Performance Review: My Fallible Running Mentality

Here We Go!! (Photo Courtesy of Photovendo.ph)

Wow! Sobrang Daming Runners!

Where am I?

A Photo of me (Bib #3191) approaching the Finish Line (from Photovendo)

Are we there yet?

Are we there yet?

Oops.. I'm going Right.. ;)

Season 2: The Road To Boston

Chapter 2. Road Work
2.10 A Performance Review: My Fallible Running Mentality

We end Chapter 2 of our Race to Boston running season with a performance review of the recently concluded Globe Run for Home 2010. I already have celebrated and enjoyed my winning moments. I have spent all of my cash prize already. It's about time to look back and analyze what went wrong and what went smoothly. What can we carry over to the next phase of our training? What can we improve on? What have I learned?

My Bad:

1. At top speed, I kept asking subconsciously.. Until when can I keep up this speed?

How many times have you heard the cliche "Break it down into smaller pieces."? It works. You have a huge problem, you just break the problem down into smaller sub problems until it becomes manageable. Otherwise, you get overwhelmed by the hugeness of the problem.

Instead of breaking down the 10K race into smaller segments,  I kept thinking of the huge 10K problem and how I would finish it under 40 minutes. At top speed, my focus was not dedicated to the kilometer at hand. My focus was the huge task of finishing the 10K in sub-40.

And I was overwhelmed by that thought when I was on my third kilometer and climbing up the Kalayaan flyover. Instead of marching on and conquering that segment of the race, my mind was like "Would I still finish this race in 40 with this uphill flyover"? Logically, I would slow down because of the difficulties presented by the race route going through that flyover. But my mindset was not logical at all. Mentally, my goal was defeated in that stretch of the race. I placed myself in an inevitable mental breakdown.

2. I was mentally devastated when I was overtaken and I had no answer.

So I was giving up on the sub-40 goal while climbing up the Kalayaan flyover on the 3rd kilometer mark. My legs were heavier. My lungs would explode. Little by little on each step of the uphill climb, I was getting out of control both physically and mentally.

But why? I chased about ten to twenty runners from gun start up to the foot of the flyover and claimed the Men's 2nd place position. I was 4th overall with the top two girls just about ten meters ahead of me. I should be more motivated to keep the chase right?

But not. When I was overtaken by Mr. Marc De Mesa on the flyover climb, I had no answer and I was rattled. I did not just gave up the sub-40 goal, I also let the 2nd position slip away. I was a bit weak mentally. I lacked the composure to just keep on going and rise to the challenge.

Whatever the reason is, I know I slowed down even more when I got overtaken on that flyover climb.

3. Untied shoelaces.

It's funny how I reminded Chris, a newbie racer, to tie his shoelace and his timing chip tight and steady. Yet it was me who got a shoelace untied. It was the left shoes where I placed the timing chip.

I really have no excuse for this one. From the flyover until I reached the chip sensor on the halfway mark of the race, I was running with a dangling shoelace and timing chip. It was bad enough that I got to surrender my sub-40 goal early. Worse when I got overtaken for the second position. And now I have to worry about my shoelaces.

4. I did not stop to drink and consume my Powerade effectively. I was still running and I choked.

Here comes another failure. I was not thinking smart enough on the race.

I was a bit thirsty. So I grabbed a cup of Powerade at the hydration station. But not wanting to lose any crucial tick of the clock upon drinking my cup of thirst quencher, I ran with the cup. And the liquid was shaking crazy like a tidal wave inside the cup.

I forced myself to drink it while running fast. And I choked.

It happened twice actually. Was I smart? Not only was I mentally weak, I was worse than a fool. Not funny.

5. Lack of Speed Endurance. I was strong enough on 5Kilometers. Not strong enough on 10Ks.

With all the above mini problems, this is the root cause. I doubted myself if I could sustain my 4:00 min/km pace for the duration of the race. I really had no 10K Tempo training to bolster my confidence that a sub-40 is really doable. And so the doubt.

And that doubt was magnified by the flyover. Never mind my speed from the starting line up to the foot of the flyover. Never mind my current position and the nearness of the leading runners at that point of the race. In my own mind, I was not that sure I could hold my speed for the full 10 kilometers. When Marc overtook me, the magnified doubt became a disbelief. I could no longer keep up to my goals.

But that's during the race. It should be much different now when I'm back to training. I should crash that doubt on training runs and come to my future races fully prepared mentally and physically. Sustaining my top speed for 10K and beyond must now be a crucial part of my preparations.


My Good:

1. Knowing I only had two kilometers more to go.. I stepped on the gas.

At the top of the Kalayaan flyover going back to Makati, I had the sense of urgency to at least redeem myself. I wished I had that mentality right from the start. To just go and play and run hard and have fun. Just run the race like my usual training run.

