Getting Faster Without Getting Faster

Race Pace= Pacing Yourself

Sometime in the near future I will be creating a video presenting the basics of running; a film that I hope will help the literacy impaired. This is the first of many training and racing articles that you will find here on Running Life Today.

            Some of you will never have run a race, some of you have. Regardless of your racing experience this week’s tip applies to everyone. If you have ever noticed yourself dying long before the end of a race or a difficult workout, unable to finish strong you likely are starting out too fast and not running negative splits.

            The reason people bonk (or run out of gas) can usually be attributed to going out to fast too early. For reasons we will not discuss, starting a run too fast drives up the heart rate prematurely and when the heart rate goes up too soon blood vessels are not yet stretched and ready for duty muscles are not completely warmed up (even if you warmed up) thus causing more energy to move and the lungs are not yet ready to expand efficiently to their full capacity. All of this combines to mean that a heart is going hog wild in a body that is not ready to work that heard. It wastes energy, it makes you feel terrible and it leads to you, the runner, severely slowing down in order to properly warm up the body. Of course it is too late at this point.

            The fix to this, and this tip will actually drop your run time without you getting in any better shape, your speed must start out easy and steadily speed up. Negative splits. Say you are running a 3 mile and you want to run 21 minutes. Instead of running 7 minutes per mile, you would run 7:30,7:00,6:30. This is a simple example of course and your acceleration doesn’t have to be so drastic but you get the point. Adding on 30 seconds will make a huge difference in how you feel after the first mile. It should seem relatively easy, by the time you get to the second mile you feel fresh and warm to run two miles. At seven minutes a mile you are just going average 3 mile pace, when that last mile comes along you’re feeling pumped and ready to lay it all out for a 6:30. If you are running a longer race your splits should be much closer together, if you were to drop 15 to 30 seconds per mile during a marathon you’d either have to start out running a 36 minute mile or you would be attempting to break your 100 meter pr well before mile ten. For shorter races, including two miles and under you will still want to do negative splits (with the exception of the 800 in most cases) but you will be relying on a proper warm up to get you ready to go from the gun. Most of us can’t afford to run the first quarter of a mile totally easy and then expect to have any shot in the end.

            Keep your body relaxed and run as smoothly as possible, efficiency is very important in running and the more efficient you are the faster you will go. Race tactics, particularly patience is key to running better times. Concentrate on running your race, plan out your tactics properly and without any gain in fitness you will find yourself putting down faster and more meaningful times. Next time I will give more tips on training and increasing fitness, which is important, but just as important is getting the most out of the fitness you have right now.