Better racer or better trainer??

Are your race results consist with you training?

You can't train at one speed and hope to go faster on race day. 

I made that mistake training for a 1/2 marathon. I was training to break two hours but secretly hoping to do around 1:45 or better. Well, as it turns out I ran the 1/2 in 1:56 just as my training plan prepared me for.

Is that what you mean?

I consider myself a better trainer/tester than racer.  I agree that there is something from a mental standpoint that seems to hold me back a little during a race.  Not sure why that is, but it seems to exist.  It's certainly true that mental can be as important as physical, and if you don't have it come raceday you're not going to meet your potential.  I've always managed to rise to the occasion when it came to tryouts, testing, etc. but in the actual event/race scenario I continue to fall a bit short.

Like you, I find this completely frustrating, but I also take some solace in the fact that I believe I can perform better.  I just need to start training my mind the same way I train my body.  I believe that some people have the ability to step up and perform at a higher level because they have mentally prepared themselves to do so.  They don't see the barriers that you or I may place in front of ourselves.  For some people it's innate, for others they learn how to do it over time.

Anyway, my 2 cents.

No, I mean more like training to hit your sub 2 hr half marathin and then finishing in 2:30. especially when you have run that half before in under 2 hours.

Just something about race day that I do not hit mystride and come close to my training times.

fitness is fitness, and it doesn't take a huge mental effort to find it on race day....you'll have what you have.

I will say, I do agree most out-perform in training, not because they cannot over come the mental obstacles to performance, but because they fail to understand appropriate pace, both in training and racing.

I think folks would do quite well if they benchmarked their training off what they acutally do in racing.....

also, don't train at a certain level until you can prove the abilty in a race.

I have a lot of thoughts on this subject....FWIW.......

Ah man that's a bummer...you could be doing what cusetri said...over doing pace/speed in training.  I have found over time and many races the pacing/speed adjustments seem to come.  I no longer go balls to the wall on the bike as I found out the hard way I can't run after that. Even though I blew away my planned bike splits I suffered later.

Good luck man, you'll get it!

That's an interesting question but I would imagine that most of us do our hardest training during non-brick sessions.  So if I do a 6 mile training run I might average 8:00 mm pace or better.  But in an Oly race I'm going to hit 8:20 ish because, jeez I just rode 25 miles not to mention the 1500 m swim before that.  I swim in a pool and can easily swim at a 1:30/100 yd pace for 1,500 yards or so.  But that's with flip turns, nice calm water etc.  I usually ride between 20-30 miles once or twice during the week and I can average 21-22 mph but climbs on those rides are usually more than what my races have.  But race day, my last anyways was 20.9 mph.

So unless I do bricks that have swim, bike and run it's hard to say that I do better at training vs racing.

Racing you have adrenaline so I would imagine you should be close to training pace etc.

That's why we race...that's the whole point.

It's not training. It's completely different. Having to do something at a specific point in time over a specific course is different than just doing it when you want to on your terms.

You always hear people say, I should have done this and I should have done that with regards to their time....I got unlucky and cramped or flatted or had GI issues...on and on.

Here is the secret that most people don't know....the best racer is not always the fastest person. In all forms of racing. It is a learned skill to be a good racer. Training on its own often does not make someone a good racer.

I'm not necessarily a better trainer, but something holds me back on race day.  Back in 2003 when I first started running, I didn't know the 1st thing about running other than putting one foot in front of the other.  In 2004 I seemed to peak.  I have all my PRs in 2004.  The 1st HM I ran was just under 2 hours and I didn't follow a real plan.  Now here it is 2011, and I have read books and read Running Times and Runners World and follow plans and I do tempos and repeats and long runs, yada yada yada....and not only can I not get a new PR in any distance, I can't even recreate the PRs I already have.  So maybe it's because I'm 41 or maybe it's nerves, but my training suggests I should be able to meet my goals, but race day is always a let down for me.  In fact, I've just about stopped racing altogether, and I'm just enjoying the training and fitness.

jami   

Definitely a better racer! To the point where I've been accused of being a "sandbagger" on more than one occasion. But, for me, it really is a matter of being conservative in training due to being stress-fracture prone. When I make it to race day uninjured, I know I can open 'er up and see what she's got without risk. (Not sure if this proclivity will translate to tri racing, I've only done distance running events to date.)

I do definitely have friends who have mental hurdles to get over come race day. Usually they'll "cramp" or "have stomach issues" or some other vague thing that will sideline them about the same point in every race that they don't ever experience in training, even training at similar paces. (eg: A foot cramp always coming on in mile 8 of a half marathon that never comes on doing 8 @ half marathon pace during a longer marathon training run.)  And just some other clues that make it clear that it really is a mental hurdle.

While it's about the same for the swim, I definitely am a better racer than trainer on the bike but a better trainer than a racer in the run.  I do a controlled swim and am usually ready to go on the bike portion but my legs get tired during the bike and I really suffer on the run.  Solution?  Ride more, run more. 

x2...no matter how much i think i am pushing myself in training i cannot beat my racing...even if it is a simple 10k

I live for training. 

I only sign up for races because I then have to train for them - hard. 

The race for me is only icing on the top of a good, hard training cycle. If I didn't train hard for the race, I feel that there's no point in me entering it. I don't think everyone should have this mentality, but that's the one that fits me best. 

Racing to me is like a celebratory event to mark the end of a good training cycle. 

I'm definitely a better racer. There is something about a race that just pumps me up and lets me do my best. (Which is probably slower than your worst; it's all relative. )

Whether it's a mental issue or you need to adjust your training depends on why you aren't performing as you expect. I have friends who let the adrenaline of racing derail them. They go in with a definite pacing plan or a good nutritional strategy and then the gun goes off and it all flies out the window. That's definitely mental.

The other issue I've struggled with now that I'm not making the dramatic improvements in speed I made in my first season is having realistic expectations. Are you assuming you can do in a race what your absolute best pace was in practice even though it's a C race and you aren't tapering in any way or the course is harder or that one magic day in your training log isn't reflective of your overall performance? I've done that and it's just setting yourself up for being disappointed when you actually had a good performance.