittersweet as they don’t come often enough for the distance runner. But it’s okay, you can’t feel too bad for us, because if you STICK IT OUT and then greet that next PR the feeling makes it totally worth it.

Because like Flanagan summed up in a mere four words is quite true and need no further elaboration, “Running PR’s is fun!”

1) Finish the sentence: Running PR’s is…

2) Try to quantify the level of exertion one second of a PR takes to a long-standing PR compared to the minutes you can lop off when you first start.
Hmmm, because I’m the famous mathematician that I am I will say it’s five times the cubed rate of seven factorial.

3) Is there a distance you haven’t raced yet and looking forward to setting a newbie PR streak?

The Running Super Bowl and Some Lost Manhood

Posted on February 3, 2013 by Cait — 18 Comments ↓

As a runner I will officially say, “Forget the Super Bowl, all the action went down today!” There, I said it, and I’ll stand firm too…bring on the football, body-painted masses! 😉

Track nerds will already know that there is a new USA High School Record for the girls’ 2-mile…wait for it…9:38.68 Insane? Yes. Mary Cain just busted that record…all ye men and boys hold your manhood tight, because it’s quite possible a high school (junior) girl could kick your butt.

That was hardly the only action; the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix was promising a big showing in the men’s 3k and mile, and there was USA Cross-Country Championships too. Awesome coverage for you is to be found over at Paul Merca’s Blog for XC and FloTrack’s got tons of Boston related news.

Though, because it’s just too hard to resist, the question remains. Which men are left standing? Do your PR’s best Miss Mary’s Cain’s? Now THAT’S some serious chicking. 😉
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I like cartoons…HERE are more!

HERE are some tips to make sure your own races don’t suck.
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1) Who raced this weekend?

2) Who was a total track and XC nerd and gobbled up the coverage?

3) Do the math…how far could you run 9:38 2-mile pace for?
I don’t like math. 😛

4) Share one of your own tips on racing.

The Miraculous Millisecond After a PR: All a runner needs to validate all those miles

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Cait — 19 Comments ↓

I know you can’t run away from your problems but my brain tells me that I just might if I get a new PR. 😉

There really are few things that can get you more jacked (yes, I did just use that term and will stick by my choice of adjective) than a new personal best time. This applies obviously to races, but even PR’s in workouts. Crossing the line your legs are screaming at you to drop down dead to the ground but crazily thanks to being ‘jacked’ you’ve got this miraculous blitz of energy to postpone death drop for a second. In that second you are on cloud nine, beaming (at least inside, it may look like a sneer or grimace outwardly, but WE know it’s a smile!), fists pumping in the air (again, maybe only in our minds) and that lactic acid is numb.

Well, more like a millisecond of euphoric numbness but it IS there before the onslaught rush of muscles screaming at you because of the exertion. Even then, it’s sort of a sick and twisted awesome kind of pain that leaves you feeling jacked because:

1) YOU were beast-mode enough to last out the pain. You freaking bested your own brain that race, didn’t relent when you could have, pushed harder when your legs told you that you couldn’t, and you dug deep. Maybe deeper than you ever have before. Your body was being punished but you took it like a good soldier and kept your goals, the finish line, and the ever-powerful clock in mind.

2) You’re faster. I guess there’s no other way to put it…running works on two things: speed and distance. Improve on one and you’re pretty much validating all the work you’re doing. All the miles spent, all the workouts where no one knew you came out the mental victor, the sacrifices you’ve made, the nights you’ve visualized achieving that time. Validation.

So yea, I’m more than comfortable whipping out the jacked term, make fun of me if you must. I grew up in California so I’ll say if you get a new PR you have license to be hella hecka jacked. It’s bitchin.

Though, don’t rest on your laurels too much. Running is a little cruel like that…because guess what? You can still get faster. Of course you need to SAVOR those victories and achievements along the way, savor the heck out of them, but after that sweat has gotten super stinky (please, shower) the truth is running will taunt you, “You can still be faster.”

“Maybe not, you say?” Okay, this is true, there will inevitably be the PR that is a life PR but the other awesome thing about running is that it’s all relative. As in Masters runners still set PR’s…maybe a PR for their decade, maybe a new longest distance PR.

