Race help for newbie

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Question:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi all, In order to get myself to run (I don’t like running) I’ve signed up for a 5K race. …. Is there any rules of thumb as far as what to aim for pace-wise as related to heart rate? For example (is this the same for everyone?), at 80% of my MHR I can last forever, at 85% MHR, I will get tired, but don’t know how long I would be able to last, at 95%+ MHR, I die quick. Yep, that sounds about right. But races are different than training. It is OK to kill yourself in a race (not literally). So what do most people do? Find steady pace that will last the 5K. Start out easy and sprint the last mile? How do you find the ultimate pace? As others have said, enjoy your first race and don’t worry about pace – just get to the start and finish. Sounds like you’re using a hrm. On race day, it will likely be about 10-20 bpm high for the adrenaline factor (compare rate when standing before race with normal standing rate). Ignore hrm, unless you make appropriate adjustments. But you already know what an effort of 80% or 85% max hr feels like without looking at hrm since you’ve been training with it (you have been learning the feel, right, and not just listening to beeps?) - and that likely will still feel the same on race day – if you can sort through the excitement. What you might do is start at your 80% feel, then when about half way and you think you can hold it, gradually increase. Trying to run the 2nd half in same time as first half (maybe be a little faster) is usually a good goal. Some people run a race as an individual event, so there’s nothing left and they hurt for days afterward. Others run a race as part of an overall scheme, and like to not be hurting enough at the end that they can run the next day or so. Your choice. But for a first one, I’d probably aim to not kill myself enroute – since you will likely be putting out more than you realize. And if you don’t like running, ending in a not-quite-so-sore state might encourage more running Once you get into it, you may find you like it. Enjoy. Dot

Sounds like a good advice. Thanks.

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi all, In order to get myself to run (I don’t like running) I’ve signed up for a 5K race. Nothing works as well as fear for me when it comes to motivation. A fear of not finishing or not showing a good time, it does not matter. Anyway, the idea worked and I am running every day. The race day is comming up and my question is about the race pace. I am very slow, so the absolute speed is irrelevant. But what I want is to do the race at the optimum speed for me: being able to finish while not going slower than I can go. I am guessing this is a universal goal for all racers. Is there any rules of thumb as far as what to aim for pace-wise as related to heart rate? For example (is this the same for everyone?), at 80% of my MHR I can last forever, at 85% MHR, I will get tired, but don’t know how long I would be able to last, at 95%+ MHR, I die quick. But races are different than training. It is OK to kill yourself in a race (not literally). So what do most people do? Find steady pace that will last the 5K. Start out easy and sprint the last mile? How do you find the ultimate pace? I understand that you can arrive at the ultimate pace with lots of trial and error, but I don’t have much time left (race is in a week). I don’t need to come up with a perfect formula here. Just something that will give me a reasonable performace that I can try to beat later. Thanks to all. you know what… this is your first race, so don’t worry about pace at all. just go out and run it comfortably and have a fun time. make it memorable – with good memories. don’t knock yourself out first time out so that you can only look back on the event in years gone by with memories of the vomiting and severe leg pain

Would never think that people go out and run that hard in the recreational races. I thought most are in for the good time and for beating their last performace. Vomiting was not in my plans. that you suffered. not the way to go. you have found that you can do the distance now, right?

yes. how long until the race? a few weeks? a few months?

5 days. if the race is creeping up soon, – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – then just do what you are doing now. maybe do a faster run once per week, where you start out easy and build up the tempo so that by about the halfway point you are at a comfortably fast speed, which you feel you can sustain for the rest of the workout. obviously ease off near the end to cool down again. this simulated "race pace" run will teach your body to handle going a bit faster than you have been so far. if you have more time on your hands before race day, you could also do some intervals to build speed further. a fun and easy way to get into this sort of work is to do what’s called "fartlek", which is Swedish for "speed play". just start out easy and get warmed up for at least 10-15 min. then periodically speed up and maintain that speed for a bit, then slow down until your breathing has gotten back to normal (for running). hold that faster pace until that mailbox down the street. or that lamp post, or that dog on the leash. whatever. mix up the distances when you do this… some bursts can be short and faster, others might be longer, like the length of a street (maybe a minute or two) where you go faster but not all out. i’d say these are fun and easy ways to get into some speed work which can give you some significant and motivational speed gains. you could time yourself on your current running route NOW, then do this stuff for several (at least 4) weeks, then time yourself on a race pace run. you WILL see an improvement.

