F4 “Practice” Race Weekend

Monday, April 26, 2010

F4 Athletes were racing all over Colorado and the U.S. this weekend... getting fitter and smarter as many "A" races are coming soon!

A few thoughts on how best to process post "practice" race results from F4 Head Coach Scott Fliegelman:

Whether you were thrilled with your results or perhaps a bit disappointed, the plan going forward is exactly the same... Continue to take your training one day at a time and plan to do your very best to complete each workout as ‘accurately’ as possible, based on your personal zones.  Now is not the time to ‘push a little harder’, or ‘sneak in a few extra workouts’, as endurance training simply does not reward this type of thinking and there are NO SHORTCUTS.

Secondly, what can be learned from these “practice” race experiences?  As I ran in yesterday’s Earth Day 5K, I can surely say that knowing how your body is supposed to feel at different points in the race can be a huge advantage.  Many may’ve felt that they “went out too hard”, which was quite likely given the downhill/ downwind first mile, and the fact that the first mile mile marker was surely placed too soon.  As an experienced 5K racer, I sensed that the pace was a little too quick after only about 1/4 mile, and eased back a bit allowing many to pass by.  When I reached the first mile marker “too fast”, I knew that I had made the proper correction earlier, and guessed the marker was misplaced.  Either way, I knew that I felt much more comfortable running 5-10 sec./ mile slower than how I’d started and settled in at this pace focusing on good, efficient form, and looking to “borrow” a few other runners to help block the wind when needed:)

By mid-race, many who’d stuck with the too-fast pace started to come back to me, as their fatigue began to affect their form.  Interestingly, afterwards one of those racers asked me if my plan was to start out easy and then “surge” at mile two, but in reality I simply maintained the correct pace/ effort, while that runner was slowing considerably as the race went on.  Surely, over the last mile I began to feel rather uncomfortable, but I knew that those were the exact sensations I wanted to feel in order to maximize my performance on the day, and that within a few minutes they’d be replaced with elation and pride in my ability to keep my “foot on the floor” despite the overwhelming desire to let up just a little bit.  Once again, it is hard to do these things when not in a race environment, so we’ll continue to offer workouts that have a race “feel”, as well as some additional practice races before Bolder Boulder.

Feel free to chat with your Coach and share more from your recent ‘practice’ race experience!