A quick note about pace
August 3, 2005 – 10:21 pmYesterday’s run taught me a very valuable lesson: I’m crap at judging my own pace.
To switch things up from my normal heartrate-guided run, I decided to add a little pace-guiding into my weekly schedule. Easy enough - I set my watch for a 9:45/mile for the first two miles of my run (+/- 30 seconds) and to 10:15/mile for the second two miles (+/- 15 seconds). I was OK at keeping within my range for the first half, but I just couldn’t seem to keep a steady pace for the second half. I went both faster and slower than my target, shifting from one out-of-range speed to another. I’m thinking I may have to make later pace ranges bigger (+/- 45 seconds, maybe) instead of smaller - at least until I get better at determining my own speed.
2 Responses to “A quick note about pace”
If it makes you feel any better, everything I’ve read recommends running for time or distance in marathon training (except for any speed training you might be doing). You’re probably better off trying to run a constant effort. That said, I’ve found I can usually gauge my pace with accuracy that surprises me. After 4 miles I can generally guess my time within 30 seconds.
By Greg on Aug 5, 2005
I know - my goal with these pace runs is just to get my legs used to moving at that speed, since all my other runs are at a relatively constant effort. I’m only planning on doing these once a week, and for relatively short distances. It’s just a minor frustration that I can’t judge my own pace that well.
By Ben on Aug 6, 2005