RunningAHEAD - Topic: Running races with a Garmin

JerryBZA

Runs with the pack

posted: 11/30/2005 at 4:41 PM

There are a lot of experienced runners on this board, I can tell by the fast times in your posts and in the logs I've looked at. I'd like to take advantage of that and ask for some advice from those of you that run with the Garmin GPS. I will be running my first 5K with the Garmin December 18. What is the best mode to run it in and what is the best corresponding race strategy? I'd like to run a sub 21:00 5K. Don't know if I can make it but it seems possible Smile

I could use the virtual partner and set the pace for the 5K at 21:00 or I could just leave it in training mode and watch my split times. Or, I could set the pace alert to alarm at a 7:15 pace or so, assuming I could stay under that pace and meet the objective. On a related note, I am thinking about trying to run the first mile in 6:30, second in 7:00 and the last under 7:30. That's normally how I run anyway, go out fast and try and hang on. Does that make any sense??

gwingham

gimme some sugar, baby

posted: 11/30/2005 at 7:12 PM

You haven't had success running races the other way around? I personally find it's 1000x easier to negative split than positive split. Why not 7:30 7:00 6 Tight lipped

x? Physiologically I think it's easier that way as well due to energy metabolism...

George: Runner/Law Student
www.gimme-five.com

gwingham

gimme some sugar, baby

posted: 11/30/2005 at 7:12 PM

hm... not sure why that face came out as an x face... I just mean 6 Sad

variable time)

George: Runner/Law Student
www.gimme-five.com

gwingham

gimme some sugar, baby

posted: 11/30/2005 at 7:13 PM

AH! Smiley faces everywhere. Ok, you know what I mean.

George: Runner/Law Student
www.gimme-five.com

Mile Collector

Abs of Flabs

posted: 11/30/2005 at 7:46 PM

I'm not a fast runner, but I have to agree with oce222 that doing negative splits, or even splits is the way to go. I only did one 5k in my entire life, so I'll leave strategies to more experienced runners. I'll comment on the GPS aspects of your post instead. Although the GPS has the pace feature, I find that it fluctuates wildly, even with smoothing turned on. However, it is accurate over a given distance (for example, the time for one mile, which is also your pace, is always accurate). I set my GPS to record my mile splits so I can enter them in the log. Since a 5k is rather short, you need to know your pace before you get to mile 1. If you set your GPS to record every 1/4 of a mile, it's long enough to provide a more accurate pace so you can adjust it accordingly. I hope this makes some sense. eric Smile

Beantown Runners | On the Bench

JerryBZA

Runs with the pack

posted: 12/9/2005 at 3:41 PM
modified: 12/10/2005 at 1:02 PM

Well, Ive been doing some experimenting with different Garmin modes. I've changed from mile splits to half mile splits, and that seems to work pretty well, although in rereading the eariler post, I see now that it should have been quarter mile splits. I'll try that later this week but I wonder about having to do the math to convert that in my head as I'm running. The half mile splits aren't bad but quarters of a 7:15 goal pace is, uh...7 x 60 +15 = 435 seconds, divide by 4, is 108.75 seconds, or a minute 49... its a bit much to deal with on the fly. I've also run a couple of tempo runs with the virtual partner. That seems like it would work pretty well for a 5K. The read out turns black if you stray over your set pace and displays the time in seconds that needs to be regained. If you are running too fast, it displays the time over your goal. I kind of like the simplicity of it all. At a glance, you can see if you are over or under your desired race pace. Anybody use this mode during their races? My 5K is next Friday!

Pron8r

posted: 12/9/2005 at 7:14 PM

I'm sure you know you need to to run an average 6:46/47 pace to come in under 21:00. I agree with oce222 that it is generally far easier to run negative splits. As to the Garmin--I wear mine in every race I run. I keep the splits set at a mile (primarily because I like longer races --marathons and halfs) no matter the distance. The last 5K I ran (Thanksgiving Day) I wore it and, even thought it was set for mile splits, I could still use it to determine my pace. No, it may not be accurate at the exact moment you look at it (since it is based on your pace the last few feet), but it will tend to average (or smooth) out as you are moving along. You can certainly tell at the half-mile increments how you are doing with a high degree of accuracy (eg, if you run a 4 minute half, you are at an 8:00 overall pace). One key to shorter races for me is to make sure I do at least a 1 to 1-1/2 mile light warm up before the race begins. This gets your blood flowing, muscles warm, and breathing going before you actually run the race. Based on what I am gleaning from your post, if your goal is to run under 21:00, you really can't wait until you've finished the first mile before you get acclimated to race conditions. Well, I've rambled without saying much of anything, I'm sure. Good luck, and don't go out too fast to start. Whether a marathon or 5K, too many runners cripple themselves from the start with that strategy. Think positive--run negative!

