PRs: Psychological or physical

Triathlon Forum
1

So last night I set a new PR in a short (4 mile) run race. I’m at a stage where I’m making pretty steady progress, so I’m always happy but not suprised when I cut a few seconds off my mile pace. But last night was different – I WHALLOPED my pace record, and turned in a time I didn’t think I was capable of. I was a good 25 seconds/mile faster than my fastest training run at a similiar distance.

That got me wondering whether setting a new PR has more to do with psychology than physical ability. How much is due to thinking you can do it, and how much is due to your body being able to do it? I mean, I’m training hard and I know I’m getting stronger, but I feel like I’ve gotten incrementally better physically, not enough to deliver such a huge gain in performance. Last night’s race has made me think that the game is a lot more mental than physical – that the body will respond to what the brain tells it to do, if only the brain believes what it’s telling the body to do! If you think you can’t, you won’t, right?

I’m curious to hear everyone’s thoughts and opinions. I wonder if the psychological element diminishes as an athlete gains experience/ability over time. I know there are people here who a relatively new to being active (like me), others who were elite athletes at some point (and some who still are) and others who have been active for decades but never elite. I’d love to hear a few different views.

Lee

2

I think the more you train and learn the more potential you realise, there is a ceiling however, but for everyone it is different. I would venture to say that few people ever really reach their physical potential peak. Psychologically we have our own limiters in our mind, when we surprise oursleves we raise our expectations- this can appear during a BT workout, race, or in training. I have my own goals every year that are very specific and attainable, but with work. In the back of my mind I have other goals that are probably way out there- and they are only mine I would never share them. I think with the right trainng and a certain degree of luck i can achieve my ultimate goals in the future- after all you gotta think big to win big!

Weeman

3

I think you display alot more insight into psychological and physiological aspects of the PR than most people have. I never really thought about the fact that as you become more experienced, the psychological aspect diminishes, but I see the logic in that pretty clearly. I swam in HS and college, and I was always amazed at how my standards were rearranged every year. I would forget the PR, and look at success measured against the most recent meet. (my PR in the 200 breast was 4 seconds faster than any other time I did for that event that particular season (except the prelim time for the same meet) and in season I was often nearly 10 seconds slower) If I were to base everything I did on the PR all the time I would have killed myself, my coach, and my teammates in a fit of frustration. Every time I raced I gave it my all. No questions about that but physically I was not at the same level in season as I was in taper. So as I got more experience, the PR was more a result of physical preparation meeting psychological drive, and this did not happen but once or twice a season with swimming. I think as you gain experience, this may be the case with you (although hopefully more than once a year). You will gain more insight on preparing for the “A” race, and forgo the PR every time out so you can physically prepare for the one big hit. I hope this gives you something to think about, I know it did for me.

      Thanks, John
4

I will assume that you, like me, have only been involved in running for a couple of years. This is my story.

When I tried to start running a few years ago, I couldn’t get past running 1.5 miles, and my pace was always about 10:00. And I hurt my knees a lot. Then I started running again on Jan. 2002. It took me 6 months to get up to 5 miles, and my average pace was about 9:30. My first race was a 5 Miler in 100 degree heat. I ran 7:52.

I have spent the past year working diligently on my base fitness doing runs of 5-15 miles, along with my bike and swim training, and am now running way faster than I ever expected. I ran the run leg of an Int’l distance race at 7:10 pace last weekend.

Sorry for the long buildup, but here comes my point: I am not a runner, and I don’t come from runner stock. But when you train diligently and build your fitness correctly, you will get these bursts of improvement, and they will surprise you, especially if you weren’t paying close attention. In my case, I have been focusing on technique, and changed my shoes to ones more suited to my mechanics, and that took 45 seconds off my pace.

As for the psychology of the thing, I think it is very important during long races or when you are working at very high exertion levels, but confidence and determination that your body can’t back up will result in injury. Still, your mind does need to know what your body is capable of, what pain is normal, what is not, and so forth, and this is an ongoing learning experience. I have found that since starting endurance training, I am far more aware of the minute details of how I feel physically than I used to be.

Now that your mind knows how fast you are, you realize that there is more within your grasp.

A final thought: I almost always go faster in races than I plan, and have to force myself to follow my own pacing plan, but that’s why races are good for you. We all go faster in races than we do by ourselves, because we push harder, and consequently, the barriers come down.

Good job on your PR.

5

Of course, the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Just because someone can convince themselves they can fly down the road as fast as Lance Armstrong, it doesn’t mean they do it. BUT, if they use that fast imagery, they may go faster than they usually go.

