Running the Race

There are plenty of books and magazines that adequately cover this subject. I don’t intend to cover this topic in a comprehensive fashion. I’d just like to say a few words; a few too many words.

Expect something to go wrong, several things. Getting lost on the way to the race, a broken shoelace, no bathroom access; something is not going to work as planned. Plan what you can in advance and prepare your gear the night before. Have backup gear. Still, something will go bad and don’t let it disrupt you more than necessary. Remember, you expected it, you just did not know what it was going to be this time around.

Warm up for a mile or two, gently. Don’t waste your race effort during the warm up. Nervous energy makes this all too easy to do. Relax, as best you can. It’s practically impossible to do, but try. Think positive thoughts and banish negativity. Stretch AFTER the warm up and before the race.

Place yourself appropriately in the pack at the start of the race. Experience at races will tell you whether to place yourself at the front of the pack, or somewhere further back. If you place yourself too high in the pack, you are obstructing faster runners and that is just plain rude and selfish. If you place yourself too far back, you will have a lot of slower traffic to weave through before you can start running your intended pace. Picking your way through slower runners is a frustrating waste of time and energy. A good race depends on ALL of the runners placing themselves appropriately within the pack. This never happens.

Start the race at a pace that is comfortably uncomfortable; not too fast and not too slow. You cannot risk going too fast and tie up with lactic acid in the middle of the race. Neither do you want to waste time and distance running slower than your ability. You need to race aerobically. Focus on where you are relative to known competitors. Are you ahead of people you normally beat? Are you behind people who normally beat you? Are you judging your position against people who dependably run intelligent paces and races? Get to the place where you belong relative to others and settle into an intelligent tempo. If you don’t know your place, you had best know your pace!

Pay attention to the other runners and think ahead, especially early in the race. Watch out for slower runners blocking your path. All too often a couple of wide-bodies will run side-by-side. Don’t get hung up behind them waiting for an opening to pass. God bless them for not placing themselves further back in the pack, but hey, you know it is going to happen. It helps to run on the outside edge of the pack early in the race to get around the slower runners. The several extras steps may be worth it.

Eventually the pack will sort itself out and you will be running with people of comparable speed. Start paying attention to running the tangents. Race courses are typically measured and certified on the tangents. Don’t run a step further than necessary.

Closely monitor your pace, heart, lungs, legs, and arms during the race. Every step is a decision point to go faster, slower, or maintain the existing pace. As the race goes on you will have a better idea of how much energy you have left to spend. The goal is to arrive at the finish line completely spent. Don’t engage in racing others until the end of the race. The beginning and middle sections should be used to run your race at your best pace given your current fitness, the course conditions, and the weather.

You are both the jockey AND the horse. As the jockey you need to be patient and analytical. Hold yourself back when you find yourself going too fast, and whip yourself forward when you find yourself going too slow or being lazy. Pay attention; stay focused. A few moments of daydreaming or idle thought can easily lead to a slippage of your pace into gentle running. Run like a wise veteran runner in the early and middle stages of the race. Run smart and don’t cut yourself any slack.

Constantly bump up against the upper boundary of pace that you can hold to the finish line. Several times throughout the race you should be saying to yourself, “this is too fast, I cannot hold this the rest of the way, I’d best back off just a hair or I may not finish!” The decrease should be the least amount possible to ensure finishing the race. Soon thereafter, as the jockey and master of your body, you should again be wondering if you could be running just a tad bit faster. Be brave enough to test your limits, but don’t be stupid.

Towards the end of the race find some people to race. Pick a victim to catch. Pick a person to put away. Begin a long steady crescendo of running that ends at the finish line. Your intention, this time, is not to back away from this final increase of pace. Try to shake hangers-on with mild surges. Run side-by-side with a competitor and gently raise the pace. Listen to their breathing for weakness. Gauge your own. Break them if you can. If they are better, today, not forever, just today, then hang on. Maybe they are pressing too soon. They may break themselves. It might be possible to get them late with your finishing speed.

As the finish line approaches you finally know the exact distance to be traveled and the amount of energy you have left to cover it. Plan to use all your energy. Attack the final yards from a quarter mile or more out, depending on what you have left. Don’t be afraid of the pain. Welcome the pain as a familiar friend known well to you through countless workouts. Concentrate on efficient running form while fatigue tries to distort your efforts.

If this is an important race to you, then run these last yards for someone other than yourself. Gather into your heart and soul everything and everyone you hold near and dear. Run for God, spouse, siblings, loved ones, relatives, teammates, and friends. Think of how much they mean to you, and what you mean to them. Mentally pull them into your heart and at long last run with the emotion you have not permitted until this point. Feel their presence with you. Allow them to flow into your heart and your body. Feel their emotional support allowing you to run faster than you could by yourself. You are no longer alone. You have all of them to help you with this final push to the finish. Run with passion. Run the final yards with reckless abandon.

(See what I mean? More melodrama, but it seriously works.)