Have you ever wanted to quit in the middle of a race?

[Princess KP]

Have you ever wanted to just give up in the middle of a race?

I signed up for a series of races offered by a local sporting goods store - 6 races, one every month with varying distances from 10k - HM with the first one this past weekend. I just started running last year and I figured this would be part of my training for Goofy 2018. It would keep me motivated and have something to work towards every month.

This past weekend, I ran a 15k and I was so discouraged that I was ready to quit running all together.
The race was small - 270 people in the 15k - and there were not a lot of people around the last few kms. I am not a fast runner anyway but I had a goal in mind - finish time of 1:45. I ended up finishing in 1:43 so I thought I did well. But, getting there was torture.

I was sure I was dead last and that by the time I got to the finish line, everything would have been dismantled. I had to run by where my car was parked and I was so tempted to just jump in and go home and take the DNF. I was tired but I think the hardest part was the mental aspect of it.

At the beginning, I was pumped! Was able to keep up and then one by one, people were passing me until I was all by lonesome. All these things went through my mind - "should have signed up for the 10k instead, what were you thinking?"; "you're not a runner"; "I'm never going to finish Goofy."

I'm glad I stuck it out and finished though. I think I would have been more disappointed in myself for quitting than my overall placement (257/270). I know people say that running is mostly mental but I did not truly understand it until this past weekend because my mind was ready to give up before my body was.
It was definitely a learning experience and hopefully I am able to cope better next race.

 

[Ariel484]

Yes I have. You're not the only one.

Maybe look into doing some non-running activities along with your running training (strength training, etc.)? It'll help keep you mentally fresher and will probably help you be stronger overall. Or maybe take a few days off from running?

The mental part is really, REALLY hard. Great job sticking with it!

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

Have you ever wanted to just give up in the middle of a race?

Short answer: yes.

Longer answer: I've run 80+ races, and yes the thought still crosses my mind. Just recently I ran a 5K with an uphill last mile and seriously thought about giving up and walking. If I hadn't posted a goal time here, I might have done that. Ijust kept telling myself that it was going to be a lot more fun posting that I met my goal rather than I didn't or even that I DNFed.

The way I look at it is this: you beat all the people that DNS (did not start), so you weren't 257/270, you were 257/1,000,000,000!

Your mind is a tricky thing. It will bombard you with negative messages to get you to quit. Use Jeff galloway-type tricks to stop it. Here is one:

http://jeffgalloway.typepad.com/jef...-runners-the-giant-invisible-rubber-band.html

One that I play is I ride the roller coaster on hills. I feel the chain clunk in to pull me up the hill and then I coast down, requiring no energy on my part.

Another one is just set your sight on something in the distance, a sign, a streetlight, whatever. Then just get to that marker; then find your next marker. It breaks the end of a race into a bunch of small obtainable goals.

Trick your mind my bombarding it with positive and/or silly thoughts.

Keep us posted on how it goes!

 

[Anisum]

Absolutely. I'm very much like you where on long distances in small races I end up at the back of the pack. When you're all alone for several miles it can feel less like a race and more like a torturous training run. This is what I worked for, shouldn't it be worth it?

And I think like you found, it was worth it. You didn't finish last and you beat your goal by two minutes! That's no small feat.

I usually get through it by thinking to myself, "If I stop now, will I regret it?" I've never found a situation where looking back on a race I will regret finishing more than I would regret stopping. In fact I can only imagine this occurring if I was seriously injured.

Every race is a chance to learn and improve. My first 10 miler, I was second to last, my headphones died half way through a sparse course with around 100 participants, I had never run more than 8 miles, I thought I was going to have to walk or call it quits at mile 9. The 70+ year young woman behind me caught up for a moment and said "C'mon you're young, you can do this." and that was the push I needed to finish. I ended up winning my age group because I was the only female who had entered. It will probably be the only race I place in until I'm in my 70s.

After getting through that I learned you never know what a race may have in store. It doesn't mean that races aren't hard but once you've had one that feels impossible you can think to yourself "I thought I wasn't going to finish that race but I did AND I beat my goal time." That's a great achievement and there's surely more in your future. Keep up the great work.