The term PR might eventually evolve into the word ‘goal’ for you. There is always the next GOAL to work towards. In the end, no matter what you call it, few things in the world (honest to goodness, I’d even argue with a meth addict to give chasing PR’s a shot…lol) leave you feeling more JACKED than obtaining a new running goal.

1) Finish the sentence: You can’t run away from your problems, but…

2) Brag time, when is the last time you got a PR? It can be from a workout even or you can swap PR out and use the word goal.

3) What leaves you feeling jacked?

Running Can Be Scary As He**, Don’t Let Fear Hold You Back

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Cait — 25 Comments ↓

Running is scary sometimes. Not in the ‘BOO!’ the Oogittity-boogitty Monster is chasing you, though that would surely get that turn-over moving, but in the fact that with running you must constantly be putting yourself out there.

Part of that funny feeling in your stomach and flurry of nerves that greets you on race day, and to a degree on hard workout days, is fear. Us runners don’t like to consciously admit that is what it is, because ADMITTING that there is fear works against us; burying that fear and words like ‘can’t’ are appropriate coping mechanisms to get us through those hard workouts and races. Words like fear, can’t, tired, and pain shouldn’t be leaking into our mental vocabulary.

Though, we can’t deny that these feelings exist and in order to overcome them DURING the races, the workouts, the long runs we have to be able to UNDERSTAND where they are coming from.

The fear comes from knowing there is the chance of failure.

Being afraid of failing, coming up short, losing, embarrassing ourselves in front of others, and having solid proof that we are not capable of something are what stop a LOT of people from accomplishing things they ARE capable of. What’s more are those feelings are the things that derail them from even trying in the first place. The truth is that it’s SO much easier to never try because at least that way we will never have concrete proof that you failed. But that not trying is just a cop-out.

Running can be daunting as he** mostly because it can be hard as he**. No two ways about it; in order to achieve those goals you have to PUSH yourself, open yourself up to the chances of failure, of having to look that fear of starting dead in the eye and not blink.

Runners butt up against that fear on a constant basis, which is another reason it takes an insane amount of guts and fortitude to stick to our sport. Every time you go out for a run, the inevitable fact is that yes, you will be uncomfortable. Discomfort is like the base line for any run and it only goes up from there.

Fear of pain is a primal instinct, your body doesn’t WANT to hurt that bad. It is hard-wired to do all it can to avoid pain; in workouts and races we run towards that pain. The days we come out the mental victors are the days we must be insanely proud of and REMEMBER because the next day we’ll have to face the same pain again and strive to come out on the winning side again.

Running is like the revolving door in that sense; you don’t just beat out the pain and fear one day and then sha-bam you’re on the elevator to the top. You have to KEEP passing through the same gates, and yes, there will be days you wind up ‘wimping’ out mentally and take the wrong door. It happens to the best of us…we do ‘fail’ sometimes.

Though we can’t let ourselves be so consumed by the fear of failing that it screws with our mind. People can get hung-up on the times they aren’t so proud of and let the seeds of doubt bloom into this heinous Venus Fly Trap that eats them alive every time they step to the line. Recognize that there will always be highs and lows in running; you savor the highs and you stick through the lows.

To get through the lows it is comforting to know that 1) EVERYONE has them 2) EVERYONE is denying that little bit of fear mixed in there during pre-race/pre-workout jitters and nerves 3) the revolving door of running will always grant you another chance regardless of outcome.

Fear should never rule you, nor should the times where you maybe did wimp out mentally; that’s why during that warm-up and as you battle through that hard workout and races, fear should be banished from your mind. In those moments there is no such thing as fear, as can’t, as pain, as failure.

We can understand where these feelings are coming from, but after that, all the focus shall be placed on overcoming them, of putting ourselves out there day in and day out.
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HERE is an article on how to channel pre-race nerves to your advantage.

HERE is an article on how to use the art of visualization to improve your hard workouts and races, another part of mental training.

HERE is an article on why it’s good to put yourself so far out there it’s scary.

The winner of the Ambler Heat Beanie is John Gash. Send me an email at captaincait@hotmail.com and we’ll get you sent out your swag! 🙂
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1) What are some of the other emotions mixed in there with pre-race and pre-workout jitters?

2) How do you set your goals for running, races, times, etc.? How do you make sure they are big enough to ‘scare’ you a little bit?

