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8 Basketball Power-Dribbling Drills
Most children first learn to crawl, then walk, and finally to run. Basketball requires players to not only effectively move their feet, but also to maneuver a basketball. Basketball players first learn to dribble the basketball with one hand, then...
A Brief History Of Baseball
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The game of baseball is said to have begun in the early 19th century, but that's just half the truth. The game was played much before but the first baseball clubs were formed around that time. An Englishman named...
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How can sports possibly be be romantic? It's simple. Just ask any man who has cheered on his favorite team, while cuddling with his wife, and he'll tell you. Many women I know profess to hate all sports. Why? If it's something your husband really...
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A professional should give beginner golf swing instruction. In this way, you will learn to correct way to grip your clubs, stand, and swing. They will concentrate on the three fundamentals grip, stance, and posture so you will have the basic...
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"El trampolino" was the Mexican word for "diving board", and one of the many words in common usage, which was once actually trademarked as "trampoline". The first gold medal awarded in Olympic trampoline competition, went to Irina Karavaeva, of...
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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.
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