 

[opusone]

I had to run by where my car was parked and I was so tempted to just jump in and go home and take the DNF. I was tired but I think the hardest part was the mental aspect of it.

At the beginning, I was pumped! Was able to keep up and then one by one, people were passing me until I was all by lonesome. All these things went through my mind - "should have signed up for the 10k instead, what were you thinking?"; "you're not a runner"; "I'm never going to finish Goofy."

Yes, this happens every once and a while. The key thing is to determine why. For me, it is often that my early pace was too fast for the conditions. I either go out faster than my goal pace (not smart), or I get so focused on my goal pace, that I oftentimes try to keep that pace regardless of the heat, humidity, difficulty of terrain, etc. Either one of these can have me hating life about midway through a race. The mental aspect can also get in the way. It can be hard to do, but you should really never compare yourself to the other runners out there. First off, you don't know their background or their experience with running. Second, except for a few elite runners (or elite age groupers), we are each on our own journey and only competing against our prior selves. Success is achieving your goal, not how you did compared to anyone else.

When I do have one of these races, it is usually the physical side that goes downhill first followed by the mental side. The combination can be brutal.

What I often do, and what I would suggest to you, is start the next race with only a goal of having fun: no overall time goal, no pace goal, no heart rate goal, nothing. Just take it easy (although still go faster than an easy run pace), enjoy the atmosphere, encourage other runners, thank volunteers, and enjoy the day. I usually find that (i) it's enjoyable, (ii) it takes me out of my race funk, and (iii) while not a PR, my overall time usually isn't too bad.

-----------------------
P.S. An 11-minute pace will never be last place for a 15k.

 

[cavepig]

Great job sticking with it and finishing. I agree with don't ever compare yourself to the other runners.

But yes I have wanted to quit during races and usually it's what @opusone said, my physical starts to slide and then it's mental games for sure. Or it's just the being passed by others and then feeling like why bother. So for me I learned a long time ago, it's way better to start off conservative and let people pass me at first and then as the race goes pick up the pace and pass people, passing people is such a mental boost for later in the race. Although I don't race much now, it's still what I like to stick to. @DopeyBadger talks about Pacman's chopping up the ghosts for this philosophy I think which I find as a great analogy.

 

[roxymama]

I think we've all been there and sometimes multiple times a race.
Extreme heat tends to get to me the most of all things and sometimes I just have to slow down and turn a race into a fun-run when I can feel myself over-heating, finish it still but not kill myself. I've started to realize that spring and fall are better for PR attempts.
Now when it's just me mentally feeling like I'm not going to reach my goal...those are harder...because those I literally have to talk my brain into pushing through and still trying anyways. It's not easy. I've found ignoring the garmin mileage/clock as much as humanly possible has helped me from having as many mental "give ups."

I also think that I feel less pressure when I'm in giant races because there's almost always a large amount of people at my ability or slower. Those very small local races I've had a harder time with because I do feel isolated even when I'm having a good run and it's a bit defeating. Even my 5k PR, it was just me and three other women for the whole last 1.5 miles together which just feels weird sometimes.

 

[roxymama]

PS That was a GREAT 15k time you achieved btw

 

[DopeyBadger]

ABSOLUTELY! And it was the second most important day in my running journey thus far (next to the day I started running which was June 27, 2012).

It was May 2nd, 2015. I was running my 5th marathon (Wisconsin Marathon). Since I had started running one of my main goals was to run a sub-4 hr marathon. To that point, my best time was a 4:20. I felt very confident going into the race. I had trained harder than I had ever done up to that point. All of my training runs suggested that a sub-4 was within reach. And right before the race started, I started doing my stretches and told my wife "today is going to be the day".