3) Name a time where you definitely pushed through to another level of pain tolerance? Brag on your fine self! 🙂

Running and ‘Craming’: Race day ready with not as much time as you would have liked

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Cait — 22 Comments ↓

The results for the ‘cramming method’ when it comes to running are a pretty mixed bag. Admittedly there are those lucky few blessed with a fair chunk of talent and with minimal training can whip out a rather remarkable performance given the circumstances. That’s not the norm and I’d like to also point out that the craming method = the hazing method. Read as: be prepared to suffer the consequences by way of ~~pain~~ uncomfort and soreness. Hey, you have to pay the price some way!

Trust me, he’s hurting, but I think he ditched the can’t beast at mile 2.

Running rewards the consistent and the hard-workers BUT there are circumstances where you’ve got less time than you’d like before race day and you want to do all you can to make the most of that time available. My most recent article for Competitor: ‘How to Get Race Ready in Four Weeks’ shares how to get the most bang for your buck in 4 weeks of training.

This article pertains to 5k and 10k races; generally the shorter races are a little easier to ‘gutt it out’ and surprise yourself with a better than expected race. True fact: you really can’t fake a marathon, even with months of warning…haha.

In getting back to running a race with a deadline looming, different scenarios will offer up very different prospects:

* Coming off of injury: We’ve all been there and if you’re injured early in the season, or during the point where you’d be doing the ‘meat’ of your training, you would be surprised just how WELL cross-training like a demon can prepare you for the race. Take your running workouts and just adapt them. By the time you get healthy enough to run, transition smartly and with even just 4 weeks of ‘real’ running you can have a really great race.

* Running but not training: Say you’ve been consistent but not doing any real workouts or mixing up the paces. Then your 4 weeks of training will mostly be getting those legs accustomed to faster paces and the mental training component of embracing the hurt of training, it’s different from just straight running. The good news is that ultimately if you’ve been consistent and are not out of shape, you’re tuning up and you may not be in PR-busting shape after 4 weeks but you’ll be well on your way and then motivated to keep that momentum up.

* Slacker: Okay, got to call out the runners that show up after summer vacation to report to their schools’ teams having not run a single step. Here is where that nice hazing term comes in, I know of some runners who, having diligently trained over the summer, take a sick kind of glee in watching others pay for their slackerdom. Like I said, you have to ante up somewhere and usually slackers have to pay double for their little hiatus. That said, at least if you’ve been a runner you have the muscle memory on your side so with 4 weeks of actually focusing you could wind up at least not totally embarrassing yourself. Then just keep up the hard work and hopefully learn your lesson just once. 😉

Along with sharing the workouts that will give you the most bang for your buck (spoiler: threshold workouts) the article has a 4 week training program guide too. So if you’re looking nervously at the calendar, take a breathe (hopefully you’ve been cross-training! Hehe) and know that you STILL can make it to the start and finish line with your ego intact and have at least a respectable showing…and potentially a really awesome one! 🙂

1) Was there a time where you were on a time crunch for your race; what was the circumstance, how did your training end up going, and then how were the results?
I had been injured for pretty much all of one cross season but was able to get in some land runs and workouts a couple of weeks before one of the big races. Since I was really good with my cross-training I actually did PR, so again, don’t underestimate cross-training! 🙂

2) Was there ever a time you feel to slacker syndrome?

3) When is your next race and what are some of your staple workouts in your training?

The Race Isn’t Over Until YOU Say It’s Over: How to decisively pass your competitors and come back from being passed

Posted on November 3, 2012 by Cait — 16 Comments ↓

The race isn’t over until the finish line is crossed. Okay, while that sounds like it merits a, “No sh*t, Sherlock,” snarkism…hold off for just a tick and read where I’m going with this. However long the race is you’ve signed up for, there is always time to make a move on your competitor. Don’t give up until you have, in fact, crossed the finish line.

Racing, as with running, isn’t just a test of who is physically superior. It is also a test of who has the mental capacities to FORCE their body to its limits. There is also a test of who is a ‘smarter’ racer, who can put up a poker face the best or who can tell when their competitor is just bluffing. Then you put the hammer down at the moment when your competitor is at their weakest and hopefully crush them mentally. Force them to give up.

