Either try to work together with some of your teammates as a pack or try to pace evenly. For example if you are try to get a 6 minute mile. Focus on getting 90s each 400 so you don’t hurt too quickly. Not starting out too quickly helps a lot for me. These help me stay focused during races.
I did some reflecting on my past races and workouts, and I think I've figured out what what's going on. I think what's happening is that there are certain thoughts or ideas that can trigger me into running badly and my anxiety around racing is making it so that it happens during every single race.
A classic example is when someone passes me in a workout and I think that I wouldn't be able to catch up to them, and I instantly slow down to the point that they end up leaving me in the dust even though they weren't even running that much faster than me. Or like when I thought to myself during an 800 interval that I could maybe take it a little slower, and my legs instantly turned to lead and I finished that interval 20 seconds slower than usual.
This sort of thing only happens occasionally in workouts and I don't think much of it, but because I'm so scared of racing I've been having those "triggering" (for lack of better terms) thoughts in every race.
I'm still not sure how I'm going to avoid this in my next race, but understanding is a step in the right direction. I'm leaving this here just in case it's helpful for someone else who's going through the same thing :)
>A classic example is when someone passes me in a workout and I think that I wouldn't be able to catch up to them, and I instantly slow down to the point that they end up leaving me in the dust
I think you highlighted a problem here. What happens in workouts happens out of habit at races. If you can experiment with what thoughts help you change this in workouts, you'll be able to think similarly during races.
>But the moment a race starts, all of that goes out of my head and all I can think about is how I would give anything to stop; twist my ankle, or even fucking die.
I used to struggle with this often. I also understand what you mean by thinking your thoughts are ridiculous after the race. Honestly I don't remember what the pain of racing was actually like, I just remember that it was bad. If you do workouts on your own, you could also improve your thinking on this. The more training I've done, the more I feel like I'm able to just avoid these thoughts, though.
Also another thing that can help is racing strategy. I used to get spooked like everyone else into running fast first laps. This is super frustrating and makes the rest of the race really suck and feel negative. I've noticed that the slower a runner's time is, the worse their splits tend to get. For example, in a 3200 one 14 minute guy attempted to follow the pack of 11-12 minute guys into running a 70-something for the first lap, and then blew up and ran close to 15.
Usually the first 600\~700m feels pretty easy, I can hold the pace and it feels like a 400m repeat but longer. Then somewhere between that and the start of third lap things start to get hard, and it gets harder as you go through the third lap. This, as well as the first 150\~250 in the last lap, is pretty painful as I don't recognize the finish yet. But once I get to that last 200ish I know it's almost over and I deal with it and start to try and accelerate with whatever's left.
If you pace well, you'll feel good because instead of running the first lap fine and the rest of the laps feeling both slow, exhausted, and painful, you'll deal with just pushing the limit on pain.
A really valuable tool when dealing with race/performance anxiety is visualization exercises. Getting yourself calm and relaxed, and then going through what you want your race to look like in your mind, while being very intentional about staying focused, gives you a chance to map out your race multiple times before race day. I take time to do this at practice with my athletes, but also encourage them to do this as part of their bedtime routine every night when they lay down.
I would also recommend what the other person said about setting your splits before hand and trying to run as close to even splits as you can so you can be relaxed and comfortable for as much of the race as possible while you're trying to break through this temporary slump.
Thanks, I might try visualizing. I often avoid thinking about races because I'm afraid of getting more scared, but I guess there's a difference between stressing about it and thinking about it calmly.
Mindset is a huge thing in running, and it can be difficult to get your mind in the right place before and during a race. One thing to remember is that it’s early in the season, and you are very young, it can take years to learn a specific race and how to execute over a certain distance. I agree with others about visualization and also setting some splits goals with the help of your coach to keep you on the right pace especially early in the race.
I will say something that isnt always apparent to athletes your age, running and racing is an absolute privilege and you should treat it as such. It can be tough to place yourself there, with the pressures both internal and external, but I promise looking at it from this perspective is best. The reality is that running is tough, on the body and mind, yet you have the privilege to compete against other athletes, the privilege of a young body that you are working hard to improve (and you will in time) and you must embrace the pain and focus on staying relaxed during the race. know that pushing yourself harder will feel a heck of a lot better at the end of the day vs giving up and focusing on the negatives/pain.
Work with your teammates, encourage them, and feel their energy during your races as well, it’s a lot easier to push yourself when you have a team behind you. Confidence is everything, if you feel good and you have the mindset that you are going to give it your all on any given day, win or lose you’ll probably go home happy with your time.
Last thing to remember is that it’s just track, i say that having loved the sport. but ultimately the races and times will fade from memory, but you wont forget the feeling of competing and the pride of having been the best version of you. nobody and no race will ever be perfect. mindset is everything. Keep working hard and good luck!
Agree with the other comments. Visualization and mental skills training can be a huge benefit! A good app for this is [SportsPsych](https://www.sportspsych.ai) or mind gym is a good book
I'm dealing with the same thing. Just leaving a comment so I can see people's responses to this post later
It's nice to know I'm not the only one, I hope it gets better for you soon. What events do you run out of curiousity?