Everything started off great. I was clicking off the miles one by one right on my pace goal of a 9:00-9:15 min/mile. Around mile 5, I noticed the effort seemed to be getting tougher. Around mile 8, my pace started to slip. It was only slipping by a few seconds at first. But slowly what was 9:00 became 9:10 then 9:20. At mile 11, I saw my wife for the last time before the finish line. I SERIOUSLY considered just pulling off the course right then. I wasn't injured. I wasn't having that bad of a day. But it wasn't the day I had imagined throughout training. It just didn't feel like "it" anymore. So I lost all motivation. And suddenly the pace just started feeling harder and harder and harder. I just kind of packed it in and just went from set a new PR to just finish and I don't care anymore. I ended up finishing in 4:58 (11:24 min/mile) and 75% of people ran it faster than I did that day. My worst marathon finish time and even worse than the time I went from running 3 miles to 26.2 miles in 8 weeks (my first marathon).





After the run was over, I was so mad. I came very close to just giving up on running. Maybe I wasn't cut out for this, and I should just stop wasting my time. I had fun during training, but the races were always so deflating time after time.

But something changed. I decided I wouldn't let this happen again. I decided I needed to really devote myself to learning everything I could about running. I read books, scientific research, journals, magazines, if someone had a reason why to do something I would digest it and combine it. I came up with new theories and ideas like -

Eureka - VO2max, Lactate Threshold, Running Economy, and the Psychobiological Model of Endurance
Pac-Man Theory (which @cavepig alluded to)
Long Run Mindset
The balance of adaptations and recovery methods
Speed vs Endurance
Custom training and aerobic training

Without that day, where I seriously considered stopping mid-race, I would not be the runner I am today. In fact, I very likely wouldn't be running at all. But instead of quitting all together, I just found a different path.

Five months later on 10/4/15, I ran a 3:38. One year later, I returned to the same course and ran a 3:28 (a whopping 90 minute improvement from the year prior) and finished with only 11% of the field faster than me. Now in October 2017, I'm shooting for my other lifetime goal - running the marathon in sub 3 hours, with only 1-2% of people finishing faster.

 

[Princess KP]

Yes I have. You're not the only one.

Maybe look into doing some non-running activities along with your running training (strength training, etc.)? It'll help keep you mentally fresher and will probably help you be stronger overall. Or maybe take a few days off from running?

The mental part is really, REALLY hard. Great job sticking with it!

Thanks! I'll try to change things up. I used to do a lot more strength training prior to starting running but may need to incorporate it back into my routine.

 

[Princess KP]

Short answer: yes.

Longer answer: I've run 80+ races, and yes the thought still crosses my mind. Just recently I ran a 5K with an uphill last mile and seriously thought about giving up and walking. If I hadn't posted a goal time here, I might have done that. Ijust kept telling myself that it was going to be a lot more fun posting that I met my goal rather than I didn't or even that I DNFed.

The way I look at it is this: you beat all the people that DNS (did not start), so you weren't 257/270, you were 257/1,000,000,000!

Your mind is a tricky thing. It will bombard you with negative messages to get you to quit. Use Jeff galloway-type tricks to stop it. Here is one:

http://jeffgalloway.typepad.com/jef...-runners-the-giant-invisible-rubber-band.html

One that I play is I ride the roller coaster on hills. I feel the chain clunk in to pull me up the hill and then I coast down, requiring no energy on my part.

Another one is just set your sight on something in the distance, a sign, a streetlight, whatever. Then just get to that marker; then find your next marker. It breaks the end of a race into a bunch of small obtainable goals.

Trick your mind my bombarding it with positive and/or silly thoughts.

Keep us posted on how it goes!

Love the rubber band analogy. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Princess KP]

ABSOLUTELY! And it was the second most important day in my running journey thus far (next to the day I started running which was June 27, 2012).

It was May 2nd, 2015. I was running my 5th marathon (Wisconsin Marathon). Since I had started running one of my main goals was to run a sub-4 hr marathon. To that point, my best time was a 4:20. I felt very confident going into the race. I had trained harder than I had ever done up to that point. All of my training runs suggested that a sub-4 was within reach. And right before the race started, I started doing my stretches and told my wife "today is going to be the day".

