race disappointment

goofygirl

hey there

i just ran my 4th half marathon today and finished in 2 hrs 8 mins. not impressed, because my PB is 2 hrs 2 and i KNOW i have a sub 2hrs in me i just need to dig deeper.

i had no idea i was running so slowly!

anyone else have any tactics for dealing with race disappointment, of beating yourself up and being really down on yourself for something like this?

also any more practical tips? i never run with a watch or a garmin or anything, but i suppose that if i'm concerned about times maybe i should invest in one...

osnola ibax

2 hours 8 is a fantastic time, you should be very proud. You have also just completed 4 halfs which is a major achievement in itself. I know you were close to sub 2 before and you would like to have beaten it but it could have been down to a whole range of factors - it's still a great time and don't beat yourself up about it, life is too short. Getting out and competing in / training for these things is what life is all about.

The garmin gives u mile splits, and I have read before where it is important to know your time mile by mile, I never looked at this until I got garmin - too inconvenient to set markers, use chrono etc

Chin up and well done, c u in dublin

AJCOT

How you feel on the day plays a huge role in your finish time. You will probably have even worse days but I bet you'll have many more finer ones. Keep that chin up, the garmin suggestion sounds good.

plodder

It can be disappointing coming that close all right. I'd suggest two things. One, make sure you time all your training runs, and check out the exact distance on websites like mapmyrun or this one. Then you can work out your pace during training.

Second, use a pacing band, when racing. These are very useful for longer distances like 1/2 marathon and marathons. The idea is you will know at each mile (or km) mark, whether you are ahead or behind schedule. So, there shouldn't be any surprise at the finish line.

You could buy a Garmin either. But they certainly aren't necessary.

shels4ever

Take the positives out of the race, ok your slower then you wanted but 2:08 is still a good time, maybe weather, rest and other factors didnt help you .
I would time maybe 2 runs a week, a tempo and your speed session so you get used to the feeling of running at your target pace.

Don't beat yourself up too much set a new goal and get back on the horse.

goofygirl

something else i just thought of.

the race took place at an altitude of 1000m. hmm...

hopefully this will bode well for the DCM at lovely sea-level in October!

Shadyladee

Hi Goofygirl,

I think you did great in that race, particularly taking into consideration the altitude. The motivation from not achieving your goal, will probably fuel you to exceed your goal next time. Well done, your times are what i aspire to

TFBubendorfer

goofygirl wrote: »

something else i just thought of.

the race took place at an altitude of 1000m. hmm...

hopefully this will bode well for the DCM at lovely sea-level in October!

Firstly, I don't get it why folks keep saying that it's a great time when the original poster is clearly disappointed with it. To her it's not a great time, and that's it.

Secondly, if I remember correctly, according to Jack Daniels (the coach, not the drink), a race of 2 hours at 1000m altitude would impact your performance by about 3% - not quite 4 minutes in your case, which still leaves you just outside your personal best.

As for improving on your time, my personal view is that the more you run, the better you become. It's more about being able to sustain your natural pace rather than trying to run faster in training. I don't know anything about your training, but would recommend at least 2 or 3 training runs LONGER than a half marathon before your next race.

Running with a watch is a personal choice. Your legs still have to do all the work, but most runners who want to improve their time do use a watch on at least some of their runs.

Git101

goofygirl wrote: »

also any more practical tips? i never run with a watch or a garmin or anything, but i suppose that if i'm concerned about times maybe i should invest in one...

I'm not an experienced runner so I found judging my pace really difficult until I got a Garmin 405. It has a function that allows you to set a pace with a "virtual training partner". This can be set for minutes per mile/km and will tell you in real time if you are ahead or behind your chosen pace.
I find it invaluable.

osnola ibax

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

Secondly, if I remember correctly, according to Jack Daniels (the coach, not the drink), a race of 2 hours at 1000m altitude would impact your performance by about 3% - not quite 4 minutes in your case, which still leaves you just outside your personal best.

Just when she was starting to feel a bit better;)

I don't think there is any point in beating yourself up about the time. It was a very good time and 4 halfs in a lifetime is great as it stands but I know you are going to have more to add to your CV. Maybe you expected to beat your PB this time round and you were close considering the altitude plus any other factors (such as heat, not being 'on', terrain, hills, etc). By all means use it as motivation for your next one but you do have a lot to be proud of.

I have only completed one, and I am delighted that I proved that I had the dedication to train for and complete it. Now I have the bug but I will always be proud of doing that one. You have done 4.

