The Art to Find Your Race Pace Splits
Back up the science by way of experience and effort levels
If you were with me last week, we looked at how to find your race splits using science and data.
While that is a really good predictor of how fast you’re likely to race, it shouldn’t be your only tool in the tool belt.
Of course using a pace calculator will help you get in the ballpark of how fast you can race and what your splits should look like. That part of the equation is easy. But the intangible of running is what’s going on between your ears and what you’ve done in the past. This will help back up the science of training and allow you to get the most out of your performance.
Finding the right training pace is one thing - something I've talked about extensively - here, here, and here.
Just like I wrote last week, you can’t run a race you haven’t trained for. Whether it’s 100 meters or 100 miles, you have to be willing to put in the correct work in order to even have a chance of running what your goals are.
If you haven’t done it in training, it’s nearly impossible to do it on race day. Just keep that in mind!
Last week, I dug into the science of finding your race pace and this week, we’re going to look at the art behind it.
Listening to your Body
Part of being a runner is listening to your body and sensing when things are going well and also sounding the alarm when things aren’t. If you’ve been a runner for a while, you can feel what feeling good feels like and you for damn sure know what not feeling good feels like.
In training, we can dial into workouts and they will help us predict what our race paces will be. Knowing that we stayed within ourselves helps us dial into that sciencey part and make accurate predictions about our upcoming race paces.
During training, if things are going south, listening to your body can help us be okay with pulling the plug, backing off, or adjusting the run so that we can get something out of the run. All of these micro-adjustments help us in the long run and prepare us for a good race.
Listening to our body is important because our body gives us good feedback about how we’re managing stress, how much we’re able to push or if we need to pull back a bit. And this information can help us with the science of making good guesses about our current fitness level and dial into our race pace.
The Art of Adjusting…
Adjustments are essential to training well and staying healthy.
Sometimes we need to adjust our training based on the weather. I often tell myself that race day can have adverse conditions and it’s totally bad ass to train in crappy weather. On easy days, this is an easy strategy to employ, but it’s a bit harder when we have complex workouts or long runs that’ll keep us out for hours. On those days, I like to optimize as much as possible. There is no sense in getting a less-than-ideal workout day and suffering through when the next day or one day earlier has great weather conditions.
Adjusting your training to accommodate and adapt to the race course is also extremely helpful and a useful way to spend your time training.
Don’t forget to look at the elevation chart for your big race and make sure you are training appropriately for that race (both elevation and inclines/declines)
When I was training for the Atlanta Marathon I had come off a string of years where I was always injured. I did my best to train smart, but I was in uncharted territory. I had never run 20 milers and I had never needed to take nutrition during runs. Now I did. I planned for it.
But I didn’t plan for the undulation and hills of Atlanta. I was super under-prepared. Had I been a tad smarter about my prep, I might have run more hills and I definitely would have adjusted my first 10-15 miles of the race.
You live and you learn. I’ve learned that I’m okay not running marathons any more!
Experience
The more experience you have, the more you can feel what different race paces are supposed to feel like. Knowing this can help you in training and on race day.
Tapping into your experience and using that to your advantage is a super power, even if your current times don’t come close to your previous times.
Mental Space
When race day approaches, are you able to keep yourself calm or do you tend to overthink?
Keeping relaxed and in control of your mind is a big boost in performance. Remember that racing is just like a test: if you’ve done the work, it’s just a matter of showing what you know.
Using data from your training can help inform your race splits, but knowing how to adjust on the fly and keeping yourself calm in the face of adversity will allow you to full reach for those lofty goal paces.
Now that you know how to use your training and past races to predict your current race pace, it’s time to take action.
Start applying these tactics to your next workout and see how your body and mind respond. Whether it’s a tempo run or fast intervals, stay calm, stay engaged, and sharpen your resolve.
Remember, practicing these skills in training allows you to use them during races.
Need more guidance? Ready for a training plan? Send me a message and we can get started.
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On the Blog:
Mental Prep Leading up to a Peak Race
Training With a Heart Rate Monitor
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