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Run your best race by peaking for it Fall is racing season for many runners. The weather is cooling off most places and life is back to normal after summer and vacationing. Some of you will run in the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge and I know you want to be ready for that one. With runners from 13 cities around the world it will be a very competitive race. If you’re not running in that Park Avenue spectacular, I am sure you have other races for which you are peaking. Training and racing are two different way of running. When you run almost every day and use different training methods, you don’t run just to stay in shape. You run to compete and want to do well in races and improve your time. Racing is perhaps the most satisfying part of running because you can succeed on several levels. If you run fast, but still lose to someone else, you have succeeded in running fast. If you run a slow time, but are able to stave off your competitors, the satisfaction is in the victory. Successful racing is a combination of many factors. I wish I could bottle a formula for feeling great the whole way and having everything under control. I know I am not alone when I tell you that after a great race I tried to do exactly the same before my next race, but very often with varied results. I thought I got it right, but I learned that all races are different and you don’t get it perfect each time. To be able to run your best in a race you must peak for it -- being at your fittest and freshest on the day. You have to cut back on training as the race approaches, sharpen your speed and get sufficient rest. I know many runners are afraid of resting. Sometimes it takes just as much discipline to rest as it does to run. If I could go back and do one thing differently I would have rested more. So there is no big surprise that I often ran very well after being forced to get extra rest because of a light cold or stomach bug before an important race. Pacing is an important part of successful running. Some runners prefer going out fast and hanging on to the end, while other have greater success with even pacing, which worked for me. I liked to be in control througout a race.You lose this control when you go out too fast and must struggle to the finish. Running so called negative splits - the second half faster than the first - is something you often see in shorter races like the Corporate Challenge. Running for place is more important than time. This kind of racing tends to benefit natural kickers more than the endurance types. I was never a kicker and always had to run hard the whole way trying to tire the fast runners in the field so they wouldn’t beat me over the last 200 meters. Being focused was very important in my racing. I learned this when I was running on the track. A track race is so fast and so intense that you can’t afford to lose your concentration. Being focused is important in road racing as well, as so many things can distract you. Stay relaxed and calm and focus on your competitors and your pace. Want to run your best race? Here’s what to do:
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