Yes, I’ve done these before for weight loss and have seen a great speed improvement. When I started (don’t laugh) my max speed was like 6MPH and only weeks later I could run at over 9MPH. My weight has been stable for a while so I have not been doing this and I know I am slower now. i wouldn’t worry about what pace you’re doing or HRM’s at this point. you’re just starting out, and you want to keep it fun and without any undue pressure on yourself. no need to measure yourself against others (yet). best of luck and have fun! Cam

Thanks. If I don’t overdo it the first mile, I think I will.

Response:

Good advice Dot. Jim

Response:

I did not, but I went back and found the post. We were discussing interval training and you were suggesting that I try racing. Since I was not thinking about running a race back then, I did not remember the post in that context. I never want to run and think the pressure of upcomming race is the only thing that will get me out there. I think I was about 90% after 2 minutes, 95% after 2 and – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – indistinguishable from 100% from mile 2 onwards. The problem is that MHR depends on conditions, so it’s hard to distinguish between 95% and 97% of your true MHR. In other words, don’t use a heart rate monitor for the race unless you want to run slowly. But races are different than training. It is OK to kill yourself in a race (not literally). So what do most people do? Find steady pace that will last the 5K. Start out easy and sprint the last mile? How do you find the ultimate pace? The optimal pacing for a 5k is an even pace, with a strong final 400m or so. I understand that you can arrive at the ultimate pace with lots of trial and error, Which is, to a large extent, what you use. You need sharp racing instincts to run a really good race and these come with experience. but I don’t have much time left (race is in a week). I don’t need to come up with a perfect formula here. Just something that will give me a reasonable performace that I can try to beat later. Since you’re fairly new to this — my suggestion would be to hold back a little in the first mile. The excitement of the race is likely to push you out the door quickly and running along a lot of others tends to distort ones sense of pace. It’s very easy to start too quickly in a race setting. Starting too quickly is more costly than starting too slowly. If you start a little slowly, you can probably get back 30 seconds by running a strong last mile, maybe even 10 seconds or more on the last 400m. By the half way mark, you should be at a stage where you’re in just enough pain to be able to sense what the proper pace is, and from there, it’s a steady push to the finish line. Getting to the halfway mark at the right pace is the hard part. My suggestion would be to go easy in the first half and push hard in the last half of the race (OK, you don’t know exactly where the half way mark is but you know, it’s a few minutes after the 1 mile mark). If you finish with negative splits (that is, you increase speed as the race progresses, instead of dying halfway through), I think that’s a performance you can be proud of, and unless you start way too cautiously, it will be a decent performance. I’ve always felt good about races that I finished strongly, even the ones that were not my fastest times.

Sounds good. I’ll try that. Thanks. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Good luck. Cheers,

Response:

Hi all, In order to get myself to run (I don’t like running) I’ve signed up for a 5K race. …. Is there any rules of thumb as far as what to aim for pace-wise as related to heart rate? For example (is this the same for everyone?), at 80% of my MHR I can last forever, at 85% MHR, I will get tired, but don’t know how long I would be able to last, at 95%+ MHR, I die quick.

Yep, that sounds about right. But races are different than training. It is OK to kill yourself in a race (not literally). So what do most people do? Find steady pace that will last the 5K. Start out easy and sprint the last mile? How do you find the ultimate pace?

As others have said, enjoy your first race and don’t worry about pace – just get to the start and finish. Sounds like you’re using a hrm. On race day, it will likely be about 10-20 bpm high for the adrenaline factor (compare rate when standing before race with normal standing rate). Ignore hrm, unless you make appropriate adjustments. But you already know what an effort of 80% or 85% max hr feels like without looking at hrm since you’ve been training with it (you have been learning the feel, right, and not just listening to beeps?) - and that likely will still feel the same on race day – if you can sort through the excitement. What you might do is start at your 80% feel, then when about half way and you think you can hold it, gradually increase. Trying to run the 2nd half in same time as first half (maybe be a little faster) is usually a good goal. Some people run a race as an individual event, so there’s nothing left and they hurt for days afterward. Others run a race as part of an overall scheme, and like to not be hurting enough at the end that they can run the next day or so. Your choice. But for a first one, I’d probably aim to not kill myself enroute – since you will likely be putting out more than you realize. And if you don’t like running, ending in a not-quite-so-sore state might encourage more running Once you get into it, you may find you like it. Enjoy. Dot — "Success is different things to different people" -Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope

Response:

I am 48, male. I am a recreational runner but my training is for racing. For me, I train to run races. I run about 12 of them a year. I race 5K, 10K, and 12K’s. I enjoy 5Ks because they are a sprint. Never do I sprint that hard and that long during training, only when I race. You do not need to run that hard in training to benefit from your training runs. In fact, for many of us, training that hard is likely to result in injury. You can run as low as 65% of your MHR and still benefit from your run. These slower runs build lactate tollerance in your muscles which help you build your mechanism for longer runs. Training, for me, is to strengthen my bones and tendons and to increase my cardiovascular capacity while getting out and enjoying the countryside. As you may hear alot, you need to discover the type of runner you are. I enjoy racing, but more exactly, I enjoy running with a big group of fellow runners, celebrating the joy of being a runner and running faster than I did last year. Thats what a race is for me. You need to findout what it means to you. I do not expect you to feel the same way I do about the sport. It is so very personal. Enjoy your race, keep your bib number and write your finishing time on it. See if you can improve next year. If you stay with it you will find it becomes easier to tollerate and many of us even enjoy running. Took me about three months before i lost that feeling that I was gasping like a fish out of water. Also, races are associated, usually, with a cause. Enjoy the fact that your entry fee has gone to support the cause (Arthritis, Cancer Research, Sids, etc). Breathe deep, relax and enjoy the race, if you want to let it all hang out and run at 95%, go ahead. But dont feel anyone, but yourself, is pressuring you to run that hard. Keep at it, running has so many benefits. Jim

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi all, In order to get myself to run (I don’t like running) I’ve signed up for a 5K race. Nothing works as well as fear for me when it comes to motivation. A fear of not finishing or not showing a good time, it does not matter. Anyway, the idea worked and I am running every day. The race day is comming up and my question is about the race pace. I am very slow, so the absolute speed is irrelevant. But what I want is to do the race at the optimum speed for me: being able to finish while not going slower than I can go. I am guessing this is a universal goal for all racers. Is there any rules of thumb as far as what to aim for pace-wise as related to heart rate? For example (is this the same for everyone?), at 80% of my MHR I can last forever, at 85% MHR, I will get tired, but don’t know how long I would be able to last, at 95%+ MHR, I die quick. But races are different than training. It is OK to kill yourself in a race (not literally). So what do most people do? Find steady pace that will last the 5K. Start out easy and sprint the last mile? How do you find the ultimate pace? I understand that you can arrive at the ultimate pace with lots of trial and error, but I don’t have much time left (race is in a week). I don’t need to come up with a perfect formula here. Just something that will give me a reasonable performace that I can try to beat later. Thanks to all.

Response:

Very well said, and I agree. cheers, — David (in Hamilton, ON) www.allfalldown.org "The most insecure people are the ones you see, putting other people down constantly."

Response:

But races are different than training. It is OK to kill yourself in a race (not literally). So what do most people do? Find steady pace that will last the 5K. Start out easy and sprint the last mile? How do you find the ultimate pace?

As you said, it’s trial and error. One important thing to keep in mind is that this is unlikely to be your only 5K, and few people ever get it right the very first time out. So you’ll either run a good solid race, or you’ll learn something. (You’ll learn something either way, of course, but you know what I mean.) I don’t use a HRM, and if I did I doubt I’d use it in a race to set my pace. What I’ve done is figure out what my 5K pace is and gone to the track to run intervals at that pace — I like the track because with all the markings I can check my pace every 50 to 100 meters. So if I’m running each lap in 2 minutes, I know I should pass each 100m mark in 30 seconds. So I get used to what feels right and what doesn’t, and most crucially, how fast I’m breathing, so I can use that in the race. That said … for this race, I’m with Donovan: Start conservatively without feeling slow. Check in with how you feel around halfway, and when you pass the 2-mile marker, if you’re feeling good you can pick up the pace. Good luck! — Brian P. Baresch Fort Worth, Texas, USA Professional editing and proofreading If you’re going through hell, keep going. –Winston Churchill