How do you crush your competitor mentally? Decisive moves. What’s that mean? It means when you pass them, you don’t just pass them, you blow by them. You gather yourself right before you pass, drop your shoulders, look at relaxed as possible, breath as evenly as possible, hide how tired you are and surge. Run hard and fast straight past them and keep up the pace to immediately put distance on them. PROVE how strong you are feeling, SHOW them you are obviously feeling stronger than they could possible be, and FORCE them to give up right there. DO NOT, ever, look over your shoulder or give them a shadow of hope that they might be able to keep pace with you. Sounds mean, well, racing can be mean. It’s a test of who can get to the finish line the fastest.

The reason you want to surge and instantly put distance on them is because if you weakly pass someone, if they are smart they will just tuck right in behind you. As we know from racing and running, it’s FAR easier to let someone else do the pacing work and just pull you along. If you weakly pass someone you’re potentially just doing them a favor. If they are smart, they will gather their own reserves while you lead and decisively pass you and try to drop you. See why it’s all about decisive passing?

Now, on the flip side, here is how you should handle getting decisively passed yourself. I wouldn’t leave you left hanging without some strategy for the other side of things, because we’ve always got to be prepared for anything.

When someone makes a move on YOU and passes, know that they probably planned this. This is their attempt to CRUSH your mentally. Get mad, do whatever you have to to get fired up and determined to stick with them. Don’t give in and be the person who gives up before the finish line is ever crossed. Like I opened with, unless you’re crossing the line there is still distance left. Stay FOCUSED.

FOCUS on their back. Burn a hole into their shirt with your eyes.
RELAX, shake your arms if you have to, control your breathing and do a form check.
DECIDE if you need to make up any lost distance to match their pace NOW or if there is still a long ways to go, hold off and gradually reel them in. Here is where you need to check in with yourself, see how you’re feeling, assess your pre-race game plan, and make a choice.
SURGE if it’s late in the race and you haven’t got time to reel them in. Make up the distance you can and make it your goal to be able to tuck right in behind them.
MOVE. Make a move of your own if you are able to get to them; and remember you want it to be DECISIVE. If they ‘spent’ themselves the first time they passed you, it might be easier to crush them mentally; they probably didn’t expect you to come back.

Back and Forth: Passing is a two-way street and you can get into a back and forth sort of game; which can be fun, infuriating and incredibly mentally taxing in addition to the physical. Here, just keep thinking, “It’s not over until I say it’s over,” and don’t let any of their passes crush you mentally. Far easier said than done, I know, but that’s just how running is. Sometimes you do wind up being the one who got passed and dropped. But each time that happens you get a little bit stronger, physically and mentally, and hopefully it ignites a fire in you to keep training. That way you’ll be the one doing the decisive passing and crushing your competitors.

The race isn’t over until you cross the finish line.
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In case you missed it, check out: ‘5 Ways to Make Sure Your Race Doesn’t Suck’

After all that passing, if you’re a runnerchick, be sure to get yourself my Get Chicking shirt! 😉
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1) How would you describe a DECISIVE pass versus just merely passing someone?

2) How do you handle getting passed and how do you stay mentally focused and not give up?

3) Do you have a good story of a back and forth passing situation? Do share!

4) Who raced this weekend?? Who ran?? 🙂

Run Your Fortune Shirts

Get Chicking Shirts

5 Ways to Make Sure Your Race Doesn’t Suck

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Cait — 35 Comments ↓

Ah, the thrill of race day is what some runners live for. Take all that adrenaline and exited-nervousness and it’s a schmorgesborg of energy. With race day comes the (hopefully mostly) self-imposed pressure, expectations and hopes to run your best. You’ve got big goals you want to achieve and you hope that by the time you cross the finish line you’ve hit those. Here are 5 ways you can stack the odds in your favor to step away from the line satisfied.

1) Game Plan: You need to go into any race with a concrete idea of how you’re going to run and the goals you want to achieve. You don’t want to have to try and make decisions on the fly; in the middle of a race you don’t want to be wasting mental energy on wondering what to do. Plan how you’re going to run, the splits you want to hit, how you are going to react if someone surges or your competitors make a move. Go in knowing if YOU plan to make those moves and what you will do if someone covers them. With race plans you need a few because you don’t know what others may do; you don’t want to be surprised in the middle of a race and freeze-up. You also don’t want to mess up your entire race by poor pacing. When you’ve got your race plans it’s even better if you’re able to use mental visualization to ‘practice’ them.

