Been following your training but not commented for a while, looking at your training and then at your race times do you not think you might have some sort of mental block with actually racing.
It seems really odd that you could do a 51.8s in training at a cruise and then only a 53 in an actual race…
Maybe when you are cruising you are actually running properly and then when you try and run faster you tighten up and suffer in the last 100m.
You put in one of your earlier sessions that you did 500’s in training where you went through 400 in 52ish from what I remember. Surely there must be an issue somewhere if you can do that time and run a further 100m.
With a 500m in that time scale you must be at sub 50 pace or very close to it at least….its confusing.
(to put it another way you run consistently 36s 300m’s in training – with a 53s 400m that translates to over 17s for the last 100m…yet you can do a sub 1min30 600m??)
Could it be something to do with the way you are timed in your sessions which gives false times which don’t translate to proper races?
Anyway I am doing quite a few of the Trafford grand prixs this season so may end up running with you a few times!
Good luck anyway.