I’m a MOP swimmer…but the best swim I ever had (and I was only the front of the middle of the pack in my swim split) was in a race where I literally was smiling at the start as well as during the swim, just glad to be alive and able to participate in a triathlon. I wasn’t thinking speed, or PR, or anything of the sort…I was just smooth and relaxed at the beginning. I knocked over 2 minutes off of a half-mile swim! I was so surprised that I did that well, it jumped-started my performance on the rest of my race, and it was my best finish overall (at the time).

So, it’s not necessarily the mental drive to achieve a PR that is important; sometimes it is mentally getting out of your own way, so that physically you can come closer to your present potential.

For me, the mental drive needed to achieve a PR is more important during training…because training correctly is the hard part. I have plenty of mental energy during a race…so much so that I have to be careful not to push myself too hard physically. If I push too hard and cramp, I can’t just will myself relax the spasm and continue running as if it wasn’t there.

Interesting stuff, though, the mind-body connection (or disconnection, as the case may be).

6

over the years i’ve determined that achieving a PR is 90% physical preparation, 30% rest and recovery, 35% diet and nutrition, and 82.5% mental vision, toughness, and determination.

it also sometimes helps to run on the shoulder of someone who is slightly faster than you.

7

I agree completely!

over the years i’ve determined that achieving a PR is 90% physical preparation, 30% rest and recovery, 35% diet and nutrition, and 82.5% mental vision, toughness, and determination.

it also sometimes helps to run on the shoulder of someone who is slightly faster than you.

8

It’s no secret that “success” in edurance sports does not come overnight. “Success” comes after sustained and consistant hardwork dosed with the right amount of rest/recovery over the course of months and years. The physical preparation to get ready for an event is significant. Huge PR’s are the direct result of this physical training coupled with the mental toughness to make a huge leap of faith into an area that you have never been. It’s risky and it’s scary, but if you don’t take the chance, you will never know.

When I set my Ironman PR, I did take a big chunk of time of from my previous effort. For the last 10 miles on the run I was waiting to blow-up, but fortunately the finish line came up before that happened. Going that fast on the bike and then on the run was a risk. However, I was confidant from my months/years training that I could sustain it all the way to the finish line and I did. The positive benefit of this was, the confidence to go beyond and not be scared.

9

Psychology cannot speed you beyond what you are physically capable but it sure can slow you down.

Frank

10

After reading my last post, I think I failed to actually make my point, regarding the significance of the 7:10 pace last weekend.

I have been on a 6 month plan based on the TTB book, which culminates with the race last week and Tupper Lake next weekend. I have been running around 8:30 pace for months with no improvements in speed, but making slow, constant improvements in endurance.

Then, suddenly, As I was going from Base to Build, I started getting faster, and I mean seriously, one day I was running 8:30 and two days later I was running 7:58 in my regular runs. I now run under 8:00 almost every time I put on my shoes.

So while there is not enough disk space in the world to hold my thoughts about the psychology of sports(or anything else) I think that in this case, you have simply arrived in one of those places where you have had a burst of improvement.

11

I agree with Frank. Here is one thing I learned working with college runners. I coached a CC team at one time and all the runners wore watches all the time. In every race, at the 1st mile you get the split either yourself or it is called out), 2nd mile, etc., etc. . . . They were so tied to the time split psychologically that it could and did limit them physically. Obviously, splits are often off, courses are different, you have good days and bad days and so on, therefore, relying primarily on time can cause problems (hmm, I guess HRM would have been good in retrospect). In workouts, they would be amazed at times as I was the only one with a watch and didn’t give splits for certain workouts. Point is, once we stopped racing with watches and ignoring the splits being given, we were able to run “better” and beat athletes/teams that had previously been beating us. Obviously, this is an over simplification but it worked for them since their body knew what pace they should run and were running without the psychological drain of the clock since they had been running for so long.

12

It’s interesting that you write about the effect of the watch slowing people down. The HR monitor does that to me. If I have an alarm beeping because I’ve exceeded some pre-set maximum HR value, I now have an excuse to slow down, and I will. When I just operate with the knowledge that I have X number of miles to ride/run, and question whether or not I can continue at my current effort level and complete the event in decent shape, I complete the event in a faster time. I will train with it sometimes when I’m intent on making sure I don’t push too hard, but I don’t race with it, unless it is a half ironman or longer (although I haven’t raced longer than a half, yet).