Day 225, 140 To Go

August 13, 2013

I'll be straight with you guys today...it is actually Thursday...and for some reason, I have no recollection of what I did on Tuesday...which is the day I am writing about.  You may be thinking, "Why can't you remember just two days ago?"  All I can tell you is, "I have no idea."

You see, my brain has enough room these days for only a few things: babies, Honey and Running.  Everything else is just a blur.  I am focused on only these few things right now.  I tend to get this laser focus when I race as well.  Whether it is a triathlon or a road race, I focus on what I am doing, and that is it.  I have often heard people say "what a beautiful course this race is on" and I just shake my head up and down and agree, but really, I have no idea.  I have no recollection of the course of almost any race I have done.  The only races I have some recollection are the really long ones because I can only hold that concentration for so long before I start to wander.

What am I focusing on so intently?  Well, it could be my form, or my breathing or my pacing.  Pacing is the big one.  This brings me to rule #18 from The 25 Golden Rules of Running from Runner's World magazine.

18. The Even-Pace Rule 
The best way to race to a personal best is to maintain an even pace from start to finish.

Most of the 10,000-meter and marathon world records set in the last decade have featured almost metronome-like pacing. "If you run too fast early in the race, you almost always pay for it later," warns Jon Sinclair, the U.S. 12-K record holder and now an online coach (anaerobic.net).

The Exception: This doesn't apply on hilly courses or on windy days, when the objective is to run an even effort.

Yes, keeping an even pace is ideal, but not the easiest thing to do!  In the beginning of a race you probably feel pretty good and you go a little too hard only to screw yourself at the end.  Or, you go out too slow, and then you find that you have too much energy at the end.

I find that the best way to pace yourself well is to know the course.  Study the course before you start so you know where the uphills and downhills are.  This will allow you to compensate for these variations in the course with your pacing.  If you are running a flat course, you can keep a nice even pace throughout.

This rule kind of flies in the face of another rule you probably heard about: negative splits.  This means that you run the 2nd half of a race a little faster than the first half.  This is something you want to do in most long races.  For a 5k or maybe even a 10k, depending on your experience, you should keep an even pace.  The rule above states that the 10k and marathon records were all done with even paces.  However, they were also run by professionals who knew what they were doing and who had a lot of experience.  For us armatures, the benefit of a negative split is that you focus on not going to fast at the beginning and you can make sure you finish strong.

Whatever method you choose, the key is to have a plan and to def not go out too fast!

Here are my numbers for today:

Time: 25:00

Distance: 2.85 miles

Pace: 8:47/m

Max Pace: 7:35/m

Calories: 301
Avg HR: 134

Max HR: 147

My runs rarely have an even pace because I don't do a warm up first, so I tend to accelerate as I go.  Once I get going, I do tend to have a steady pace until I tire.  Using a GPS is very helpful in training yourself to pace right.  I highly recommend them! 

Run for Life!!