My Masters (>50) Race PR's: 5K - 20:17 10K - 42:36 HM - 1:31:22 Marathon - 3:20:48

JerryBZA

Runs with the pack

posted: 12/19/2005 at 7:13 PM
modified: 12/21/2005 at 3:49 PM

Well, my 5K was yesterday and I ran a 21:06. Very happy with that time since it was 2 1/2 minutes off my "old man" PR. (Versus my earlier "young man" PR of 18:08 that I don't want to compete against.) I took Pron8r's advice and made sure to warm up for a mile or so. This is a step I usually skip and I'm sure it helped. And I tried to settle in with a reasonable pace and then run negative splits. My splits were 7:11/7:03/6:34. Maybe I could have run a little faster earlier based on that last mile being so much faster? As for the Garmin, I set it for half mile splits which seemed to work well for the 5k. At that pace it's difficult to spend much time looking at the watch. Even with it set for half mile splits I only looked at 3 or 4 of the actual half mile split times. But, it was helpful to stay on pace. Thanks everyone for the advice - happy running!

jlynnbob

You'll ruin your knees!

posted: 12/20/2005 at 12:38 AM

Hey, congrats on the old man PR! Wow, a 2 1/2 minute improvement is quite a bit. WELL DONE! Lynn B

""...the truth that someday, you will go for your last run. But not today—today you got to run." - Matt Crownover (after Western States)

Pron8r

posted: 12/20/2005 at 10:56 AM

Congratulations on a well-run race! And a well-done on the PR--that's a great time! You should be pleased with how you did. How was the race itself? How did you do overall? Inquiring minds want to know

My Masters (>50) Race PR's: 5K - 20:17 10K - 42:36 HM - 1:31:22 Marathon - 3:20:48

gwingham

gimme some sugar, baby

posted: 12/21/2005 at 11:16 AM

yes, congrats!

George: Runner/Law Student
www.gimme-five.com

JerryBZA

Runs with the pack

posted: 12/21/2005 at 3:48 PM
modified: 12/21/2005 at 6:12 PM

Hey, thanks for all the support! Really appreciate it. The race was the "Make Room for Santa 5K" http://www.make-u-fit.net/events-detail.asp?ID=6 http://www.y-events.com/05santa5k.htm It was a cool morning, really perfect weather for the race, about 50 degrees at race time with little or no wind. The race had an uphill start and another slight uphill at the second mile, then downhill the rest of the way. I was a little concerned Embarrassed

after that first uphill mile when I glanced at my time. Although it got me motivated for the second and third leg! The first half was on city streets and moved to bike paths for the last mile. I thought the men's 50-54 had a pretty fast field, I wouldn't place unless I dropped another 1:10 off my time. How do I drop another 1:10 off my pace Smile

?!? Total field was 284 with 13 in my age group. MALE 50-54 1 15 243 GREG BECK 50 0:18:54 0:06:06 MALE 50-54 2 21 365 ROBERT SLICK 51 0:19:43 0:06:22 MALE 50-54 3 25 181 KEN SAXTON 50 0:19:54 0:06:25 MALE 50-54 4 37 414 JIM BASHORE 51 0:20:56 0:06:45 MALE 50-54 5 38 33 JERRY BUZA 50 0:21:06 0:06:48 Big grin

MALE 50-54 6 61 59 RANDY EMENAKER 54 0:22:58 0:07:24 MALE 50-54 7 65 480 KEVIN NEFF 52 0:23:11 0:07:29 MALE 50-54 8 69 474 DAVID MORGAN 50 0:23:31 0:07:35 MALE 50-54 9 87 68 DAN FORTIER 53 0:25:12 0:08:08 MALE 50-54 10 99 238 JC CHALDER 52 0:26:02 0:08:24 MALE 50-54 11 150 94 SEAN HAYES 53 0:30:27 0:09:49 MALE 50-54 12 196 103 RON HOWARD 53 0:33:43 0:10:53 MALE 50-54 13 228 485 STEVE WOLFE 53 0:36:56 0:11:55

Pron8r

posted: 12/21/2005 at 5:50 PM
modified: 12/21/2005 at 5:53 PM

Quote from JerryBZA on 12/21/2005 at 3:48 PM:

How do I drop another 1:10 off my pace ?!? .

Um, run faster? Wink

You did have a fast field. The winner had a pretty impressive time for our age group. You just need to train for it (easier said than done, I know...). The fact is, you dropped quite a bit off your time from your last 5K. Speedwork, hills (I'm a big believer in hills), tempo runs, etc. It's 60% physical, 80% mental Smile

. While I've recently run a 20:28, the fact is I'm not a 5K runner. I'd love to break 20:00, but I spend my time training for marathons (Boston in April--oh, yeah). I'm sure there are others on this forum that can give you some pretty good training tips for a 5K.

My Masters (>50) Race PR's: 5K - 20:17 10K - 42:36 HM - 1:31:22 Marathon - 3:20:48

Mile Collector

Abs of Flabs

posted: 12/21/2005 at 11:02 PM

Congrats Jerry! You ran an excellent race. I'm very happy to see that you ran a solid negative split. This is the lazy side of me talking. If you want to place in a 5k, wouldn't it be easier to find a less competitive race? Seriously though, I don't know how much you got left in your tank at the end of the race. Even though you ran 6:34 for the last mile, it's also downhill as you pointed out. If you feel like you still have plenty left, I would work on doing a proper warm up. Nothing beats a good fast race if your muscles and lungs are all ready to go from the start line.

Beantown Runners | On the Bench

JerryBZA

Runs with the pack

posted: 12/22/2005 at 12:54 PM
modified: 12/22/2005 at 12:55 PM

Quote from Mile Collector on 12/21/2005 at 11:02 PM:

This is the lazy side of me talking. If you want to place in a 5k, wouldn't it be easier to find a less competitive race? ...... I would work on doing a proper warm up. Nothing beats a good fast race if your muscles and lungs are all ready to go from the start line.

Ha -I am with you, I thought this WAS a less competitive race! Pretty small field. Mmm. What is the strategy for finding slow 5k events? Maybe a nice little 5k walk/run that is part of a marathon. I ran/jogged/sprinted for about a mile just prior to the star. I thought that was a good warm-up, especially since my normal warm-up is to walk to the start line after a few quick stretches.

Running races with a Garmin (Read 1131 times)