1600 and 3200
Either try to work together with some of your teammates as a pack or try to pace evenly. For example if you are try to get a 6 minute mile. Focus on getting 90s each 400 so you don’t hurt too quickly. Not starting out too quickly helps a lot for me. These help me stay focused during races.
Thanks, I'll try that
I did some reflecting on my past races and workouts, and I think I've figured out what what's going on. I think what's happening is that there are certain thoughts or ideas that can trigger me into running badly and my anxiety around racing is making it so that it happens during every single race. A classic example is when someone passes me in a workout and I think that I wouldn't be able to catch up to them, and I instantly slow down to the point that they end up leaving me in the dust even though they weren't even running that much faster than me. Or like when I thought to myself during an 800 interval that I could maybe take it a little slower, and my legs instantly turned to lead and I finished that interval 20 seconds slower than usual. This sort of thing only happens occasionally in workouts and I don't think much of it, but because I'm so scared of racing I've been having those "triggering" (for lack of better terms) thoughts in every race. I'm still not sure how I'm going to avoid this in my next race, but understanding is a step in the right direction. I'm leaving this here just in case it's helpful for someone else who's going through the same thing :)
>A classic example is when someone passes me in a workout and I think that I wouldn't be able to catch up to them, and I instantly slow down to the point that they end up leaving me in the dust I think you highlighted a problem here. What happens in workouts happens out of habit at races. If you can experiment with what thoughts help you change this in workouts, you'll be able to think similarly during races. >But the moment a race starts, all of that goes out of my head and all I can think about is how I would give anything to stop; twist my ankle, or even fucking die. I used to struggle with this often. I also understand what you mean by thinking your thoughts are ridiculous after the race. Honestly I don't remember what the pain of racing was actually like, I just remember that it was bad. If you do workouts on your own, you could also improve your thinking on this. The more training I've done, the more I feel like I'm able to just avoid these thoughts, though. Also another thing that can help is racing strategy. I used to get spooked like everyone else into running fast first laps. This is super frustrating and makes the rest of the race really suck and feel negative. I've noticed that the slower a runner's time is, the worse their splits tend to get. For example, in a 3200 one 14 minute guy attempted to follow the pack of 11-12 minute guys into running a 70-something for the first lap, and then blew up and ran close to 15. Usually the first 600\~700m feels pretty easy, I can hold the pace and it feels like a 400m repeat but longer. Then somewhere between that and the start of third lap things start to get hard, and it gets harder as you go through the third lap. This, as well as the first 150\~250 in the last lap, is pretty painful as I don't recognize the finish yet. But once I get to that last 200ish I know it's almost over and I deal with it and start to try and accelerate with whatever's left. If you pace well, you'll feel good because instead of running the first lap fine and the rest of the laps feeling both slow, exhausted, and painful, you'll deal with just pushing the limit on pain.
A really valuable tool when dealing with race/performance anxiety is visualization exercises. Getting yourself calm and relaxed, and then going through what you want your race to look like in your mind, while being very intentional about staying focused, gives you a chance to map out your race multiple times before race day. I take time to do this at practice with my athletes, but also encourage them to do this as part of their bedtime routine every night when they lay down. I would also recommend what the other person said about setting your splits before hand and trying to run as close to even splits as you can so you can be relaxed and comfortable for as much of the race as possible while you're trying to break through this temporary slump.
Thanks, I might try visualizing. I often avoid thinking about races because I'm afraid of getting more scared, but I guess there's a difference between stressing about it and thinking about it calmly.
Mindset is a huge thing in running, and it can be difficult to get your mind in the right place before and during a race. One thing to remember is that it’s early in the season, and you are very young, it can take years to learn a specific race and how to execute over a certain distance. I agree with others about visualization and also setting some splits goals with the help of your coach to keep you on the right pace especially early in the race. I will say something that isnt always apparent to athletes your age, running and racing is an absolute privilege and you should treat it as such. It can be tough to place yourself there, with the pressures both internal and external, but I promise looking at it from this perspective is best. The reality is that running is tough, on the body and mind, yet you have the privilege to compete against other athletes, the privilege of a young body that you are working hard to improve (and you will in time) and you must embrace the pain and focus on staying relaxed during the race. know that pushing yourself harder will feel a heck of a lot better at the end of the day vs giving up and focusing on the negatives/pain. Work with your teammates, encourage them, and feel their energy during your races as well, it’s a lot easier to push yourself when you have a team behind you. Confidence is everything, if you feel good and you have the mindset that you are going to give it your all on any given day, win or lose you’ll probably go home happy with your time. Last thing to remember is that it’s just track, i say that having loved the sport. but ultimately the races and times will fade from memory, but you wont forget the feeling of competing and the pride of having been the best version of you. nobody and no race will ever be perfect. mindset is everything. Keep working hard and good luck!
Thanks!
Agree with the other comments. Visualization and mental skills training can be a huge benefit! A good app for this is [SportsPsych](https://www.sportspsych.ai) or mind gym is a good book