Q: What proportion of distance runners have the ability to run themselves out to their absolute limit?
A: None. 0%.
Q: Conversely, what proportion of runners have something in them at the end of a race?
A: All of them. 100%
Q: Which runners get closest to using all their physical capacity?
A: Those with the best pain tolerance.
Q: Can one train so as to improve one's pain tolerance?
A: Yes, to some degree.
Q: How?
A: It happens anyway. Working harder in (some) training sessions as we do, not only improves our fitness, but also improves our pain tolerance.
Q: But it hurts!
A: Yes, but knowing that you are improving your pain tolerance when it hurts, as well as your physical fitness, actually helps you go harder in those sessions than you might have. Which is why I am writing this. So don't despise the one or two very hard sessions each week; it is helping you go faster and when you think it is hurting, tolerate that sensation. This is you learning to tolerate it more!
Good luck.
Someone yelled out "You're almost there" before we had gone 1k in this morning's 5k parkrun. That's illegal!
A: None. 0%.
Q: Conversely, what proportion of runners have something in them at the end of a race?
A: All of them. 100%
Q: Which runners get closest to using all their physical capacity?
A: Those with the best pain tolerance.
Q: Can one train so as to improve one's pain tolerance?
A: Yes, to some degree.
Q: How?
A: It happens anyway. Working harder in (some) training sessions as we do, not only improves our fitness, but also improves our pain tolerance.
Q: But it hurts!
A: Yes, but knowing that you are improving your pain tolerance when it hurts, as well as your physical fitness, actually helps you go harder in those sessions than you might have. Which is why I am writing this. So don't despise the one or two very hard sessions each week; it is helping you go faster and when you think it is hurting, tolerate that sensation. This is you learning to tolerate it more!
Good luck.
Someone yelled out "You're almost there" before we had gone 1k in this morning's 5k parkrun. That's illegal!
