How to pace myself running outside in my first race?
mom3over40
Posts: 253 Member
I just finished my c25k program and about to run my first 5k race on Thanksgiving day.
So far, I have been running on treadmill with an average speed of 10 min/mile and was able to increase my speed as I run without feeling out of breath. Yesterday I try to run the 5k race route and found myself running out of breath quickly and needed to take short walking breaks. When I check the stats on MayMyRun, I found that I was running at 8 min/mile in the first mile, then 10, then 11. No wonder I was out of breath! But the thing is, I thought I was starting at a comfortable speed... until I was out of breath too soon. So, how do I pace myself without the treadmill telling me how fast I am going?
12.
So far, I have been running on treadmill with an average speed of 10 min/mile and was able to increase my speed as I run without feeling out of breath. Yesterday I try to run the 5k race route and found myself running out of breath quickly and needed to take short walking breaks. When I check the stats on MayMyRun, I found that I was running at 8 min/mile in the first mile, then 10, then 11. No wonder I was out of breath! But the thing is, I thought I was starting at a comfortable speed... until I was out of breath too soon. So, how do I pace myself without the treadmill telling me how fast I am going?
12.
0
Replies
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I am doing the C25K program as well. I have my first 5K in two weeks. I find that I do run faster outside than I do on the treadmill. Maybe start out with a very, very slow jog (almost as slow as your fastest walk) and buildup if you think you can.0
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try doing a run walk even if you feel good. Mapmyrun is great but doesn't give feed back as much as I'd like. I have a Garmin and it is great it helps me to look down and see how I am doing. I will look at it and if I am too fast slow down and not fast enough speed up. Good Luck beware running is addictive.
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Pacing is the hardest part. Also, running outside is much different from a treadmill. There are many apps out there that you can download to your phone that will periodically tell you what your pace is. There's Endomondo, Cascarun, Nike, etc.0
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Run on perceived effort. You will find that running on a treadmill and running on the road are two different beasts as treadmills provide some of the propulsion.
It takes a little practice but start more slowly than you normally would and gradually increase your pace, you'll find your comfort zone pretty quickly.
As this is your first 5K don't worry too much about pace or time, focus on finishing with a smile on your face - you can work on faster times later.0 -
BrianSharpe wrote: »Run on perceived effort. You will find that running on a treadmill and running on the road are two different beasts as treadmills provide some of the propulsion.
It takes a little practice but start more slowly than you normally would and gradually increase your pace, you'll find your comfort zone pretty quickly.
As this is your first 5K don't worry too much about pace or time, focus on finishing with a smile on your face - you can work on faster times later.
All very good advice. Treadmill running doesn't adequately prepare you to run outside as you've discovered. They really are two different things.
I use a GPS watch when I run that shows me my pace but you probably don't have one since it's nearly worthless on a treadmill. I haven't used Map My Run but does it show your pace on a moment by moment basis? It's probably not completely accurate but it'd be better than nothing. If it does and you wore your phone in a place where you could glance at it that might help. Otherwise, you're just going to want to start out at a pace that feels a little slower to you than it probably is. At the Mile 1 marker, pick it up a little and at the Mile 2 marker, go for it. Since this is your first road race just focus on finishing strong and then you'll have a time to shoot for at your next race. In between, you may want to devote more time to running outdoors, if you can. Until they start having treadmill races it's the only way to really prepare yourself to run a race.
Good luck at your turkey trot!0 -
I used jog.fm to find songs that were at the pace I wanted to be running and made a 5k playlist. Helped me. (I actually just looked up songs I already had on my phone, so no cost and it was music I liked already.)0
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I like the use the mapmywalk app it will show your average pace so that you can adjust your speed while running outside. I tend to run faster outside as well but the more you do it the better you can judge your pace. Also be prepared for the "first race" adrenaline rush, I started out my first one at like an 8 min mile pace just cause I was excited.0
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If you use MapMyFitness (not sure if MapMyRun has the exact same features on the app) there is a setting that you can have voice feedback if you are using headphones. You can set it to go off at different intervals and you can set it to tell you different information. I keep a pretty consistant pace so I have it set at every half mile or mile, and I turn it off for races. You can set it as low at .1 or .25 miles though if you wanted to play around with it. Hope that helps a little!0
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you have to go in and change the settings, but you can have the mapmyrun app give you audible feedback at whatever interval you set (ie every .25 mi, .5 mile, 1 mile, etc) - and you can select what information it gives you, time, distance, avg/current pace (min/mi), avg/current speed (mph), etc.
and the app does give real time pace/speed info, so if you can carry your phone some place where you can see it, you can get live feedback. I have a waist pack I use, so could never actually look at the phone.
