Keep Your Composure
Last week I wrote about the appropriate effort for workouts vs. races. The main point was that we should not be pushing ourselves to the max in workouts, but we should give 100% in races.
That being said, workouts are meant to be challenging. They are an opportunity to get really quite uncomfortable and become familiar with that feeling.
During workouts we’re not only training out body to be faster and stronger, we’re also training our mind to remain calm when we’re tired.
Running “Fast and Relaxed”
When I want my athletes to practice fast running, either with short intervals or at the end of longer intervals, I use words like “fast and relaxed” and “in control” to describe the assignment, and I avoid using the words “run hard.”
Of course, the assignment should not be comfortable or easy, but it should be controlled. The runner should be relaxed as opposed to grinding or hammering. The shoulders and face should should be relaxed. The running should not look sloppy or messy to an onlooker. No “gutting it out” should be happening.
The pace should be fast and consistent to the last step. If the pace is slowing throughout the interval, that indicates the runner is losing control.
We can run faster when the body is relaxed, and the mind will lead the body. We don’t want to panic, worry or tense up. We’re learning to remain composed when we’re very tired, and this is one of the reasons we avoid max effort in training. Max effort is where form starts to break down and we lose control of our pace and our body.
Expect to Feel Bad
It’s a big mistake to expect to feel great in a race. (Sometimes we do, and I love when that happens.) But in general, we should expect to get very tired and very uncomfortable in a race. After all, we’re trying to lay it all out there! We need to anticipate discomfort, mounting fatigue and the temptation to slow down or back off. We need to plan on resisting that temptation and be ready to manage our discomfort until we can taste the finish line.
The key to managing the discomfort is practice. Practice that happens during workouts when we run fast and remain composed.
In workouts, it’s less “scary” to feel this discomfort because we have breaks scheduled between intervals. We only have to manage the temptation to slow down for segments - not the whole race distance.
For race day, we should determine a smart pace goal based on our training, but we must plan on using our skills of staying calm and collected when (not if!) we start to feel very uncomfortable. The body will be saying “Alert!!! I am getting tired! This is fast! We need to slow down!” And the mind will be saying, “This is exactly what I expected. Everything is going to plan. I feel this way at the end of all my workouts and there is still more in the tank. I have been here before.”
Expect to Run Well Anyway
Recently one of my athletes recently set a new PR in the half marathon. Her opening miles were faster than in the past, she reported that the race felt tougher, she struggled to hold her paces in the final miles and felt she should’ve started slower.
As a coach, I was very impressed with this performance. I thought it was excellent. When I looked at her splits, I could see that she only slipped back a little bit. I mean, 10-15 seconds over a mile. This runner was uncomfortable and struggled to hold her paces in the final miles but she didn’t panic, she remained in control, she kept the pressure on. She was rewarded with a lifetime best and the confidence that she can struggle and still run well.
Often, when the going gets tough we start to question our ability. We want to stop and take a break, maybe walk for a bit and regroup, or just give up on the day and coast in to the finish. We worry about the fact that we’re not feeling good. We worry about how uncomfortable we are.
Let me tell you — we should not be worried when races feel hard.
Here’s a reframing tip: When the effort feels really hard, it’s helpful to think “I’m running fast” as opposed to “This feels really hard.” Remain mentally calm. Remain composed even when the body really wants to stop. Remember that you can run well even when you feel bad.
Nicole Sifuentes is a full-time Running Coach for adults of all ages and abilities. She is a former professional runner and 2-time Olympian, and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Read more about her services, and schedule your free coaching consultation.
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