Forums >Running 101>How do you pace yourself?
I recently finished a few 5k races and felt very frustrated at the end of each race due to the my inability to stay at a consistent pace even though I can when running/training by myself. I'm looking into a pedometer that can tell me three things: current time, current pace/mile, elapsed time. I'm not looking to spend too much for something so basic however I do want something accurate because I am currently training for a half marathon.
Do any of you use any gadgets to measure your pace for training? It would be helpful if I can find something affordable since I don't want any bells and whistles like a heart rate monitor.
If you can do it in training, its probably the excitement of the race thats making you go out too hard (I'm assumming this is what you're talking about). This happens to me as well. I purposely seed myself back further at the start than I plan on finishing. This way, I have no choice but to go out at a more relaxed pace. This pays dividends for me, as I can cruise through the later part of the race at a faster clip...and lets face it, passing people feels soooo much better than being passed.
Before you go and spend hundreds of dollars on a gps watch, you may want to try changing your strategy, if you're already training at a consistent pace, then it may not be necessary at all.
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I carry ballast tanks of water. When the race starts and I'm excited and everyone races out, I try to race out, but the gallons of water hold me back. As the race progresses, I slowly empty the ballast tanks.
Ok, not really.
It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.
Beginner all over again
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You don't have actually wear the heart monitor chest strap that comes with it. You can leave it in the box
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I do a lot of my pacing by counting breaths. It doesn't necessarily result in consistent min/mi results, but it does result in giving a good, sustainable effort, especially in training runs. For easy runs, I don't necessarily have to pay attention to the counts. My standard tempo run is a 2-2 count in/out. If I am trying to slow myself down on a run I may even go for a 3-2 or 3-3 count. I can always tell that I am working too hard on an easy day if I find myself counting my breaths.
Now, for a 5K, a lot of that goes out of the window. My first mile is always way too fast, and the rest of the race I spend between a 2-2 count and a gasping 2-1 count. I wear my Garmin but I don't look down at it much. If I'm having a difficult time maintaining a consistent breathing pattern, I need to slow down enough to get it under control. And if my breathing is well under control, I will work to speed up until I'm right at the point of not being able to control it anymore.
If you're somewhat inexperienced, like myself, I agree with the post above that a Garmin GPS device (or similar) can be very helpful. I was having trouble with shooting out too (relatively) fast in shorter races.
It's also just a fun toy.
Failing that, I'd look into AP's water tank idea. Or you could try leaving a trail of bowling balls as you run, which has the added bonus of helping you find your way back to your car.
lol
I'm a decent runner. While training for a 5k, I keep my pace at 7:00 or 7:10 but when I race, I sometimes catch myself going a bit too fast at the beginning or running a bit too slow during the middle of the race. It's important, at least to me, to keep a steady pace during the half marathon that's coming up so I was looking for something digital. I decided to skip on buying a gadget for running. I think I'll keep to a cheap, water resistant watch with a stopwatch instead of getting bothered by the calibration of the GPS or pedometer.
Old fashioned, lightweight watch for the win?
Consistently Slow
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The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff
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Try a tempo run at race pace for 1 or 2 miles.Marker your miles. Do it at least once a week until you can judge you pace. As pmcelrone said, fall farther back in the race pack.
I should do that during a race. It's discouraging when others pass me so I usually slow down even more (during the middle of the race). I can pace myself during training but the racing atmosphere makes me too excited, I guess. Where should I fall in the race if I'm running at a 7:00 pace? Should I join the 8 min milers?It gets quite tedious and difficult to increase pace if I get too far back of the pack since many people slow down and just walk or there will be too many people keeping a much slower pace than me and block most of the road.
Something I've done is figure out ahead of time where the quarter mile and half mile marks are, and figure out what splits I'm looking for at those points. E.g., if I was looking to race at 7min/mi, I believe I'd be looking for 1:45 at the quarter (mile) and 3:30 at the half (mile).
Or you could find some high school kid who says he is targeting 7min/mi and pace off him, but sadly, I've seen this lead to going through the half (mile) in 3min or so, followed by slowing down, which may be tougher on us old people than those energetic high school youth.
lol I'm a decent runner. While training for a 5k, I keep my pace at 7:00 or 7:10 but when I race, I sometimes catch myself going a bit too fast at the beginning or running a bit too slow during the middle of the race. It's important, at least to me, to keep a steady pace during the half marathon that's coming up so I was looking for something digital. I decided to skip on buying a gadget for running. I think I'll keep to a cheap, water resistant watch with a stopwatch instead of getting bothered by the calibration of the GPS or pedometer. Old fashioned, lightweight watch for the win?
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