2) Consider Conditions: If you’re running amidst a hurricane you should obviously be drafting off of people! Not funny, I know. But when you show up to a race you need to check the conditions and adjust your race plan if need be. If it’s really hot and humid you may have to chuck the times you had planned and race off of effort. If it’s really windy you may want to hold off on taking the lead until later so that you can tuck in and conserve energy. The race day weather and conditions don’t DEFINE the race and you can’t let less than ideal conditions be an excuse for you to still not put the effort in; it just means you may have to adjust your goals and plans.

That girl’s drafting! 😉

3) Use Your Competition: Don’t ever be afraid of your competitors, embrace them because they will force you to step up your own game and race your best. Always be looking for that person faster than you, key off of them, sit behind them, focus on their back and don’t let a gap develop. Pick people off; if that back you’re focusing on is slowing down or you feel better then blow by that sucker and move onto the next person in front of you…always keep looking for that next person.

4) Avoid Mind Mutiny: There are SO many sub-topics here, for the sake of brevity I’ll give pointers here and direct you to other posts. Getting stuck in no-man’s land in a race stinks, but there are ways to salvage the race; don’t let feeling like it’s just you on the course be an excuse to give up…hey, the clock is always there! The middle of a race is the hardest, don’t let your mind check-out here…this, 99% of the time, leads to your pace slacking. Keep applying the pressure and focus. Do NOT focus on, “dang, this really hurts.” Duh, running hurts…that’s a reality, you knew that going in. So stop the self-defeatist thoughts and focus on what you CAN control (form, breathing, stride count, etc.) as a means of distraction.

5) Not Your Day, So What: Does that sound heinously tough love-esque? Well so be it…but the truth is we ALL have races where the legs just don’t show up that day. If the gun goes off and you feel like you’re pulling bricks, don’t automatically throw in the towel and give up. You NEED those mentally grueling races and workouts because getting through them makes you mentally tougher; then the days when your legs SO show up, you’ll be able to apply that toughness and you’ll be running faster. Overcoming the crappy runs are a huge mental test; give up too often and you set up a really bat habit that is tough to break out of. So if it’s not your day, yes, you may need to adjust your goals and plan but STILL put in the effort. Also, you’d be amazed at how your race can be salvaged even with ‘dead’ legs; that and miraculously your legs could show up mid-race…it’s happened.

So there you go…five ways to make sure that race you’ve been running your butt off for doesn’t suck. Of course there are many more…but I guess you’ll just have to keep reading (and running) to get more. 😉

1) What’s one way you make sure your races don’t suck? Or a tip you’d like to share?

2) What has been a time you had to adjust your plans due to weather conditions?

3) When has been a time that your legs really didn’t show up that day; how did you react and still put in the effort? Or, if you gave up, what did you learn from that experience and try to make sure you did better next time?

Finish Line Face: A runner’s grimace-smile as they head for home

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Cait — 11 Comments ↓

You’re running toward the finish line, eyes dead ahead and your face is contorted into some kind of grimace-smile. You’re digging for that extra gear, the lactic acid feels about up to your eyeballs but you spot the line, incentive to keep going. Enter Finish Line Face.

It’s strange how the very last bit of your race, the bell of the last lap, the view of the finishing line is at both the most painful yet ‘easiest’ part of all. The end is in sight, you can taste it, the competitive drives kicks in and the desire to push it overrides the built up muscle fatigue.

Now, not all runners are blessed as ‘natural kickers’, or the ones who possess enough fast twitch muscle fibers and raw speed to easily find that extra gear at the end. However, everyone can work on their base speed; yea it’s unfortunate that tapping into that extra gear will take some more work (ie: searching)…but isn’t hard work what defines distance running?

Speed sessions and short intervals aside, there are other factors that can improve you finish. You’ll probably still have a touch of Finish Line Face but next time you’re barreling for home remember:

* Relax: Don’t clench your jaw, make sure your shoulders are dropped, your arms are swinging front to back and are ‘loose.’ Holding tension in your face, shoulders, and fists is energy being spent, and it’s not being spent productively; it’s also doing damage to your form.

* Form Check: Nice segue, because your form can naturally start to slip as you tire. Working on your form, with core strength exercises and drills, ensures you’ll be able to stand up tall when you’re tired, like at the end of a race.

