10K Racing Strategy using HRM (Read 1026 times)

My apparent HRmax is around 170-172, maybe slightly higher. (This is consistently the max I get at the end of a 5K when I'm sprinting for the finish.) I finished a 10K yesterday averaging around 160. I could possibly have picked it up a little in the second half, but if this didn't take all I've got it took a good 98%. This gives you at least one data point to work from.

If you know your true max HR (as opposed to the ballpark 220-age formula (which is often incorrect)), it might make more sense to frame your question in terms of %MaxHR. So your 10k PR is 55:25 (assuming this was all-out.) In Daniels' Running Formula, the average HR for sustained all-out effort for 60 minutes is 92.5%, and 93% for 50 minutes. So based on this info, if you targeted 92~93%MaxHR, that'd be right in the ballpark for your 10k. (Obviously, HR will go up as you kick at the end -- the above values were average over the duration). However, I'd at least try at 20 minute or so tempo run at that pace to early in the week to make sure that the pace works for you. You don't want discover on race day that this pace is too fast for you and have a major crash-and-burn (and blame me). As you run and race more, you'll develop a more intuitive feel for pacing and won't have to rely on an HRM, which is inexact at best (as your HR can be affected by many other things besides running, like temperature, how much sleep you got, stress, whether or not you're getting adequate rest in your training, etc.)

Assuming you're looking at something like 55 min, I'd go out at LT effort (effort you can hold for a 1-hr race) - and adjust as needed. If you've been doing all your runs at low-hr base level, then I'd consider running that effort sometime before the race so it's not completely new to you body.

Guys, This information is all really interesting but I have to admit, it all seems way to hard to do (for me - at least).. Having never used a HRM, Im sure my comments are NOT valid, but it seems to me like if you just go for a run and enjoy it..running at a pace where you can think and talk to other people....and build up your miles to some reasonable amount...then do some speed work, tempo and hills, your 10K times will eventually get really good... Training based on HRM data all seems way to complicated.....and it 'seems' like it would really ruin the fun of running really quickly..... Again, I dont have one, but this is just what I 'think'..... Nader, I personally recommend you take the technology out of it all and just enjoy running and you will see plenty of improvement.....(I'm starting to feel like and old fart all set in my ways and not understanding all these new fangled gadgets)....but in reality I'm a Tech guy that thinks all this type of training takes away from running and spoils the fun...... . Pace for your race on Sat based on how you feel when you get to the starting line....sounds simple, but I'm guessing that if you are thinking about how you feel when running you will have better focus and will run pretty well.....

One of the (many) very good racers here said something along the lines of: For a 10K...run hard until you feel like you're going to puke, then back it off a bit and hold it there to the end.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend this. The most common mistake made in racing 10ks is going out too fast. No 10k is won in the first mile, but many are lost. If the first mile is run too fast, the second mile will slow down significantly. And the 3rd mile of a 10k usually mirrors the 2nd. It's a bad deal, all the way around if you start out too hard. Perhaps the person meant it figuratively, but this is a long enough race that you can recover and build upon a slower 1st mile. This is one of the reasons why I think 10k is such a hard distance. Even if you blast out of the gates in a 5k and crash/burn, you don't have to suffer for too long. And ≥15k are seen as "distance" races, so the mindset out of the gate is different. If you go at at 5k or faster at the beginning of a 10k, the 10k will gleefully crush you and make you suffer.

I have never been good at setting an appropriate initial pace for my races, although I'm improving (the race I mentioned earlier in this thread is probably the best I've ever done in this area). An HRM helps me avoid this problem. It also helps me recognize when I'm sand-bagging it and need to pick it up a little - like I was doing on the slightly down-hill stretch of that race above. Also, the numbers I use are the result of about three year's worth of races, recognizing what works for me in the race and what doesn't. I certainly don't let the HRM "dictate" my run. In fact, during my race last weekend I typically only looked at it when I thought I should be coming upon another mile split (if they were marked, I never saw them ). It's a tool just like any other, and like any other it can be used or abused.

I've used a HR monitor almost obsessively over the summer, in training. But for races, I wear one but I don't look at it. For a 10k, for the best strategy I have found is to start out running fast but comfortably. Your adrenalin will allow you to run faster than what you feel. After 2 or 3 miles you'll know if you can keep it up for the remainder of the run. If not, just back off a little. The last mile will get fast anyway because you'll know your almost done. As you race more and more you'll know how to pace your self better. I don't normally like using the HR to pace because HR is usually naturally much higher on race day then normal. I just use it for data, to compare one performance to another. It also helps you get a pretty good idea of where your LT HR is.