Response:

you know what… this is your first race, so don’t worry about pace at all. just go out and run it comfortably and have a fun time. make it memorable – with good memories. don’t knock yourself out first time out so that you can only look back on the event in years gone by with memories of the vomiting and severe leg pain that you suffered. not the way to go. you have found that you can do the distance now, right? how long until the race? a few weeks? a few months? if the race is creeping up soon, then just do what you are doing now. maybe do a faster run once per week, where you start out easy and build up the tempo so that by about the halfway point you are at a comfortably fast speed, which you feel you can sustain for the rest of the workout. obviously ease off near the end to cool down again. this simulated "race pace" run will teach your body to handle going a bit faster than you have been so far. if you have more time on your hands before race day, you could also do some intervals to build speed further. a fun and easy way to get into this sort of work is to do what’s called "fartlek", which is Swedish for "speed play". just start out easy and get warmed up for at least 10-15 min. then periodically speed up and maintain that speed for a bit, then slow down until your breathing has gotten back to normal (for running). hold that faster pace until that mailbox down the street. or that lamp post, or that dog on the leash. whatever. mix up the distances when you do this… some bursts can be short and faster, others might be longer, like the length of a street (maybe a minute or two) where you go faster but not all out. i’d say these are fun and easy ways to get into some speed work which can give you some significant and motivational speed gains. you could time yourself on your current running route NOW, then do this stuff for several (at least 4) weeks, then time yourself on a race pace run. you WILL see an improvement. i wouldn’t worry about what pace you’re doing or HRM’s at this point. you’re just starting out, and you want to keep it fun and without any undue pressure on yourself. no need to measure yourself against others (yet). best of luck and have fun! Cam

Response:

Hi all, In order to get myself to run (I don’t like running) I’ve signed up for a 5K race. Nothing works as well as fear for me when it comes to motivation. A fear of not finishing or not showing a good time, it does not matter. Anyway, the idea worked and I am running every day. The race day is comming up and my question is about the race pace. I am very slow, so the absolute speed is irrelevant. But what I want is to do the race at the optimum speed for me: being able to finish while not going slower than I can go. I am guessing this is a universal goal for all racers. Is there any rules of thumb as far as what to aim for pace-wise as related to heart rate? For example (is this the same for everyone?), at 80% of my MHR I can last forever, at 85% MHR, I will get tired, but don’t know how long I would be able to last, at 95%+ MHR, I die quick. But races are different than training. It is OK to kill yourself in a race (not literally). So what do most people do? Find steady pace that will last the 5K. Start out easy and sprint the last mile? How do you find the ultimate pace? I understand that you can arrive at the ultimate pace with lots of trial and error, but I don’t have much time left (race is in a week). I don’t need to come up with a perfect formula here. Just something that will give me a reasonable performace that I can try to beat later. Thanks to all.

Response:

I don’t know if you remember this, but I posted heartrate data for you on mfw some time back. I think I was about 90% after 2 minutes, 95% after 2 and indistinguishable from 100% from mile 2 onwards. The problem is that MHR depends on conditions, so it’s hard to distinguish between 95% and 97% of your true MHR. In other words, don’t use a heart rate monitor for the race unless you want to run slowly. But races are different than training. It is OK to kill yourself in a race (not literally). So what do most people do? Find steady pace that will last the 5K. Start out easy and sprint the last mile? How do you find the ultimate pace?

The optimal pacing for a 5k is an even pace, with a strong final 400m or so. I understand that you can arrive at the ultimate pace with lots of trial and error,

Which is, to a large extent, what you use. You need sharp racing instincts to run a really good race and these come with experience. but I don’t have much time left (race is in a week). I don’t need to come up with a perfect formula here. Just something that will give me a reasonable performace that I can try to beat later.

Since you’re fairly new to this — my suggestion would be to hold back a little in the first mile. The excitement of the race is likely to push you out the door quickly and running along a lot of others tends to distort ones sense of pace. It’s very easy to start too quickly in a race setting. Starting too quickly is more costly than starting too slowly. If you start a little slowly, you can probably get back 30 seconds by running a strong last mile, maybe even 10 seconds or more on the last 400m. By the half way mark, you should be at a stage where you’re in just enough pain to be able to sense what the proper pace is, and from there, it’s a steady push to the finish line. Getting to the halfway mark at the right pace is the hard part. My suggestion would be to go easy in the first half and push hard in the last half of the race (OK, you don’t know exactly where the half way mark is but you know, it’s a few minutes after the 1 mile mark). If you finish with negative splits (that is, you increase speed as the race progresses, instead of dying halfway through), I think that’s a performance you can be proud of, and unless you start way too cautiously, it will be a decent performance. I’ve always felt good about races that I finished strongly, even the ones that were not my fastest times. Good luck. Cheers, — Donovan Rebbechi http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

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