10k pace

[Trossachs?]

So this is all a bit new really, hill running for just over a year and doing road and cross country just as part of the clubs winter league but really without a clue. Anyway a good winters training means I am getting lots of pbs in this my second year, as you would expect now there is some sort of base.

However I ran the Helensburgh 10k last week (in a pb of 42:23) and have two more in the next two weeks so some advice would be good. I ran by feel and heart rate, getting to what felt a good pace in the first couple of K, seeing my hrm was 160, then sticking at that till 6k and then increasing slightly to 165 in th last 4k.

What I noticed was that compared to other runners around me I started fast, settled, was being passed by 5k, didnt catch these folk back, then stuck with a group towards the last 2-3k.

So this was a reatively even effort run, but next time do I do the same, maybe start slower and hope to finish harder, dont look at the hrm at all?

Thoughts from the roadies on line?

Jason

[Pudgy]

I don't run with a HRM, but I'm told they're not much good racing, as the adreline of a race elevates your HR, which may have happened here. I'd be inclined to ditch your HRM, and run on percieved effort .Start steady, then gradually crank it up.

[bestathlete]

Unfortunately your heartrate is a bit meaningless without first knowing your maximum. Better to express your racing effort as a percent of max HR.

I have only had a heartrate monitor for a month or so and am still learning a lot about it (and myself). I am relatively experienced on the road though having raced most distances over the last 7 years. I have learned that I can run a marathon at 90-91% of max and mile reps at 95-96%. from the times recorded i imagine a 10k would be similar to mile reps (95%).

To be honest you may find it hard to run at these percentages until you are more trained and much faster. Also, be careful of racing too often - it can leave you jaded and you may find improvement ceases. I like to race every 10 days or so (in the summer when there are evening events) this leaves plenty of time to recover and also train hard inbetween events. When racing often it's best to treat most races as hard training, only resting up for really important PB potential events. of course everyone is different and you may be fine racing twice a week.

Hope this has been of some help an i'm sure someone will be along soon who actually knows what they are talking about!

Keep us all informed of your progress.

[Trossachs?]

Thanks for this, I guess I could have said that the hrm is just below 90% of max. In this question the hrm was mentioned was an indication of effort across the race, so not in relation to a max. I guess what I was asking about was more if even effort is the best way to run. I know thats what 'they' say for long races, but is it what people do in real life?

[Steph]

Like any event you have to learn what works best for you. My best road times have come from even pace, a 10k is too short to catch up time if you start slowly, sometimes you can hang on if you start a bit too fast. You also need to take account of the terrain or if the course is tight or has a lot of corners. Mental attitude is important so that when it starts to hurt you convince yourself to keep pushing. Good luck with the next couple of races.

[Penguin]

Thanks for this, I guess I could have said that the hrm is just below 90% of max. In this question the hrm was mentioned was an indication of effort across the race, so not in relation to a max. I guess what I was asking about was more if even effort is the best way to run. I know thats what 'they' say for long races, but is it what people do in real life?

dominioniounoy! said once said that one of the better ways is to pace your race at an aimed time e.g. 4min 1st km and stick to the time scales, that way you may have more enery at the end to kick harder and achive your PB!

P.S. don't race with the HrM on, it will scare the life out of ya!

[A.G]

Even pace is always the best way to run if you are looking for fast times, it is just a question if finding what pace is even for you for a given distance and given fitness level.

However, I think you are confusing even pace and even effort (i.e. constant heart rate reading). The two aren’t going to be the same. If you are running say constant 7 min miles for a 10k, you’re heart rate will rise throughout the race. It stands to reason…its easier to run a 7 min mile when it is your first 7 min mile than when you have run 5x 7 min miles before it (assuming that 7 min miles is near your 10k pace…obviously an elite athlete would need many miles at this pace to cause their HR to rise significantly).

I would advise not using the HRM in a race, and saving it for training. If you do wear it, just use it after the race to look back on how you ran.

What they can be useful for, is gauging where your lactic threshold is and help you to avoid going past this. Once you reach this point, your muscles get flooded with lactic acid and your HR rapidly rises for just a small increase in pace. However, most experienced runners can sense this anyway. It good to know what HR your lactic threshold is though, as if you train at a HR slightly below it, it can actually be raised to a higher running pace.

[dominion]

Also, if you hit a hill in a race and keep your heart rate constant then you'll slow down, as it takes greater effort to run uphill.
It's interesting to wear a HRM in races occasionally as you can use this data for training. Doing reps and tempo runs at race pace will teach you how to pace yourself, so when you come to races sticking to the pace you want is second nature, without having to check your watch. Sometimes you need to throw caution to the wind and ignore the watch. How do you know how fast you can run until you've tried?

[Penguin]

Also, if you hit a hill in a race and keep your heart rate constant then you'll slow down, as it takes greater effort to run uphill.
It's interesting to wear a HRM in races occasionally as you can use this data for training. Doing reps and tempo runs at race pace will teach you how to pace yourself, so when you come to races sticking to the pace you want is second nature, without having to check your watch. Sometimes you need to throw caution to the wind and ignore the watch. How do you know how fast you can run until you've tried?

a good sign of when you are going as quick as you possibly can is when you are throwing up and still running, also when you are covered in flem and snot...

[Roadrunner]

Haven't read to mch on tis thread, but noticed you set a PB and have two more 10ks planned in the next two weeks. It might work out for you, but my guess would be that doing this number of races so close might have a negative affect on your progression. The reason you have been setting PBs is because you have been training and now have a years background behind you as a base level. Racing too often will affect your training and you must build in recovery time and time for training.

All the best.

Roadrunner