* Strides: Counting your strides, or thinking about your stride rate does two things: it makes sure you’re being an efficient runner but it also helps distract your brain from thinking of how much pain you’re in. A stride is counting on a single leg, as it makes a complete running cycle. Think strides, not pain. Aim for 90 strides per minute.

* Dead Ahead: Don’t lose sight of the finish, it offers motivation and by looking forward you’re helping keep good form too. Key in on runners you can pass at the line too and go after them!

Finish Line Face…so long as you’re not clenching your jaw, embrace those grimace-smiles and find that extra gear!

1) Do you tend to make a particular face while running or racing?
I’ve been called Popeye before.

2) How do you make sure to keep yourself relaxed when you’re trying to run hard?
I shake out my arms and make sure my shoulders are relaxed.

3) What’s your form pit-fall, the thing that starts to slip when you get tired?
My arms start to swing like a hummingbird. 😛

The Olympics Are Over: Refocus, Reassess and Keep Perspective in Your Own Running

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Cait — 5 Comments ↓

The 2012 Olympics are officially over; though hopefully you were able to cram in as much track and running excitement to last you awhile. (Cut to some runner-squirrel hoarding nuts.) Upon the opening ceremonies I did a post on how the Olympics are a time many people are wrought with inspiration, motivation and the desire to get out and get after it…lighting that torch under their own butts and all.

Though the Olympics can also be a time of depression or feelings of inferiority and blaring mediocrity. I got a message from one of the cutest little running bloggers remarking that she was feeling really defeated about her own running. Her line of reasoning: I wish I were as fast as them. I’ll never be. My goal of breaking XX for a 10k isn’t only minutes off of the times these Olympians are running, it’s tens of minutes. I think she ended with, “Running is so hard, why even try?”

Before all us runner addicts start judging, I would like to point out that at some point EVERY runner thinks that to themselves. It’s the truth, running is hard, it hurts. There are always times you don’t reach a certain goal on a given day, get stuck with an injury lasting an eternity…it sucks, and it doesn’t feel good.

The Olympics only exemplify those feelings and magnify them. There are moments of pure and utter ecstasy and others of heartbreaking lows. There seems to be no middle ground. You were probably jumping out of your seat seeing Leo Manzano earn a Silver in the 1500 and your hearts nearly stopped when Morgan Uceny fell to the track during her 1500. No middle ground.

Don’t let a running ‘low’ get in your way from still moving forward with your own running.

* There are athletes competing at the Olympics that are feeling defeated because they didn’t run where they ‘should’ have or they didn’t advance to the final rounds. Runners let down because an injury kept them from even competing.

* There are runners who were at the Olympic Trials but failed to move on. There are harriers who, again, were too injured to compete.

* We’ve got runners who have plenty of other credits to their names but have never made it to the Olympics. We have mortal runners who have won NCAA titles, won the local 10k race, just PR’ed and finished mid-pack and the ones who don’t even race at all.

Because they are not Gold Medalists or at the Olympics, does that make them all failures? Should they all just give up and stop running?

If the answer is yes than you should stop because if the bottom line is that you don’t have a passion for the sport, for the act of running, then you should move on to something you do love doing just for the joy it brings to your life.

That said, it by NO means means you shouldn’t have goals. That you shouldn’t aim high. That you DO need to set goals for yourself that at times feel bigger than you are capable of…because that stretches you. Makes you reach.

It’s a balance of pushing yourself, but then being mature enough to keep perspective if you DON’T hit that goal.

Be curious of your own best.

FACT: Not everyone is going to the Olympics.

FACT: Don’t use that as an excuse to not set your own goals. And then don’t use that to rob yourself of enjoying the times when you reach those goals. Stay in your own running. Keep it your’s. Of course be competitive and line up against those better than you…but do it because in the end it makes YOU run better.

FACT: There is always someone better than you. World records are broken, case in point. Don’t warp that into a line of reasoning that you then suck. And remember that running hard hurts for everyone.

As the Olympic torches dim, rather than get stuck in a kind of defeatist of wallowing attitude…cheer for the amazing athletes who did make it and let that spur in you the motivation to continue striving for the best in yourself, wherever that may wind up being.