Everything started off great. I was clicking off the miles one by one right on my pace goal of a 9:00-9:15 min/mile. Around mile 5, I noticed the effort seemed to be getting tougher. Around mile 8, my pace started to slip. It was only slipping by a few seconds at first. But slowly what was 9:00 became 9:10 then 9:20. At mile 11, I saw my wife for the last time before the finish line. I SERIOUSLY considered just pulling off the course right then. I wasn't injured. I wasn't having that bad of a day. But it wasn't the day I had imagined throughout training. It just didn't feel like "it" anymore. So I lost all motivation. And suddenly the pace just started feeling harder and harder and harder. I just kind of packed it in and just went from set a new PR to just finish and I don't care anymore. I ended up finishing in 4:58 (11:24 min/mile) and 75% of people ran it faster than I did that day. My worst marathon finish time and even worse than the time I went from running 3 miles to 26.2 miles in 8 weeks (my first marathon).

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After the run was over, I was so mad. I came very close to just giving up on running. Maybe I wasn't cut out for this, and I should just stop wasting my time. I had fun during training, but the races were always so deflating time after time.

But something changed. I decided I wouldn't let this happen again. I decided I needed to really devote myself to learning everything I could about running. I read books, scientific research, journals, magazines, if someone had a reason why to do something I would digest it and combine it. I came up with new theories and ideas like -

Eureka - VO2max, Lactate Threshold, Running Economy, and the Psychobiological Model of Endurance
Pac-Man Theory (which @cavepig alluded to)
Long Run Mindset
The balance of adaptations and recovery methods
Speed vs Endurance
Custom training and aerobic training

Without that day, where I seriously considered stopping mid-race, I would not be the runner I am today. In fact, I very likely wouldn't be running at all. But instead of quitting all together, I just found a different path.

Five months later on 10/4/15, I ran a 3:38. One year later, I returned to the same course and ran a 3:28 (a whopping 90 minute improvement from the year prior) and finished with only 11% of the field faster than me. Now in October 2017, I'm shooting for my other lifetime goal - running the marathon in sub 3 hours, with only 1-2% of people finishing faster.

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Great resources. I will definitely check them out.
I hope, like you, that this deflating experience is what I needed to guide me on to the right path to being a stronger runner, both physically and mentally.

 

[Princess KP]

Every race is a chance to learn and improve.

Success is achieving your goal, not how you did compared to anyone else.

^^This is why I love this board.
Thank you to everyone for sharing your experiences and offering your support.

 

[jmasgat]

Yes, this happens. Happened to me this past Sunday. Not so much "quit the race" but all the other head games about pace, and "why am i running', etc. The head games can be the worst part of racing. And the answer that works for you to "get beyond" this is not the same as anyone else's. Because your goals of what you're trying to achieve are yours, not mine or anyone else's.

One thing I will say is this: you are a relatively new runner--do not put too much pressure on yourself. Give yourself a chance to experience the first few races and just see how they turn out. 1 is a small sample size. After that you can think about what worked and didn't, and whether you need or want to change your goals and/or your training.

As for the head games, I channeled my yoga this past Sunday. Telling myself "work with the body you have today" and "everyone can do one more"(be it a rep of chair pose or a mile!)

Good luck!

 

[opusone]

"work with body you have today"

Love this!

 

[Figment1990]

The key thing is to determine why.

Every race is a chance to learn and improve....

After getting through that I learned you never know what a race may have in store. It doesn't mean that races aren't hard but once you've had one that feels impossible you can think to yourself "I thought I wasn't going to finish that race but I did AND I beat my goal time." That's a great achievement and there's surely more in your future. Keep up the great work.

THIS is so true. In fact, every run is a chance to learn. Especially the crappy runs. My running log is full of "Lesson learned:" notes. So even if I don't achieve what I plan to, I still come away from the run feeling like I accomplished something (learning the lesson). Sometimes, the lesson learned is just finding out that you can finish, even when it's brutally physically and/or mentally hard.

