I used to do that, now I choose which races are important and which races are workouts. The last 2 weekends the races where work outs - I am in the process of building mileage and
week # 1) Ran 103 miles with a 5k at @ 98% effort and
week # 2) Ran 116 miles with a 10K @ 96% effort

The 5k was @ 8 seconds per mile faster than my LAT pace and the 10K was about 4 seconds per mile faster than LAT pace.

Running them a little below full effort allows me to have a good Sunday long Run (20 / 25 miles) where a 10K full out would not.

In 2 weeks I have a 5 mile Cross Country race I will lay it on the line and in 4 weeks a 10K that I will do the same. I am not actually peaking for these races, but I will take it easy the day before.

I've heard a lot of people say that you shouldn't feel pain in a race. This is not true. There is a difference between normal race pain, and the pain of an injury, but let's face it - races hurt, and hurt a lot. If they don't, it is called a training run.

One thing that helps with being able to deal with hurting in a race is to practice it. Racing on a fairly regular bases helps maintain the ability to push yourself to the limit. But it also helps to do hard tempo runs and long intervals that help sumulate what you will experience in the race itself. Easy runs and short intervals just don't do that.

In a relatively short race (10K or less) the first half usually feels fast but controlled. At around 1/2 way is when it starts to become a struggle. The entire 2nd half should feel uncomfortable, but on a good day it doesn't really hurt until the final 1/4 of the race. In a marathon, you should feel comfortable much longer into the race. If you are struggling at all before 18-20 miles, then you are in trouble.

One key to racing well is figuring out how hard you can push your body, and how much pain at what point in the race is okay and still allows you to hold pace to the finish. Many people simply don't approach what their physical limits are in races. I think many people would benefit from occasionally going out a little too fast in a short race (not a marathon!) and trying to hang on. Especially for a novice racer, you may find you are able to sustain a higher intensity than you thought was possible.

Another way you can judge if you raced as hard as you could of is how long it takes to recover. Even running easily, a marathon will almost always leave a runner quite sore for many days afterwards. But how do you feel for the next few days after a 5K or 10K? It is normal to be sore enough for one or even two days after a hard workout that you are unable to run anything expect an easy run. A goal race should be at a much higher intensity than a hard workout, so you should expect to be very sore for 2-3 days even after a short race like a 5K. To push yourself hard enough to be that sore, you will hurt during the race itself.

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Totally agree w/ megapronator.

To piggyback his comment, I'd also like to add that during hard workouts and races, when the pain comes, it's time to focus in and relax. I check my body and locate any sources of tension; I look to see what (or who) is in front of me and focus solely on that landmark; I try not to think about what is a 1/2 mile down the line, but focus on the immediate.

Of courese, some days are better than others, but when I'm able to feel like I'm "floating" rather than "pushing" hard, I'm most likely having a good run.