Not pushing myself or just a good day?

Sometimes the courses are not measured correctly.  Do you wear a HRM?  If not, I would suggest one.  It can tell you if you are pushing yourself enough.  Sometimes your pace in a race is not a good indication of how hard you pushed yourself.

Edited by snewton_89 2009-08-13 8:33 AM

not taking anything away from you, but that is a drastic difference in pace. i'd check to see if the course was short first.

read some race reports and see what others say about it. maybe one will mention that their garmin said X distance.

but, if that is what you ran, good job!

I would suggest using a heart rate monitor to get a sense for what zones you are in at different paces.  That should help you get a better feel for your training intensity.  I had similar problem as you describe (i.e. not sure if I was pushing myself too little, too much or just right, etc.) but have been able to get a much better feel for this by using an HRM and learning more about my actual training intensity.  It as also been helpful for racing....since it's very easy to push it too hard early in race (and pay for it later), the HRM will help you get a more objective sense of your intensity (i.e. more objective than trying to judge how intensely you think you are running)

That is a good point and one I did not think of, but it wouldn't suprise me.  It sure does make way more sense seeing as how well I felt.  I didn't wear my Garmin for the race cause I wanted my watch for the swim.  I think next time I will stick to using the Garmin.

Yea.. not to take anything away, but I recently saw on one of these threads that the run distances sometimes fall short in Tri's.

My friend and I both had the exact same experience.  He said he ran his best ever.  I was also shocked when I saw my time.  The course was hot with some killer hills.  I was running about as fast as some others were walking up the hills; felt like slow motion.  There is just no way I ran 8:47 with those sloooow uphills.  I've only ever run less than 9:00 twice, and both times were under the best conditions on a flat track.  I expected between 9:30 and 10:00 at the Tri.

I was actually temped to email a few others who did the same course and ask their opinions.

But, the time is in the books...... so go with it!


Edited by maria40nc 2009-08-13 9:07 AM

Besides the course being short there's the fact of adrenalin of a race.  It's much funner and exciting to run during a race then it is to run by yourself.

Being that is a huge difference it does sound like something beyond a performance jolt.

I think you had a good day - you should be thrilled with your time!

I had a very similar experience this winter, typical running pace was ~9 min/mile, and I ran 7:58's on a certified course.  For me, I think it had to do with putting in lots of consistent run training.  Running off the bike is also different pace-wise than a training run because you start the run fully warmed up.  Typically in my training runs it takes 10-15 minutes to feel warmed up and ready to go.

I have often wondered the same thing, since I often have PRs at races.  Sometimes, I feel like the race was measured incorrectly, but I also feel like my training routes measure long, so maybe it's both. 

Maybe it's a little bit of both?

For me, when I was running in the past, I always held back. I was scared of blowing up, getting a side cramp, etc. Now days I have told myself to push it and to let go of those fears. I have also come to realize that sometimes in the past I slowed down- not because I actually had something wrong with me, I just wanted to avoid the discomfort of running fast.

Then again, I also have a long history of minor running injuries, that has made me hesitant to go full force with running. I am scared I'll get injured again.

Think about your pace in training- WHY are you going that pace? What has selected that pace for you? Are you avoiding discomfort, or something else? Do you have a mental block that says, "I go a 9 mm, WAIT! I'm running faster- that is not me- I better slow down!"

I also have that issue. I look down on my Garmin and see a faster average than "what I can do", and I slow down. Now I tell myself that I CAN do it and to let myself do it. If I fall apart or blow up- then so be it.

Hmmm....very  good points.  USAT sanctioned events should be measured acurately.  And being warmed up plus the adrenaline would be a factor.  I guess once I get a few more Tri's under my belt I'll have a better basis for comparison.

Yeah, at my last tri, I know the run course was short based on my Garmin. So while my Garmin had me at a 8:30 mm, the race results gave me a 8:15 mm. I didn't run that fast.