What event best suits me?

thewolf_ie

Well I did search a bit but no thread seemed to suit this question. What event best suits me? How do you find your event? What if any are the methods used.

Personally I like speed but prefer events that last for more than a minute or 10. Let's discuss fellow hares and Tortese! I will most likely get board and loose interest and someone can keep it going.

I like both the 5 and 10k but am experimenting with shorter stuff which I think will improve my times.

YFlyer

Throw your times into the McMillian race calculator. You'll get an idea what distances best suits you.

ultraman1

thewolf_ie wrote: »

Personally I prefer events that last for more than a minute .

Wat wud digger say

pconn062

What events do you enjoy? They are the ones you are most likely to succeed in. Personally, I spent a few years running long distance, ran a few crappy marathons, then went down to 10k and then to 5k and then last summer switched to track and now 800m/1500m are my main events. Doesn't mean I'm any good at them, but I enjoy them and I'm much better suited to them than longer stuff.

Chivito550

Trial and error is the best method. Following something you enjoy is a good start but if there is genuine talent for one discipline then IMO it is silly to flog yourself in search of relatively average targets at a different discipline.

Let's assume your 55 for 400m at face value. You ran 410m, so that last 10m at the end of a 400 when decelerating is worth about 1.75. Maybe allow 1 second for fatigue given you had already run a session beforehand, and allow another second for running on a crap non synthetic track with inappropriate footwear. All of a sudden we are down to the 50/51 range for an untrained runner, running a solo time trial. The potential is frightening.

But instead you ignore such advice and have spent an age in search of sub 18 for 5k. A good time, but if you are not telling fibs about your 400m time, then this is nothing compared to the potential to make a final at nationals for 400m with proper coaching.

Sorry to make this about you. But if you are what you say you are then I'd urge you to forget the 5k immediately and get a 400m coach. I said this last year though and you ignored it.

thewolf_ie

pconn062 wrote: »

What events do you enjoy? They are the ones you are most likely to succeed in. Personally, I spent a few years running long distance, ran a few crappy marathons, then went down to 10k and then to 5k and then last summer switched to track and now 800m/1500m are my main events. Doesn't mean I'm any good at them, but I enjoy them and I'm much better suited to them than longer stuff.

I am only running two years with the last year being ok progress wise. Like you I'm going to shop around to find the right fit. I am really enjoying the training for the 5k. Out of all races to think this is what I have enjoyed the most.

thewolf_ie

Chivito550 wrote: »

Trial and error is the best method. Following something you enjoy is a good start but if there is genuine talent for one discipline then IMO it is silly to flog yourself in search of relatively average targets at a different discipline.

Let's assume your 55 for 400m at face value. You ran 410m, so that last 10m at the end of a 400 when decelerating is worth about 1.75. Maybe allow 1 second for fatigue given you had already run a session beforehand, and allow another second for running on a crap non synthetic track with inappropriate footwear. All of a sudden we are down to the 50/51 range for an untrained runner, running a solo time trial. The potential is frightening.

But instead you ignore such advice and have spent an age in search of sub 18 for 5k. A good time, but if you are not telling fibs about your 400m time, then this is nothing compared to the potential to make a final at nationals for 400m with proper coaching.

Sorry to make this about you. But if you are what you say you are then I'd urge you to forget the 5k immediately and get a 400m coach. I said this last year though and you ignored it.

Irishtown Aug 20th! Do I need to pre register for the D group or just shown up.

Chivito550

thewolf_ie wrote: »

Irishtown Aug 20th! Do I need to pre register for the D group or just shown up.

Generally there's just A, B and C grades. C ranges from 56ish right down to over 70. You need to register in advance on the Dublin athletics website. Think it closes at lunchtime on race day.

thewolf_ie

Chivito550 wrote: »

Generally there's just A, B and C grades. C ranges from 56ish right down to over 70. You need to register in advance on the Dublin athletics website. Think it closes at lunchtime on race day.

Ah I just noticed the 400 only has A, B and C grades. I'm going to enter both the 400 and 800 in the low grades. Sub 54 and sub 2:10.

Chivito550

thewolf_ie wrote: »

Ah I just noticed the 400 only has A, B and C grades. I'm going to enter both the 400 and 800 in the low grades. Sub 54 and sub 2:10.

Haha, there's 20 mins between races.

thewolf_ie

Chivito550 wrote: »

Haha, there's 20 mins between races.

Have you got same book as me? Say men's 400 c 7:10 and men's 800 d 8:00?

KielyUnusual

thewolf_ie wrote: »

Have you got same book as me? Say men's 400 c 7:10 and men's 800 d 8:00?

PS You need to be a member of a club to enter.

thewolf_ie

KielyUnusual wrote: »

PS You need to be a member of a club to enter.

Thanks bud I got that covered.

rom

Plot vdot for each event.

Vdot on y
Distance on x


Will also show where u can improve most.

thewolf_ie

rom wrote: »

Plot vdot for each event.

Vdot on y
Distance on x


Will also show where u can improve most.

Best post so far very good idea!

Chivito550

rom wrote: »

Plot vdot for each event.

Vdot on y
Distance on x


Will also show where u can improve most.

How is this useful for sprint distances?

