First 10km pace? (Read 1059 times)

Hey all, I have been running now for about 4 months and have been increasing my mileage pretty steadily. I am running a 10km race in 4 weeks and have found myself wondering about what pace I should go out at. I mostly run easy runs, and have no previous race experience to draw off of. I ran a 11km tempo the other day and managed a 5:17 pace. However I checked my time at the 7km point and it was 35:00 so a 5:00/km pace. My pace really seemed to fall off from there. I didn't push too hard to keep my pace up (like I would in a race). So just wondering should I go for the 5:00/km pace at the 10 km or aim for something slower. Hoping some of the wily old veterans have some advice for the newbie. Also is there something I should be doing the next 4 weeks aside from what I have been doing training wise.

Hey all, I have been running now for about 4 months and have been increasing my mileage pretty steadily. I am running a 10km race in 4 weeks and have found myself wondering about what pace I should go out at. I mostly run easy runs, and have no previous race experience to draw off of. I ran a 11km tempo the other day and managed a 5:17 pace. However I checked my time at the 7km point and it was 35:00 so a 5:00/km pace. My pace really seemed to fall off from there. I didn't push too hard to keep my pace up (like I would in a race). So just wondering should I go for the 5:00/km pace at the 10 km or aim for something slower. Hoping some of the wily old veterans have some advice for the newbie. Also is there something I should be doing the next 4 weeks aside from what I have been doing training wise.

Don't worry about your pace. Just worry about your effort. You should not be hurting after 1 km. Heck, you should still be feeling pretty decent at 4 or 5 km. After that, feel free to ramp up the effort level. At that point, increasing your effort (and pain) will be necessary just to keep your pace even. Just go out there and enjoy it, and try to run even or negative splits if you can. That means do NOT go out too fast!

When I asked what was pretty much the same question here last summer before my first 10K, the feedback I got worked pretty well for me. Summarized, folks pretty much say something along the lines of "...start fast until you think you're going to puke, then back off a bit...". Not specific, but enough information that I could work with. This turned out to be about 30 sec/mile faster than my 'tempo' pace for longer distances.

I'm more in the camp of just going by effort this time. Just try to relax in early going as if you were doing a brisk training run. You can turn up the effort during the second 5k if you have the energy. Congratulations on making your first race a 10k! That was my first one, some 30+ years and 495 races ago. I ran 50:10, just missing your goal. The next 5 were also 10k's. It was THE distance "back in the day." More runners would do well to focus on this distance for a while before going marathon crazy like so many are doing these days. If you can get good at the 10k you will probably run well at all other distances from 5k on up through the marathon. Good luck and enjoy your race.

My favorite way to think of the 10K especially for the first time Miles 1 & 2 (or a little over 3K) - "gosh I want to go faster, I really want to go faster, am I sure this isnt too slow, they said to take it easy but I want to RUN" Miles 3&4 - "Ok it is starting to feel like work to maintain this pace, but I am still feeling pretty good and this isnt too bad" Miles 5&6 - "holy hell this is hard but gut it out it is only a little bit further, you can endure anything for 10 minutes (repeat as necessary)"

Alright so heres the way it went down: It was my first race so remember I had no idea what to expect. There was about 300 people running. I lined up in the 50:00 min area. There was no chip timing as it was a small local race. I started my watch with the gun so not sure what my chip time would have been. 1st K was just me shuffling through the crowd. Apprarently starting in the "corral" where you intend to finish is wrong you should subtract 10 mins from your projected time and start there. I must have passed over 50 people in that first km. 2-5km Just chugging along at my intended pace of approx 5:00/km. Passed about 10 people on the big hill at KM 3. 5km Split: 25:16, so I was right around where I'd hoped I would be. Was feeling pretty good as well, although had some doubts about my hope for a negative split. 6-7km Passed nobody and was passed by nobody. People seemed to really be in the groove here just running there own races. 8-9km This is where I noticed people were starting to falter. I assumed they were runners shooting for a sub 50 min time and just didn't have the endurance to pull it out. I probably passed about 10 people in this section. 10km My time at 9km was 45:40 so I knew that sub 50 was out, but continued to put what I had left into it. Actually ran the last KM in 4:56 into the wind. Finish Time: 50:36 So needless to say I am happy with my time, my goals going in were: Sub 52min - done Run a negative split - so close but to come within 4 secs i was pretty happy Do not get passed much - I can remember being passed 4 times after the original pack thinned out. I managed to pass 3 of those people before the finish. I am still chasing the tall guy in yellow shirt though Have fun: check So thanks for all the advice, i certainly appreciate it and obviously it certainly helped. Next race July 1st (Hoping for sub 50)

Well done. Congrats on your first race!!