One
of the most common errors committed
by novice as well as experienced racers is pacing inappropriately in the
early stages
of a race. In a long race, like a
marathon or half marathon, this can be a devastating mistake.
I
evaluated the split profiles of the top three males in the 2011 NYC
marathon. Their paces, calculated every
5k of the race, varied no more than a
few seconds throughout the race. All three of them had a slower first
5k (about 14 sec
a mile slower than their eventual
average for the race), then for the next 25k they ran splits that were
within +/- 3 seconds
per mile (and right on their overall
race average pace) and then sped up in the final stages of the race. In
sharp contrast,
compare this to the performance of
the runners further back in the pack, there was a huge difference in
their 5K splits. A
male runner in the 35-39 age group
who placed in the middle of his age group and in the second quintile of
finishers overall
had a pace profile that varied as
much as a minute and forty-seven seconds per mile. His fastest 5k was
the first 5k and he
ran that a minute and six seconds
per mile faster than his overall average. Each 5k was slower than the
previous one with
the exception of a slight surge in
the last 2k. This pattern is all too common - I just pulled a random
middle-of-the pack
runner to do this calculation - I'm
sure there are worse examples of pace errors than this one!
This difference points to one of the most common mistakes I see among runners: going out too fast in the first 5k,
and fading out in the later stages of the race.
So,
how do you avoid this? Doing drills on the track are a great
way to enhance pace awareness.
Athletes who are familiar with track workouts often refer to them as
"speedwork"
and that's an accurate description,
but the speed you're working on can vary depending on the race you're
training for. Are
you training for a 5K? Then learning
the feel of your 5k pace in a controlled environment like a track is a
good training
stimulus. Are you training for a
marathon? It's important to learn what your proper marathon pace feels
like. If all your
training is done at either "easy"
pace (valuable for base building) or at 5k pace (valuable for building
your maximum
aerobic capacity), but you don't
take some time to practice your marathon pace in training... then how
will you KNOW you're
hitting your marks on race day?
You'll know after you've checked your split at the 5K mark, but at that
point it may be too
late; you may have been pulled along
by the energy of the crowd and now you've run your first 5k at a pace
that's possibly
30 seconds a mile (or more) faster
than you intended. This error can cost you a minute or more per mile in
the later stages
of the race. 
One
of my favorite pace awareness drills is the 400-meter repeat. I like
this
format - even for marathon pace -
you can check your watch each time around the track and carefully dial
in the effort and
rhythm until you're locked in on the
proper pace. Once you do, you can work on sustaining this steady effort
by stretching
the intervals to 800-meter repeats
or mile repeats. Again, doing this on a track allows you to check in
after every lap or
400 meters, and dial the pace in
tightly, so you can consistently nail the pace (within 1-2 seconds per
400-meter lap). Remember,
those elite marathoners were varying
no more than 3 seconds per mile over a distance of more than 15 miles!
If you vary by
2 seconds per 400-meter lap, you can
be sure that you'll be able to sustain a pace that varies by just about
8 seconds per
mile.
Once
you're able to consistently do this, you can take your race-pace
practice
to the road, then stretch the
distance out a little at a time. If you're targeting a marathon,
introducing segments of 2 miles
at marathon pace is a good way to
work on pace discipline. Gradually stretch those intervals out to
perhaps 6 miles. Try to
do this on a course where you have
mile markers or use a GPS to help you check your pace at the mile marks.
If you're running
higher mileage (60-80 or more miles
per week) you may find you tolerate longer stretches at marathon pace
but don't feel that
you need to do all of your training
at race pace. Remember, there's a time and place for every pace you run -
easy pace running
has its value, just as the hard
intervals at 5K pace at the track have their value.
Learn
your race pace and then on race day
be disciplined to hold it - your overall outcome will likely be much
better as a result!
Visualize your success -- and get there by training SMART
Janet
is a Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist, a Certified Strength
and Conditioning Specialist and
certified running coach who specializes in helping individuals improve
their health,
fitness and athletic
performance. Janet has been coaching runners in groups and individually
for over18 years and
has helped athletes rehabilitate
from injuries for over 25 years. She is a certified running coach and
coaching instructor with
the Road Runners Club of America, a certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist with the National Strength & Conditioning Association, and a Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist with the American College of Sports Medicine.
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