Krusty_Clown

Chivito550 wrote: »

How is this useful for sprint distances?

It's relevant for any event as distance is just an axis label. However, it is only relevant for distances that one has actually raced, which in Wolfies case, may not include a large number of distances. The answer is just to go out and try them. It's just that simple.

thewolf_ie

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

It's relevant for any event as distance is just an axis label. However, it is only relevant for distances that one has actually raced, which in Wolfies case, may not include a large number of distances. The answer is just to go out and try them. It's just that simple.

Yes that's the beauty about it. Good vdot=suitable event, poor vdot=unsuitable event or room to improve.

I would imagine a training cycle for each event to give it some change and to be fair.

Krusty_Clown

thewolf_ie wrote: »

Yes that's the beauty about it. Good vdot=suitable event, poor vdot=unsuitable event or room to improve.

I would imagine a training cycle for each event to give it some change and to be fair.

Yes, absolutely, if you want to give them a fair chance, then you should align a training period for them and give them a proper lash. But at your stage of the game, there's absolutely no harm in trying out the shorter distances and just giving them a lash. The 400, 800, 1500/mile, 3k and 5k are all distances that you could just rock up to and give them a try, without a significant amount of repercussions (in terms of interruption to your training and recovery). While you won't run great times (relative to what you could do with proper training), you'll certainly get a feel for what you enjoy and what you might be good at.

Last night is a good example. Myself and another golden oldie ran the 400m and the 800m at the graded meets. He comfortably won the 400m, beating me (and the rest of the field) by a good chunk. An hour later we both ran the 800m and I outkicked him to take 3rd place. I really enjoyed the 800 and felt I could have run much faster, whereas in the 400 I felt I couldn't have given any more on the day. The other runner clearly has an affinity with the 400m, and we cross over somewhere around the 800m mark. The overriding feeling is that I'd love to give the 800m a proper go (it was only my second ever 800m), while the 400m is something to dabble in occasionally!

average_runner

Is there grades for slower runners, i would probably be sub 80 for 400?


This is something i am thinking about as bored with the marathon stuff( dropping back down to shorter distances from 10k down.

Krusty_Clown

average_runner wrote: »

Is there grades for slower runners, i would probably be sub 80 for 400?


This is something i am thinking about as bored with the marathon stuff( dropping back down to shorter distances from 10k down.

If you're running 60-80 seconds for 400m then, like me, you should be in Grade D. Unfortunately the Dublin Graded meets seems to have dropped Grade D for the 400m this year, which is unusual, as I remember good participation in this event/grade last year, and it seems to be the only mechanism to get runners to try out for the distance. The standard for grade C has dropped this year, so I can just about get away with running grade C (my times are the same, but I would have been a poor last place last year). It would definitely be worth your while trying the 800m Grade D, or other grade D distances, and if you don't mind trailing the back-end of the Grade C race, give it a lash too.

RayCun

average_runner wrote: »

Is there grades for slower runners, i would probably be sub 80 for 400?

It depends on how many enter the event, and who they are. Meet 4 had seven 800m races, going down to Grade D, and the times in that race were from 2:13 to 2:24. results here
You're unlikely to get a 400m race with people in the 75-80 bracket.

thewolf_ie

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Yes, absolutely, if you want to give them a fair chance, then you should align a training period for them and give them a proper lash. But at your stage of the game, there's absolutely no harm in trying out the shorter distances and just giving them a lash. The 400, 800, 1500/mile, 3k and 5k are all distances that you could just rock up to and give them a try, without a significant amount of repercussions (in terms of interruption to your training and recovery). While you won't run great times (relative to what you could do with proper training), you'll certainly get a feel for what you enjoy and what you might be good at.

Last night is a good example. Myself and another golden oldie ran the 400m and the 800m at the graded meets. He comfortably won the 400m, beating me (and the rest of the field) by a good chunk. An hour later we both ran the 800m and I outkicked him to take 3rd place. I really enjoyed the 800 and felt I could have run much faster, whereas in the 400 I felt I couldn't have given any more on the day. The other runner clearly has an affinity with the 400m, and we cross over somewhere around the 800m mark. The overriding feeling is that I'd love to give the 800m a proper go (it was only my second ever 800m), while the 400m is something to dabble in occasionally!

Chees this is exactly what I'm going to do with the graded meets. Thanks for you positive contribution.

rainbow kirby

What little speed I do have doesn't drop off much as I go longer (23:40 5k/50:05 10k/1:50:59 HM/3:59:00 M).

My big problem is that I get injured far too often to realistically train for anything longer than a half. My current stretch of 7 months injury free is the longest in years - I'm on the Dark Side this year, and swimming and cycling have helped to a surprising degree.

This Fat Girl Runs

Well, I have run 5 races in the time I've been running (1 year) and I can say I choose mine based on how slow I am and if the course will still be open by the time I finish! I usually look at the results from the previous year and see if there are any finishers with similar times to mine. (I ran a race once where they had started packing up the finish line by the time I got there; I learned my lesson that day!)

Mostly I run 5ks and a couple of 5 milers. I did the Women's Mini-Marathon this year too which was my only 10k. I'm hoping to build up to more 10ks in future. Possibly might maybe will do the MoRun 10k in November.