How hard do you try?

Just a thought and something to ponder..... this is a question 'ive often asked myself, and i'm sure a lot of other runners do to? When Im running in a race, I suppose im running as hard as I can all the time, but actually that cannot be the case, as often I get to the end and im not really that knackered, so im thinking maybe I haven't been putting it all in.
But during the race at any given point I never think to myself, ' I can run this bit faster' or 'speed up rev your not trying hard enough', but like I said on countless occasions I get to the finish and think 'you should've ran harder in the first few mile' or whenever. Is this a common thing with fell running, that you coast through the race, and get to the end thinkning you could have ran harder? It happened yesterday, I lost concentration for a couple of mile and a few people got past me, but the last few mile I ran like the clappers and finished very strongly with a lot more to give, so im thinking I should have tried harder throughout the race. One day im going to try and finish a race foaming at the mouth, gasping for breath, veins popping out everywhere......

Do others think they give everything during a race?

I know I don't always give it my all mainly because I can get a 'zen head' on at times when I drift off into the rhythm of running and suddenly realise that I've run a mile without thinking about it and I literally do tell myself 'get a move on, you're in a race'. I also find that on longer races I sometimes hold back at the beginning because I worry a bit about whether I'll have enough in me to get round if I go at full pelt. Today I ran Commondale Clart after High Cup Nick yesterday and I can safely say that I tried as hard as I could all the way round to the point that I felt light headed and a bit sick at the end. I think it helped that, although I'm not doing our club championship, it was one of the championship races and loads of my club turned out. Normally I am the only woman interested in fell running so I did feel that it was my territory and I had something to prove.

All the time Reverand! If only i had run the last 100 metres of the hill instead of walking? If only i had run the descent quicker i could have picked that guy off! Most frustrating of all when 40 or 50 seconds could have gained you 7 or 8 places?

I WILL try harder next time!!!:wink:

All the time. I think I push myself a bit but not enough out of comfort zone

i have never finished a race yet where i have crossed the line and not been dying but im not sure that equates to the best performance i could achieve because i need to learn to hold back sometimes and save it for when that hill comes or whatever, so maybe your just very good at your race craft and finish races having used exactly the right amount of energy when needed. the reason i feel i always push myself to that extent is that i like pain because im a bit sadistic like that,it makes me feel alive and not everyone is able to push themselves past that pain threshold. just do your best on the day and never have regrets.

I've often thought about this question. I find it interesting.

One example I've got that I think is relevant is a 5 mile race I've done twice. The first year I finished in a real state, hardly able to talk, slightly dizzy. The next year, I was a couple of minutes quicker and not in such a state at all.

I wondered if I'd just not pushed myself as much, but now I more think that it's just that I was fitter, so my lungs were more able to cope, but the pain had gone from being mainly in my lungs to more in my legs. So even though I wasn't in such a bad state at the end, I probably had pushed it as much as I could. It's just that my lungs being in a better state they gave the impression that I hadn't.

That's the interpretation I'm sticking with for now anyway!

Some thoughts on this: http://forum.fellrunner.org.uk/showt...ing+discomfort

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TheReverand

Just a thought and something to ponder..... this is a question 'ive often asked myself, and i'm sure a lot of other runners do to? When Im running in a race, I suppose im running as hard as I can all the time, but actually that cannot be the case, as often I get to the end and im not really that knackered, so im thinking maybe I haven't been putting it all in.

But during the race at any given point I never think to myself, ' I can run this bit faster' or 'speed up rev your not trying hard enough', but like I said on countless occasions I get to the finish and think 'you should've ran harder in the first few mile' or whenever. Is this a common thing with fell running, that you coast through the race, and get to the end thinkning you could have ran harder? It happened yesterday, I lost concentration for a couple of mile and a few people got past me, but the last few mile I ran like the clappers and finished very strongly with a lot more to give, so im thinking I should have tried harder throughout the race. One day im going to try and finish a race foaming at the mouth, gasping for breath, veins popping out everywhere......

Do others think they give everything during a race?

