RunningAHEAD - Topic: I'm a digital runner ...

Ennay

A Saucy Wench

posted: 3/1/2008 at 1:10 PM

I was trying to do a progression run today and I have noticed this same problem MANY times when trying to pace myself in a race. I have very specific paces I am comfortable and then I can either go faster or slower by a lot, but not a little. Like in the marathon last year I was trying to hold around 9:00-9:05 mm but I can run 9:15....or I can run 8:45. I can run 10:10 or 9:45, 8:30 or 7:55. And somewhere around 7:30 but not for too long. Interesting that as I get faster and stronger as a runner, those gears dont change, I can just hold the faster ones longer and longer. dh says it is a biomechanical natural frequency/stride thing Arrrgh... Anyone else digital in an analog sport? I suppose the only cure is to either practice those in between paces or just get to the point I can hold the faster ones for the whole target race.

I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

"When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7

Figbash

posted: 3/1/2008 at 4:02 PM

You need to do some running on a track, the endless timed loops will drill pacing into your mind. I spend quite a bit of time on the track during the summer months and I can tell within a few seconds what my current pace is. Tom

Marsha59

posted: 3/1/2008 at 9:12 PM

This is an answer to a question that I have had then....How the heck do you know what pace you are running if you are not on a dreadmill? Training programs say "run at 9mm, or run at marathon pace" etc. I have wondered how people know what that pace is when they are outside. Is there some type of instrument (watch or some other tecnical gadget) that acts like a metronome? Or does it just come from running laps on the track with trial and error to get the right pace? I, like the original poster, also find myself at just about the same pace I have run since I started running 2 yrs ago. My best is about 10mm, occasionally a little faster. I also find that instead of really getting faster I'm just able to sustain that speed for longer runs. From all my reading on here I see that consistency and more miles are going to eventually lead to faster miles. I guess I just need to be patient, maybe push myself occasionally to run faster for longer.

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Teresadfp

One day at a time

posted: 3/1/2008 at 9:19 PM

Marsha, I'm right where you are! I don't know how people can tell their pace. My son, 15, can do it amazingly well. He runs a lot, but he's only a high school sophomore, so it's not like he has tons of experience. He tried using my Garmin, but finds he does just as well without it. He can estimate distances remarkably accurately - he'll tell me how far it is down to a certain house a good distance away, and he'll be right when I check it! Maybe some of it is a talent, the rest just lots of practice and good coaching.

Ennay

A Saucy Wench

posted: 3/2/2008 at 3:46 PM

hmmm....run endless loops on the track..... Dead

I think I can live with being a digital runner if that is the solution...I do keep getting faster overall ...I never thought I would be this fast so I can live with it! Even on the track I have a hard time with those in between paces. It isnt a matter of not knowing what my pace is most of the time, its just the in between paces are uncomfortable. Easier to go faster or slower.

I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

"When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7

jeffdonahue

posted: 3/2/2008 at 6:51 PM

Quote from Marsha59 on 3/1/2008 at 9:12 PM:

This is an answer to a question that I have had then....How the heck do you know what pace you are running if you are not on a dreadmill? Training programs say "run at 9mm, or run at marathon pace" etc. I have wondered how people know what that pace is when they are outside. Is there some type of instrument (watch or some other tecnical gadget) that acts like a metronome? Or does it just come from running laps on the track with trial and error to get the right pace? I, like the original poster, also find myself at just about the same pace I have run since I started running 2 yrs ago. My best is about 10mm, occasionally a little faster. I also find that instead of really getting faster I'm just able to sustain that speed for longer runs. From all my reading on here I see that consistency and more miles are going to eventually lead to faster miles. I guess I just need to be patient, maybe push myself occasionally to run faster for longer.

Well, there are a bunhc of gizmos you can get that tell you pace. I personally use a Nike+ pod that I put on my shoe and then my ipod tells me time, pace, distance, etc... There are also several GPS devices out there - Garmin being one of the more popular.

I'm a digital runner ... (Read 605 times)