pace for first 5k race

timeOday said:

I've been running / jogging for a few years, normally 4-6 miles about 4x
per week. Now I'm going to try a 5k race. I just don't know how fast
to run. On a treadmill, I find a 7 min mile to be a good effort (no
pauses between breaths), while a 6 min mile is about all I can muster.
I doubt I can pace myself very accurately anyways, but I'm thinking
of carrying a GPS (even though no experienced racer would need it).
This is definitely a small-potatoes race, making it all the more
important - most of the runners are personal acquaintances 🙂

Just go by feel (breathing) and enjoy yourself. Since the race is 5k vs
4-6 mi that you normally run, you should be able to go faster. You could
try it in training - warm up 1.5 mile, then run 3 miles comfortably hard
(breathing hard, but not panting), then another 1.5 cool down. If you
know if any of your friends are similar pace to yourself, tag along with
them. If you know they're much faster, don't tag along.

If you haven't used a gps in training, don't use it in race. You'll just
do a face plant and lose time by looking at it unless you've got a
beeper set. And the added weight will slow you down.😉 Seriously, the
variability on the pace readouts may not be all that accurate from what
I've heard.

Dot

--
"The goal is training and adaptation, not destruction and injury."
- John Hardy
http://www.mountainrunning.coolrunning.com.au/misc/training.shtml

timeOday said:

I've been running / jogging for a few years, normally 4-6 miles about 4x
per week. Now I'm going to try a 5k race. I just don't know how fast
to run. On a treadmill, I find a 7 min mile to be a good effort (no
pauses between breaths), while a 6 min mile is about all I can muster.
I doubt I can pace myself very accurately anyways, but I'm
thinking of carrying a GPS (even though no experienced racer would need
it). This is definitely a small-potatoes race, making it all the more
important - most of the runners are personal acquaintances 🙂

Suppose the GPS tells you you're going at 6:40 a mile. Do you slow down or
speed up ? It's an unhelpful distraction. You're better off going by feel.

Run the first mile "easy" and try to pick it up. Chances are you'll run
the first mile a little too hard.

If there are people in the race who you are reasonably well matched with, you
could pace off them.

Cheers,
--
Elflord

Elflord wrote:
.....

Quoted message said:

Run the first mile "easy" and try to pick it up. Chances are you'll run
the first mile a little too hard.

Seconded. You could actually position yourself just a little bit behind
where you would based on your actual pace. That way, if not you, the
pack will hold you back. Since this is a "small potatoes" race, you
should be able to break free after 0.5-1 mile. Typically, most people
tend to run the first mile much faster fueled by the race-day
adrenaline. It just happens without you even realizing it.

Good luck with the race.
jobs

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On Jul 4, 12:26 am, jobs <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Elflord wrote:

....

Quoted message said:

Run the first mile "easy" and try to pick it up. Chances are you'll run
the first mile a little too hard.

Seconded. You could actually position yourself just a little bit behind
where you would based on your actual pace. That way, if not you, the
pack will hold you back. Since this is a "small potatoes" race, you
should be able to break free after 0.5-1 mile. Typically, most people
tend to run the first mile much faster fueled by the race-day
adrenaline. It just happens without you even realizing it.

Good luck with the race.
jobs

--
Posted via a free Usenet account fromhttp://www.teranews.com

my sophmore year my fastest 3200 time was a 11:36 and in one race my
first lap was a 1:04. I accidently triggered an andreneline rush the
first curve 🙂.

Elflord said:

timeOday said:

I've been running / jogging for a few years, normally 4-6 miles about 4x
per week. Now I'm going to try a 5k race. I just don't know how fast
to run. On a treadmill, I find a 7 min mile to be a good effort (no
pauses between breaths), while a 6 min mile is about all I can muster.
I doubt I can pace myself very accurately anyways, but I'm
thinking of carrying a GPS (even though no experienced racer would need
it). This is definitely a small-potatoes race, making it all the more
important - most of the runners are personal acquaintances 🙂

Suppose the GPS tells you you're going at 6:40 a mile. Do you slow down or
speed up ? It's an unhelpful distraction. You're better off going by feel.

Run the first mile "easy" and try to pick it up. Chances are you'll run
the first mile a little too hard.

If there are people in the race who you are reasonably well matched with, you
could pace off them.

Cheers,

Well, I did it, without the GPS.

Physically, it was a lot less enjoyable than my normal relaxed runs.
I'm glad I did it, but I'm not sure how much racing I'll do in the future.

"timeOday" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Physically, it was a lot less enjoyable than my normal relaxed runs. I'm
glad I did it, but I'm not sure how much racing I'll do in the future.

That's what I said after my first race, and now it's hundreds later...

Yes racing all out hurts! But the pain is relatively brief, and for me the
sense of accomplishment and pride overcomes a few minutes of discomfort.

It's an accomplishment just staying in shape, so you win either way.

So, how did you do? Get your first mile split? Inquiring minds want to
know.

Re the pain thing, in a well paced race, it occurs mostly in the last 1/3 of
the race. If you were hurting bad in the first third, you would have
probably run faster and had a better time (metaphorically) by going a bit
slower in the opening mile.

-- Dan

timeOday said:

Elflord said:

timeOday said:

I've been running / jogging for a few years, normally 4-6 miles about 4x
per week. Now I'm going to try a 5k race. I just don't know how fast
to run. On a treadmill, I find a 7 min mile to be a good effort (no
pauses between breaths), while a 6 min mile is about all I can muster.
I doubt I can pace myself very accurately anyways, but I'm
thinking of carrying a GPS (even though no experienced racer would need
it). This is definitely a small-potatoes race, making it all the more
important - most of the runners are personal acquaintances 🙂

Quoted message said:

Suppose the GPS tells you you're going at 6:40 a mile. Do you slow down or
speed up ? It's an unhelpful distraction. You're better off going by feel.

Quoted message said:

Run the first mile "easy" and try to pick it up. Chances are you'll run
the first mile a little too hard.

Quoted message said:

If there are people in the race who you are reasonably well matched with, you
could pace off them.

Quoted message said:

Cheers,

Well, I did it, without the GPS.

Physically, it was a lot less enjoyable than my normal relaxed runs.
I'm glad I did it, but I'm not sure how much racing I'll do in the future.

After all the concerns about pace, where are the numbers? We demand
full and complete disclosure in this group!

One thing that might have made it seem harder is whether you trained
anywhere near your race pace on anything other than a treadmill. A
given pace on a treadmill feels different than on the road. And if a
large portion of your training was on treadmills, then your body may
not be adjusted to road running. (And there are questions as to how
accurately treadmills measure pace as well.)

Suggestion you might try sometime: go out to a track and run some laps
at a target pace. You should be able to track pace each lap fairly
closely. (e.g., a 6minute pace is about 90seconds per quarter mile
lap)

So don't give up on races too soon. They can be a lot of fun.

Enjoy the run,
ed