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I think I always put my best effort in during races and its the terrain that dictates quite how that effort pans out into performance. For sure the first couple of miles are always hard work but, after that, I kind of get into the rythm and it doesn't hurt so much; I'm not sure I'd want to use the 'not hurting so much' as a reason to try and speed up though. Fell races by their nature have faster finishes than starts most of the time (usually up then down) and obviously the down hill bits can seem easier, even if you're at full pelt. I also think the High Cup Nick on Saturday was the absolute perfect race for an 'easy' finish, given that it has that super last 4 miles. On my garmin I was absolutely flying for the last two miles see here and at the time could've done with the route being longer as I was fast catching up some of the runners in front of me :)

totally depends what sort of race you're having.
In my experience, when I know I am on for a good time after about halfway, then I'll give it everything for the remainder. Likewise if there's someone I've been trading places with during the course of a race I might give it an extra spurt at the end to try and get in ahead of them.
But if I've had a poor first half start or if it's very slow conditions or whatever, I'll just trot in and save myself the aggro.
At Borrowdale last year I'd possibly overtrained, with the result that I got to Scafell Pike about 15-20 mins after I'd been expecting, and in some discomfort due to a weak back.
I had absolutely no motivation to complete the rest of the race 'as quickly as possible', didn't care in the slightest. Just wanted to get home.
Most of the time though I have tried my best - often not good enough - in the last mile or two not to give my place away to anyone behind me.

The point is ,in most races (400m 800m exepted) both mentaly and phisicaly througout the race you must always feel "on the edge " but not over it.
This leads us to feel, in the comfort of the after race post mortom "if only " I had pushed on the uphill/downhill etc etc ,when the fact is ,if we had done that we would have gone into oxygen debt and bingo race over.
It is interesting to note that in some the British Milers club races one of the racers would be given his head to race "do or die" no tactics just go for it,Many died but some ran PBs .
Try it on your next race , mind you even I might pass you if you do !!

I push depending on my level of fitness. Fitter I am the more I push.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by A.P.E Knott

The point is ,in most races (400m 800m exepted) both mentaly and phisicaly througout the race you must always feel "on the edge " but not over it.
This leads us to feel, in the comfort of the after race post mortom "if only " I had pushed on the uphill/downhill etc etc ,when the fact is ,if we had done that we would have gone into oxygen debt and bingo race over.
It is interesting to note that in some the British Milers club races one of the racers would be given his head to race "do or die" no tactics just go for it,Many died but some ran PBs .
Try it on your next race , mind you even I might pass you if you do !!

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Yep, it's all about pacing. You've got to have the needle hovering around the red line, but you can't afford to go over it for any length of time. It's all to do with heart rate and lactate threshold and all that I suppose. You might beast yourself up a climb but then give yourself time to recover on the flat. With all the variations of gradient and terrain and your own strengths and weaknesses you certainly won't be running most fell races with 400 metre intensity all the way round.
I suppose where the Reverand's musing comes in is wondering whether there is any scope for beasting yourself just that little bit harder or little bit longer on that climb, or do you run the downhill for speed or recovery? But then that's another aspect of what makes fell running so absorbing.

Bottom line - if you finish not feeling knackered - you've definitely not run hard enough in the last mile!

I would always say that I have given my all in every race. Due to varying levels of fitness and illnesses and the results have probably reflected these correctly. Not being able to commit to conducting recce's of many routes I do find that I have to hold back slightly for the section of the race after the start section so that I do not get caught out at a later stage or on a particular element - this I have learnt from experience when I have bombed out due to doing too much at the start. This said I always complete a race and think 'If only I had .....' and this normally relates to try a little more on xx section or run a little further on a hill before walking or start running earlier towards the top of a climb and I make note of these for if I am able to do the race the following year.

I can remember really going for it at Lords seat one year and being absolutely 'on the edge' all the way round and not really enjoying it at the time. Doing it another year I was deliberately taking it easy because I think it was Ennerdale the following weekend - I ran comfortably within myself up the forest track at the start and just felt stronger and stronger as the race went on as a result - I didn't beat my previous time but I was within about a minute of it and thoroughly enjoyed the race so I think for some of us its more about pacing and knowing when to run fast and when to hold back than going flat out all the time. Enjoying the race was and is more important to me than being a minute or so faster and perhaps being 100th instead of 110th.

I always cane it in races. Probably why I don't actually enjoy them as much as steady running.

2 or 3% from maximum in every race, my heart rate data from the garmin is quite scary h:w00t::w00t::w00t::w00t:

it depends on who is in front and behind me!

The fell races I've been doing in recent years I tend to be running mainly to complete in the early stages (Wasdale, Ennerdale, Borrowdale), then I try and finish strong. I tend to feel like I need to know a route before I can properly race it. Also, even tho' I've been over in the lakes with CFR for ten years, Ive not really raced enough to know the people about me. If I run for my 'first claim' club (New Marske Harriers), say in XC events, I'm usually fairly sure I'm racing to my best because I'm often racing other individuals...more or less. Thers always occasions tho' when I do think..if only I'd 'dug-in' there more, or started my finish earlier. But 'hey ho'! No-one gets it 100% right!

I have on occasion finished races worrying that i'd done long lasting damage to myself, while on other occasions i lose interest after a while and take it easy, i sometimes struggle to motivate myself to run hard while other times it just feels right to really ruin myself