But I don't use MMR anymore - I've upgraded to a Garmin watch.0 -
I know that you're talking about pace here, and I agree with everyone about it, but sometimes, it's also helpful to talk about tempo or cadence... the number of footfalls you take in a minute.
With Chi or Pose running, the tempo/cadence is important to maintain good form throughout the run. I find it also helps me maintain a more consistent pace as a result.
There's a simple app called "Run Tempo" where you can set the tempo per minute (mine is 170/minute and I'm trying to build to 180) and listen to the beeps on your phone and match your steps to fit.
So if you find your comfortable tempo on the treadmill, you can then set your tempo to match for an outside run. Good luck!!0 -
I am pretty sure my "how to run" class is based on C25K. All the running for the class is outdoors.
http://runnersconnect.net/running-training-articles/treadmill-vs-running-outside/
Wow, lots of great tips here.0 -
Lots of good tips here. I did my first 5k back in September after the program. I'd definitely recommend doing all your training runs outside between now and the race.
Pacing is a tricky thing. Between the adreneline of the race and everybody going at a different pace, it's VERY easy to get out much faster than you intended. A friend told me to go the first 1/2 mile to mile at what seems like slow pace and it'll likely be your normal run pace. You can pick up speed from there. You don't want to go out super fast and run out of gas midway through the race...
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Thanks for all the great advice!
From what I have gathered, I guess I should:
1. Run more outside
2. Run slower than I thought I could/should go and pick up speed after
Meanwhie
- learn to get a better sense of "perceived effort"
- change my setting on mapmyrun to have my pace spoken to me (I keep my phone inside my pocket, kind of difficult to take it out to look)
- consider getting the Run Tempo App.
Too bad I cannot follow music beat, I always clap at the wrong time when asked to clap to the beat....
You are right. I definitely could not finish with a smile on my face yesterday! I was proud of myself for the time it took. I did better than I could imagine before I start c25k. But it is my first 5k, it is more important to finish happy.BrianSharpe wrote: »As this is your first 5K don't worry too much about pace or time, focus on finishing with a smile on your face - you can work on faster times later.0 -
Do what you did when you found out you were going too fast, but do it backwards. 11, 10, 8. Better a negative split on a 5K than a blowup, but ideally you want to try to stay even, course allowing. How do you do this? Slowing your training runs down considerably. An 8 might feel good, but you're probably more in the neighborhood of mid-10s, whether you like that or not. Running is not the sport you want to give 110% effort in every time you lace up. You don't get an age group placing for training runs, and you'll never race a 5K on the treadmill.0
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BrianSharpe wrote: »Run on perceived effort. You will find that running on a treadmill and running on the road are two different beasts as treadmills provide some of the propulsion.
It takes a little practice but start more slowly than you normally would and gradually increase your pace, you'll find your comfort zone pretty quickly.
As this is your first 5K don't worry too much about pace or time, focus on finishing with a smile on your face - you can work on faster times later.
+10 -
Do you want to finish the race comfortably, or do you want to run it as a race - that is, at the hardest effort you can sustain?
If it's the first, then run at a pace where you can't sing but you can speak in complete sentences. That will keep you in the moderate zone.
If it's the second, run at a pace where you can't comfortably complete a sentence, but you can still speak several words at a time. That will keep you just below your lactate threshold, the point where you start to tip toward anaerobic metabolism.