Gringo78

The likes of a Garmin 305/405 are great and I use one myself and couldn't train without it but a cheaper alternative would be a Heart Rate monitor. I think its a great way to train and over the last few months I found myself relying more on the heart rate than the pace...different days your body feels different depending on how busy the rest of your life was i.e work, family etc. Training by heart rate stops you from running too fast when you should be training easier. In a race it can help you run the correct pace on the flat, not over exert on the hills which will definetly take it out of you on a half marathon if you run the hills too fast, and also ensure you run fast enough on the downhills. If you are to increase the training mileage as TBubendorfer suggests, I think it would be very important that you run those extra miles easy. A typical half marathon pace is around 85% MHR, so you could do a tempo run of maybe 5-6 miles at that pace to see how it feels once a week and try to get a weekly long run, longer than half marathon distance but at an easier pace like 70-75%MHR

goofygirl

thanks for the responses everyone! last month i ran a half-marathon in 2 hrs 3 mins so i suppose i was just surprised with the 5 min discrepancy. and yeah, my training has been a bit slack over the winter compared to the PB race last year.

goofygirl

so anyway, after the half marathon last weekend I didn't actually do any running this week, just felt I'd give myself a bit of break. so lots of eating chocolate mmm.

then i went to visit some friends of mine for the weekend and it turned out there was a local 10km trail race on today which I got talked into doing...55 mins 9 secs. three seconds outside PB!

it was SUCH a small race though with all local hard-core runners, I think I came 4th last or something with that time!

goofygirl

i was also the chubbiest runner out there by about a stone as well!

HardyEustace

goofygirl wrote: »

i was also the chubbiest runner out there by about a stone as well!

Well if you are and you're unhappy about it, then lose some weight. If you're not that bothered about it, don't lose weight.

Your thread seems to give them impression that you just want a bit of attention and people saying "oh, don't worry, you're a brave little solider".

In fairness, if you read through the threads here you'll find a huge amount of ideas and support.

If you post specific questions about training you'll find a huge amount of support.

I mean, I just don't feel that you really wanted advice. You already said that you'd slacked off on training and you need to lose a bit of weight. But this wasn't mentioned in the first post, that was just a whinge looking for a bit of attention and for people to tell you how great you were.

I think that you know the answers yourself. Feeling sorry for yourself isn't gonig to change it. Changing your diet and upping your training is going to get you a faster time.

Woddle

goofygirl wrote: »

so anyway, after the half marathon last weekend I didn't actually do any running this week, just felt I'd give myself a bit of break. so lots of eating chocolate mmm.

then i went to visit some friends of mine for the weekend and it turned out there was a local 10km trail race on today which I got talked into doing...55 mins 9 secs. three seconds outside PB!

it was SUCH a small race though with all local hard-core runners, I think I came 4th last or something with that time!

Hi goofygirl, thats a good time, when I started back last Feb I ran 54 for a 10k now I'm at about 41 mins, so as HardyEustace says just knuckle down now and watch your hard work pay off. Also on the weight issue, I recently raced at a graded meet and I was clearly the fattest runner but I'm doing sth about it, you've got lots of time and your in a better position than most, best of luck.

HardyEustace

GG, I've put on a ton of weight recently. However it's no mystery why, I stopped training (due to illness) and ate crap.

Two things that are a big help
Logging my food on fitday.com

Reading food for fitness by Anita Bean

goofygirl

HardyEustace wrote: »

Your thread seems to give them impression that you just want a bit of attention and people saying "oh, don't worry, you're a brave little solider".

the first post, that was just a whinge looking for a bit of attention and for people to tell you how great you were.

jesus sorry i gave that impression certainly wasn't meant to be the case. i'll hesitate about looking for advice when i'm in the post-race doldrums next time though...

anyway, thanks for the tips everyone. Case Closed

HardyEustace

goofygirl wrote: »

jesus sorry i gave that impression certainly wasn't meant to be the case. i'll hesitate about looking for advice when i'm in the post-race doldrums next time though...

anyway, thanks for the tips everyone. Case Closed

If you're going to be put off by one post pointing out that you need to be a bit more pro-active about improving your race times then don't post on a public forum.

And I went to the trouble of posting a reply that gave two sites that could be a big help in helping you lose weight.

Spare us all the indignation. If you post on a public forum you've got to expect that you're going to get a varied response to your posts.