The End Is Near!
How is it that we can go 5 miles with ease on our training runs, but when we’re running a 10K we’re hurting at around mile 4 or 5?
Before you say the answer’s obvious – we are running faster during a race – consider this.
If I asked you to keep your exertion level for the 10K the same as when you train (same pace, same effort) you are still likely to find miles 4 – 5 more difficult than those that come before or after.
Call it the “third-quarter syndrome” if you will. For most endurance athletes, regardless of the sport, our performance takes a dip when we’ve got about a half to a quarter of the race (or run, ride, swim) left to go.
Why does this happen?
Teleoanticipation.
A researcher by the name of Ulmer theorized that we have some kind of “Central Programmer” that focuses on the finishing point of a task and works backward from that point to where we are presently in order to regulate our exertion; he called this process teleoanticipation. He found that when athletes were asked to maintain a constant perception of exertion, their work output declined over time, reached a plateau and then increased at the end. Sound familiar? How many of us have started a race strong, slowed down in the middle, and then picked it up toward the finish?
Ulmer’s theory of teleoanticipation was expanded upon to include psychological factors. Researchers found that when runners ran on a treadmill for 20 minutes their perceived exertion was higher than when those same runners ran for 20 minutes but were told they would be running for 30 minutes. From this they concluded that our subjective sensation of fatigue is the primary source of information to the Central Programmer which uses this information to avoid premature exhaustion by regulating exercise intensity, using prior experience as a guide.
This research has some interesting implications:
When there is no set duration to our exercise, we will continue until we feel we are fatigued. Thus, quitting an exercise, workout, or race may result in large part from mental fatigue as opposed to purely physical fatigue.
While you may use a different strategy when you run a 10K then when you run a marathon (or when you do a sprint triathlon vs. long course) within each run, your pattern of speed is probably consistent: falling after the initial jolt of the start, plateauing out, and then increasing at the end.
We regulate our mental as well as our physical output. It may very well be that when we work-out, train, or compete we focus not on what we have done but rather on what we have left to do.
There is one more interesting implication we can draw from Teleoanticipation Theory. In their article, “Am I Nearly There? The Effect of Anticipated Running Distance on Perceived Exertion and Attentional Focus,” Baden, Warwick-Evans, and Lakomy comment on a technique often used by coaches, aerobic instructors, and well-meaning supporters at the sidelines. If you’ve done any racing (or taken a spin-class) you’ve heard it.
Phrases like
“You’re nearly there!”
“Just 5 more minutes!”
“One more mile and then you’re done!”
are supposed to offer us encouragement by drawing or attention to the end of our event (or class). Here’s the problem. Most often, these statements are exaggerated and sometimes completely false. (Think of the people at the side of the hill “Nasty Grade” at the Wildflower Triathlon who tell you you’re almost at the top when you still have a few dozen switchbacks to go). While these statements are clearly an attempt to encourage us, increase our motivation, and improve our performance, they have the potential to backfire. Teleoanticipation Theory suggests that even though we might show an immediate surge after we’re yelled at, when we discover that the task at hand is longer or harder than we were led to believe, our pace may drop. Bade, Warwick-Evans,and Lakomy write,
any resulting short-term increases in pace may be counterproductive if the end is not immediately forthcoming, and thus it might be better to assure the exercisers that they still have a long way to go.
How can you put teleoanticipation to work for you? If you’ve had a coach who has urged you to run “negative splits” he or she was probably giving you good advice. Making it a point to work harder in the second half of a race may very-well offset the “mental exhaustion” we believe we feel after we reach the half-way point and still have a ways to go.
In sports, as in life, focusing on what we’ve accomplished is not nearly as productive as focusing on the tasks we still have left to do.
Resources:
Denise Baden, Lawrence Warwick-Evans, & Julie Lakomy (2004). “Am I Nearly There?” The Effect of Anticipated Running Distance on Perceived Exertion and Attentional Focus.” Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 26, 1-14.
Ulmer, H.V. (1996). “Concept of an Extracellular Regulation of Muscular Metabolic Rate During Heavy Exercise in Humans by Psychophysiological Feedback.” Experientia, 52, 416-420.
Sounds like a different take on the classic time-trial curve. Quite a few years ago I was lab rat, where we were told we were doing a 40km Cycling Time Trial. We did 4 of these one week apart and were told to race each one to get the best possible time. Our only feedback was the percentage of distance we had completed. In reality each time trial was based on time of between 35-80min. What was found is we all followed the exact work output profile you described. When power output was plotted against percentage of trial completed, it was exactly same, no matter how long the trial was. I've worked hard to try to overcome this over the years. I've been somewhat successful, I am regularly able to negative split races.
SixTwoThree says
Wow, this research certainly has me pegged! I'm wondering though how someone relatively new to the sport can get there mentally faster without a lot of race experience under one's belt. Especially as I venture into unchartered territory...first marathon in 20 years, maybe a century next year, a half-iron distance...some day. Any advice there?