Without getting into all the specific running lessons I learned from it (like hydration, pacing etc), I want to share that had the worst race of my (short) running career at Wine & Dine 2013. Everything went wrong from mile 1. Side cramps, foot cramps, I was overheated... just endless issues. And not only did I WANT to stop but I actually did. I sat down by a med tent at mile 10, in the middle of hollywood studios. But somehow I got up and started walking again. For the next mile I walked, head down, arms on my hips repeating, "one foot in front of the other.... relentless pursuit of forward motion" to myself (thanks Coach!). By the Boardwalk I thought I was going to die. After stopping at the port o potty again, I actually stepped onto the bus at mile 11.5. I instantly felt like I had to puke, so off the bus I went, puked in the grass, stood up and instantly felt better and regretted stopping the race. I turned to the med guy and said "I feel better, can I keep going even though I started to get on the bus?" And he said, "yes you can! It's only 1.5 miles more, go for it!" He could tell I wasn't in dire medical situation, and I am so glad I finished. I still feel bad emotionally about my actual race, and it was really hard for me to wear my medal the next day. But my DH encouraged me to wear it, saying that my finish was hard-fought and I should be proud of my perseverance.

To this day, whenever I feel like something is impossible, I say to myself "If I could finish THAT race, I can handle anything."

As for finishing towards the end of the crowd, I have the same anxiety. But after having suffered an injury 8 years ago that almost stopped my running altogether, I am just glad I can be out there at all, and try to keep that in mind when I'm at the back of the pack.

 

[jhorstma]

Congratulations on your 15K, and your progress towards Goofy 2018!
When I feel like quitting I remind myself that I'm no longer running the original race, but a much shorter race. So halfway thru a 15K? I'm now running a 7K race, and I just know that the beer's gonna be cold at the finish...

 

[ZellyB]

I'd say the thought crosses my mind to quit during almost every race!

But, in truth, I've had two that I seriously contemplated quitting during and that was mostly due to injury and that I was frankly just in pain. But, if there is something most runners have, it's determination, so ya know, you just gut it out. But, it's so normal to think sometimes, "why the heck am I out here doing this right now?" But, as we all know, most runners don't run for how they feel during the run, but rather after the run. So, when it's a really tough one and I want to quit, I certainly remind myself that once I'm done, I'll be so glad I stuck it out.

 

[bumbershoot]

Although you had a good result, maybe look at your nutrition! My mind is the first thing to go if my nutrition before and during even event have gone to pieces.

I was sure I was dead last and that by the time I got to the finish line, everything would have been dismantled.

Since your mind plays tricks on you like that, make sure to read all the info given to you by the race directors (like the course time limit) so that you KNOW that's not going to happen.

I had to run by where my car was parked and I was so tempted to just jump in and go home

Now that you know that's something that happens in your mind, NEVER let that happen again. Do not park anywhere along the course!

I am not a fast runner anyway but I had a goal in mind - finish time of 1:45. I ended up finishing in 1:43 so I thought I did well.

Uh, sure you're a fast runner. Way faster than me! Always remember that you're always posting in a place where there are much slower people than you. I mean, maybe not on a message board made up of 256 runners in the race you just did, but around here, just be aware of that!


I think I've just realized why I keep signing up for these Disney races that I just don't enjoy all that much...it's b/c people stop to take pictures, and I don't, and so my times look better, compared to the pack, than my times do in local runs. Talk about your mind games, LOL.

 

[Anisum]

Uh, sure you're a fast runner. Way faster than me! Always remember that you're always posting in a place where there are much slower people than you. I mean, maybe not on a message board made up of 256 runners in the race you just did, but around here, just be aware of that!

I mean, Princess KP is faster than me as well but it wasn't like they were flaunting it and then saying they were slow. Heck, I know 8min/mi who think they're slow because they can't run with 6min/mi runners. Runners are always faster and slower than other runners which is why we have to compare our own performances to our previous ones. I could be incorrect (and if so apologies), but it just sounds like you were shaming them for their opinion of their pace and I just don't see a reason for it. It's not really relevant to the topic at hand. Everyone on here runs different paces, we have people like myself who started on here at 15-16min/mi or more to people who have BQ times. On a running forum, even a Disney one people are going to bring up their times and it just seems unnecessary to critique them for it no matter what that time may be.