|
|
|
3-Pointer (Jan 11)
Now there's a big surprise!
Ya'll better sit down for this one. It seems that Vince Carter has admitting to...are you ready...not playing hard all the time with the Raptors. Hello? You still there? Yes folks, it's true. The sky is blue, what...
Dangerous Reef and its sharks
Dangerous Reef is a famous Western Australia dive destination due to the sharks which can be observed in it. Divers who enjoy intense and risky sports usually choose this Australian area as their diving destination. Due to the real danger that these...
How To Better Enjoy The Great Outdoors
5 Tips For Outdoors Life
You love nature and the outdoors life. How can you get the very most from it, though? In a world where there seems to be more concrete than dirt, it can be rather challenging to even get out into the outdoors life. ...
Scuba Diving with Club Med in Turks and Caicos
One scuba diving vacation option for divers is with the Club Med resorts that offer intensive dive programs. These particular Club Med locations have full service scuba diving centers staffed by PADI and NAUI certified instructors as well as full...
Spread betting basics
Spread betting is a complicated venture; the statement is nothing but a popular misconception. Proponents of this form consider it to be real easy, once the new player has understood the concept. It enables you to win or loose money depending on...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Pacing and Avoiding Performance Predictions
No athlete likes to be passed during a race. A natural reaction is speed up and attempt to keep pace with the person whose dust you are now eating, but in doing so you just got pulled out of your game and put into theirs. Most likely you have no idea of their performance potential, pacing, or strategy (if any). Multi-sport events often have a relay team category in which a single athlete will use up everything they have in the one leg. The point is, to be truly efficient and race your fastest you must know and race within your limits, not someone else’s. There is only one pace that is most efficient for you and a very fine line between it and over pacing. Proper pacing becomes especially important in distance races such as marathon and Iron Man distance. It is very easy to get caught in a moment and push too hard at the wrong time, only to pay for it later.
The scenario athlete who passed you could actually be slower and pacing themselves incorrectly, or a faster athlete who is going to eat your legs up and leave you flat. In either case, if you are at the top of your performance envelope chasing them will only slow you down. If you go anaerobic even for a short period of time you are going to have to recover, and recovery takes time. Anaerobic efforts are very fatiguing, especially if you are not trained at these intensities, or to repeat these intensities. It is important to know your performance potential and pace and train yourself accordingly. An athlete should get metabolically tested, or perform performance tests and race simulations to determine such heart rate intensities as lactate threshold and max VO2. These numbers are critical to proper pacing. Where you should be in relation to these heart rates will depend on your race and conditioning. Shorter sprint races may have you at or above LTHR if you are highly trained. Longer endurance races may be mainly at an aerobic level with brief periods above this zone.
Once you established your pacing parameters it is crucial to stay within them. A key element of this process is regularly collecting data as you race and adjusting your pace accordingly. There is a variety of data and methods of collection available to you. Some are more effective than others. A simple example is checking splits at each mile marker during a running race, and adjusting your pace based on your known potential. The best forms of data occur in real time such as heart rate, watts (cycling), or using a new GPS based pacing device. It should be habit to scan this data, and make adjustments if necessary, every few minutes or less.
In the same manner of thinking avoid race day placement predictions. If you achieved a seventh place finish in a race last year and your goal this season is to come in above fifth, you could be setting yourself up for failure even though you are considerably faster. You never know who is going to show up for a race; it could be the national champion. If you find yourself in 10th place and your goal was fifth it could take you out of the race mentally, even though you were setting a personal record. You never want to set objectives that are out of your control. Placement predictions fall into this category.
Racing should be well rehearsed and automatic. Try to leave nothing to chance and have specific performance objectives and parameters. This will also lower your level of anxiety and make you more focused on the process of racing instead of the outcome. The most successful athletes are the ones that know exactly what they have to do; and do it.
About the Author
Matt Russ has coached and trained athletes around the country and internationally. He currently holds licenses by USAT, USATF, and is an Expert level USAC coach. Matt has coached athletes for CTS (Carmichael Training Systems), is an Ultrafit Associate. Visit www.thesportfactory.com for more information.
|
|
|
|
|
|