Those still harboring Olympic dreams, remember that unless you’re dead you can keep dreaming and training. Also remember there are World Championships on non-Olympic years and other big races. There are always road races, USA Championships, Club Champs, NCAA Titles and High School National and State races. There are the 5k races that have a dozen people and there are a slew of others where PR’s are achieved. Then there are ample amounts of roads, tracks, trails, treadmills and the lot where miles are to be had regardless of if you choose to race.

Run because you love it. Run for YOU.

1) What was a moment of utter ecstasy that resonated with you throughout the Olympics? A moment of where your heart broke for that runner?

2) What’s a moment of ecstasy from your own running? And then an example of a crushing blow and a time you questioned why you did this crazy thing?

3) How do you get yourself through the tough times and stay focused on your own goals, the love of running, and if you race, still pushing for the best in yourself?

Running Through the Hazard Zone: Preventing a mental crash in the dead center of your race

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Cait — 18 Comments ↓

The hazard zone of any run, every hard workout, each race is the middle. The excitement and adrenaline has worn off from the first mile and you’re not quite close enough to the finish line to taste it. Here-in lies the dead zone…the dead center.

WARNING: You are now entering the hazard zone. Enter at your own risk. Proceed with caution and ample amounts of guts.

We can break up each workout or race into three parts, to make things simple let’s take a 5k.

* Stage 1: The first mile you’re running on adrenaline. It’s easy to get caught up and go too fast actually, and here is where it’s important to, if anything, stick to your race plan or goal paces. Negative split running generally works best; if you feel like you can run below pace do it in the next stages.

* Stage 2 aka the Hazard Zone: Mile two is where fatigue sets in, the lactic acid has had a chance to build. Mentally it’s easy to let your mind wander or start to dwell on the fact that you’ve still got two miles to go.

* Stage 3: When you’re close enough to ‘taste’ the finish your mind can snap into focus and dig for an extra gear rather quickly. However, if you’ve dawdled away during Stage 2 and only reach this blast for home 400 meters from the finish you’ve lost time and if you cross the line with legs that were able to steamroll THAT much it’s most likely a sign you could have brought more to the race that day. Regret will set in moments after the finish line.

WARNING: The hazard zone is the biggest chunk of your race or workout. It takes up more than an equal third.

The thing is, taking this 5k example to a workout, say of 6×800 meters. The ‘novelty’ of Stage 1 could wear of after the first interval. Then it’s really only the very last interval that anyone can ‘gut’ through. So that leaves 4×800 meters of hazard zone.

Your hazard zone runner care kit:

* Predict it: Know the hazard zone and be well aware it’s going to hit. Here is where before your workouts or races even happen you can use visualization to get yourself mentally prepared to handle it.

* Prepare for it: There is mental preparation that you need to do before and during the workout. Having others around you for your hard workouts can also help, as they can pull you along. Physically you can also set yourself up best to push through the hazard zone by ensuring your legs have enough in the tank. This includes properly warming up to get your body ready to run fast and then being mature enough to run within yourself for the early intervals. If you blitz out too fast in the beginning, physically you could sabotage your workout right there, dead zone or not.

* Battle it: When you’re in the hazard zone focus on the concretes rather than how tired you are. Do a form check, focus on your breathing, make sure that your shoulders are relaxed or your jaw isn’t clenched and if you’re running behind someone pinpoint a spot on their back and DO NOT let any distance develop between you and that spot.

* The pain: Here is where you need to play mental games with yourself. Use mantras, ‘I am fast. I am strong.’ Pretend you’ve only go this last interval (or 1/2 mile) to run regardless of what number you’re actually on. Remind yourself that if you give in and ease up now you WILL regret it when you’re done…even though that voice in your head is telling you that you really won’t care, that’s a lie.

Don’t let a crash in the hazard zone sabotage your workout or your race; sense it’s coming and run your butt off all the way through it. 😉
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The feelings of being stuck in the hazard zone is also very similar to being stuck in No-Man’s Land during a race. You can check out that post HERE.
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1) How much of your workouts or races, do you feel, is made up of the hazard zone? When your ‘almost finished’ alarm goes off and kicks back in, how close are you usually to the finish of the race/workout?

2) What’s been a time you feel victim to a crash in the hazard zone and your race/workout suffered?

3) When’s an instance you did an awesome job of pushing through and kicked the butt of the hazard zone? What’s one of the tips or tricks you have when doing so?