Nearing the end of the 10K race, whatever energy left within should be laid all on the line. Let everything all out. I watched Joshua Clottey fought Manny Pacquiao on several replays. I have downloaded the HBO copy of that boxing fight. Why did Clottey lost a one-sided decision? Not just Manny fought a brilliant fight. It's also because Joshua never really gave himself a chance to take the championship away from Manny. Lesson learned.. Just lay it all on the line and give yourself a chance to show what you're made of.

When I stepped on the gas and headed to the finish line, I just had one goal in mind. Go home fighting and possibly with a victory. With just a few kilometers away from the end, I found the focus I needed and give it my all.

2. Fast strides. The rhythm was memorized by my body even when fatigued.

Mentally, I was a little weak. Physically, I was getting tired and my legs were getting heavy. Luckily for me, my legs seem to remember the rhythm of my strides. Tired and all, my legs already knew when to step with the left and when with the right. The rate almost does not change.

Contrast that with power running. Previously, I put a lot of emphasis on leg power for my strides. Not stride rate. But the power on each stride to move the leg faster and to stride a little bit longer like power sprinting. Without much power, stride rate suffer.

After training with faster stride frequency, I was still fast enough even when tired and fatigued. The legs move almost automatically following the rhythm. I don't know.. I just feel it that way. Even on my easy runs after the Globe race, I can't slow down below 4:50 min/km. My feet just have it's own rhythm now.

3. Speed Control. I knew I could run faster but I chose to be conservative..

Maybe much more conservative than I needed to.

4. Heart and Competitiveness.

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Yeah, I know I stumbled on past the 3rd, 4th and then 5th kilometer of the race. But I did not dwell on that fallible mentality. Halfway through the race and beyond, I had the heart to fight on and give a good fight.

It was not that easy though. When the two of us were battling for the third place, nobody wanted to give the other enough distance to take that third position. It was still a good 4 kilometers from the finish line, so I can't surge and then crash after. I needed to sustain a fast speed to compete. And when he tries to get ahead, I accelerate and won't let him achieve much separation. And by doing that, I was digging a little too deep on my energy reserves. I was feeling more tired but I just can't give up.

When we reached Kalayaan and he is still on my side.. I decided to make a move for the solo third. I would test his will and his energy. Could he still accelerate if I step on the gas? And so I made that move.

My first 4 kilometers were a little under 17 minutes. I reached the 5K mark in 22:16 minutes.
My last 4 kilometers were better, just a little over 16 minutes. I managed to will myself for a negative split and a strong finish. A little weak minded on the middle part of the race, yes. Thankfully though, I found the heart to compete when it mattered most.

5. Able to prepare myself for pacing, strategy and terrain.

Maybe not long enough to prepare for the 4:00 pace all throughout. But when it's all said and done, I believe I was strong enough to muster the 10K race route. Planning is half the battle. Preparations do play a huge role.

It wasn't perfect though. But good enough. The first 3 kilometers was covered at a fast controlled pace. The slow down on the Kalayaan flyover climb was expected. The last 4 kilometers of the race was ran at a very competitive fast pace.  

I also had a good and effective taper a few days before the race. Tapering is about maintaining fitness while allowing your body to recover from months of hard training. On the last week of my training, I only had the following runs: Easy runs on Tuesday morning and evening, and then a 10K easy run on Thursday morning. After these runs, I just decided to rest and let my legs be fresh on race day.

True enough, I was able to finish the last 4 kilometers of the race close to my top speed.

6. Good form. Arm Swing. Running tall. Forefoot strike.

See Applied Sprinting Techniques.

7. Gained Experience.

Each race I have joined this year has actually taught me something. This time around, the lessons are mostly mental. And like the previous lessons, they could only make me better for the future races. The important thing to do is to keep on gathering data and experiences, see what worked and what did not, and then move on to be a better runner.


Race Results

 Click Image for a Much Better View. ;)

• View Globe 10K Official Race Results 
• View Runpix Race Analysis for all Distance Categories (3/5/10/15/21K)

2009 vs 2010

I am very pleased with this Runpix Race Analysis.. I can compare my Globe 10K Race 2009 with the Globe 10K 2010 edition.

2009
Bib: 3560 (10K Event)
Date: 19 July 2009
Gun Time: 53:42
Chip Time: 52:42
Rank on Entire Field: 75th / 1232
Rank on Gender: 67th / 862
Rank on Age Group (Male 20-29): 24th / 277

2010
Bib: 3191 (10K Event)
Date: 21 March 2010
Gun Time: 43:55
Chip Time: 43:49
Rank on Entire Field: 5th / 1440
Rank on Gender: 3rd / 1007
Rank on Age Group (Male 25-29): 1st / 236

Next Up..  we begin with Chapter 3: Training for the Milo Marathon.