The Dirty Dozen of Training/Racing Mistakes
2. Making all Runs “Medium” – This is something I am very conscious of during this training for my June 1 marathon. I think we all get stuck in the rut and the mindset “any run counts.” Yes, that’s true to an extent but I strongly believe in challenging our legs.
3. Neglect Speed – This year I am picking up my pace in order to rock my pace. It’s been fun so bar. Tough as heck but I am enjoying how I feel.
4. Recover Inadequately – Yes patience is a virtue! I may give myself too much time to recover from a hard workout.
5. Overtrain – I can’t say I ever “overtrain.” I probably do not train hard enough.
6. Indulge in “all you can eat” workouts – Some runners think more is better. I am the complete opposite. I believe in quality over quantity and less is more.
7. Refuse to Adjust workouts – Not guilty. I think I adjust my workout every week.
8. Search for the Perfect Workout – Innocent. I like to try new things but I am never in search of the “perfect” workout because I believe you get what you put into a workout or run.
9. Become Running Fundamentalists – As described in the article, these are the runners who cling to past training workouts. Not guilty. I love switching things up.
10. Delay Injury Prevention Plans – I am careful to not increase mileage too quickly. I have an old injury that flairs up now and then so I am very conscious of this.
11. Train at Goal Pace – I haven’t tried this yet.
12. Race Stupidly – GUILTY. Ha ha yeah I start too fast & I finish too slow. Admitting your mistakes is the first step to recovery, right?
Got any of these dirty dozen on your “to fix” list?
Oh man, more than I care to admit! I feel like after my 6 years of running I’m not exactly a rookie anymore yet I still make a lot of these mistakes anyway. Oops! Things I really wanna kick are the ones related to pushing hard enough and being smart during a race.
We all make these mistakes here and there but hey, it keeps things fun. But seriously, this past year I have been better at incorporating speed work and adding in cross training. And balancing how hard to push yourself in a race and give it your all and not die is a delicate balance.
Good points! I think tweaking just a little here and there helps a lot!
Number 1 is #1 on my to-fix list – I always start too fast and then slow down but my average pace is consistent 🙂
Great reminders! I know when it comes to running, I do not push myself like I do when I'm doing boot camp training or even Pilates, I stick to safe "medium". Gonna work on that for my next half marathon training 🙂
Oh my "Race Stupidly:" HELLO HEATHER! 😉 lol. I've done the good old 'fly and die' in far too many races. I have always neglected speed as well. I have started to incorporate it into my most recent marathon training plan so I'm eager to see if I benefit from it.
Fly and die? Ha ha that has a nice ring to it 🙂
I'm guilty of so many of these… #5 & #10 definitely got me recently. And I really need to work on #2 and #3, I get stuck in my same old pace rut all the time, and then I neglect to do anything about it and wonder why my times don't improve…
Great reminder, thank you!
Crazy …. it's all out there yet we repeat the same actions over ad over again. Ha ha
Guilty as charged for #2 and #3 but you are inspiring me to think of ways to add a little run spice into my runs.