Either way, have fun! The first way, the fun will be in the run. The second way will be less fun during the run, but potentially more satisfying at the end - if you make it there. For your first race, I'd suggest the first way.0 -
Good advice above. Also, I find it helps both physically and mentally if I allow myself "X" number of steps of walking as needed. I invariably start races at a pace that I can't maintain, and sometimes the exertion becomes such that I become almost nauseated. When this happens, I give myself permission to veer off to the side and walk 10 steps. Taking a quick walk break doesn't ruin my overall average pace, and it gives me a chance to "reset" my pace, so to speak.
And I'll just echo the above posts regarding running outdoors and finding music that matches your run tempo. If you do a simple Google search for "running playlist BPM pace," you'll be off to a good start.
Most importantly, HAVE FUN and be proud of your accomplishment. Running your very first 5K race is a pretty big deal!!0 -
mom3over40 wrote: »Thanks for all the great advice!
From what I have gathered, I guess I should:
1. Run more outside
2. Run slower than I thought I could/should go and pick up speed after
Meanwhie
- learn to get a better sense of "perceived effort"
- change my setting on mapmyrun to have my pace spoken to me (I keep my phone inside my pocket, kind of difficult to take it out to look)
- consider getting the Run Tempo App.
Too bad I cannot follow music beat, I always clap at the wrong time when asked to clap to the beat....
You are right. I definitely could not finish with a smile on my face yesterday! I was proud of myself for the time it took. I did better than I could imagine before I start c25k. But it is my first 5k, it is more important to finish happy.BrianSharpe wrote: »As this is your first 5K don't worry too much about pace or time, focus on finishing with a smile on your face - you can work on faster times later.
Congrats on your first of many races. 5ks can be a nightmare to pace even for more experienced runners so don't worry too much about it. I hate 5k's, they hurt so much more than longer races.0 -
mom3over40 wrote: »I just finished my c25k program and about to run my first 5k race on Thanksgiving day.
So far, I have been running on treadmill with an average speed of 10 min/mile and was able to increase my speed as I run without feeling out of breath. Yesterday I try to run the 5k race route and found myself running out of breath quickly and needed to take short walking breaks. When I check the stats on MayMyRun, I found that I was running at 8 min/mile in the first mile, then 10, then 11. No wonder I was out of breath! But the thing is, I thought I was starting at a comfortable speed... until I was out of breath too soon. So, how do I pace myself without the treadmill telling me how fast I am going?
12.
Running outdoors is another ball of wax. I hate...HATE treadmills.
If your race is outdoors I'd strongly recommend doing your running/training outdoors (whenever it is possible for you, that is...I realize if it's dark out the gym sometimes is the only option).
I personally enjoy running outside more. What I'd do is try running outdoors again...and instead of "map my run" try using Strava. It's free...it also keeps your pace minute to minute so you can watch it and see how fast you are really going. Once you find that 10 minute mile pace, you can go ahead and try to maintain between that and 11. I'd say you don't want to go fast for your first race.
My first race is this morning-I just want to finish it. I'm not gonna worry as much about the pace part. GOOD LUCK!
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Belated Happy Thanksgiving.
Just want to thank all of you for your valuable input. I was able to get two more trial run on the trail, get a better feeling of "starting slow" and picking up pace later on. Being able to run two more times on the trail gave me confidence at the race.
In the end, I decided to run the best I could with caution. After all, it is my FIRST race, it is important that I can finish it without having a spasm or heart failure
But then, it is also my first RACE, I wanted to get my best time. I started off running at a pace being able to speak in somewhat complete sentences. But as the course progress, the less words I could speak. I walked a little on the uphill before the final downhill stretch. Then, I gave it all I had left to run to the finish line. According to my husband, my face didn't look so good crossing the finish line but I was high for quite a while afterwards.
My time was 31 mins. The best I had on that trail. The best time in my age group this year is 20 mins (some athletes visited us this year, last year, it was 25 mins!). It may be a little unrealistic to aim at getting a medal someday but then, I also have a few years left to work on it.
Thank you once again. I would not be preparing for and actually finishing the race the way I did without all of your advice!0 -
Congratulations!!!! Nothing like pushing that final tenth of mile to the finish line!
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aw, that's cool. congrats.0
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I think that's a very good pace for your first race and a great strategy. I always over do it and fizzle out at the end. Great work!0
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