Question for Runners

jtintx · April 2009

I have started running recently and have been reading a running magazine. They keep talking about pace. For example, run 2 minutes faster or slower than your race pace, etc. How do you guys do this? How do you know if you are running at a specific pace? Obviously you have to time something...but how do you go about doing it? It's easy to run a certain pace on a treadmill but off the TM this is all Greek to me.

jtintx · April 2009

I have started running recently and have been reading a running magazine. They keep talking about pace. For example, run 2 minutes faster or slower than your race pace, etc. How do you guys do this? How do you know if you are running at a specific pace? Obviously you have to time something...but how do you go about doing it? It's easy to run a certain pace on a treadmill but off the TM this is all Greek to me.

lizburnsyb · April 2009

Pace is important for people who run races. If you don't anticipate running races, you don't need to really worry. With running, it's best to start out slowly, and then develop a pace (if you choose) after you've worked up to several miles. Good luck! Running -- any speed, any distance -- is an accomplishment!

jtintx · April 2009

I am currently able to run a 5k in about 40 minutes. I'd like to cut that down to a faster pace. But don't know how to do this on the road. I am considering trying a 5k race.

SHBoss1673 · April 2009

right, if you're running for health, concentrate on HR not pace.

There are HRMs that do monitor pace, usually through GPS add ons to their watch, and/or foot straps. But you don't need it. If you measure a mile or run on a High School outdoor track (440 yards), you can judge your pace quite easilly. 4 times around a high school track is a mile, so 1 time is a quarter mile. If you measure the time it takes around once and then multiply by four, that's your pace. For instance, if i'm running a 4 mile run that day on the track, it usually takes me about 1 minute and between 35 and 50 seconds depending on how hard I'm running that day. 1:35 x 4 is 6:20 mile pace, pretty darn good for me (and doesn't usually happen during a 4 mile run btw).

LuckyLeprechaun · April 2009

right, if you're running for health, concentrate on HR not pace.

Banks- could you elaborate on this? what are we trying for with the heart rate? To get it back down quickly after exercising, or....?

I did a 5K (38:43) and a 10K (1:20:14), so the pace was about the same for both of those- that's good, right? I took it to mean that my endurance was (pretty)good, since I kept the same pace for twice as long. Am I looking at this wrong?

jtintx · April 2009

Ok, so if you are running on the road you have to know waypoints, right? Like each mile or half mile in order to know and adjust your pace? Unless you have a fancy watch that gives you that info....which I don't.....just a simple HR monitor that measures calories.

Edited to add: So you can run a 5k in about 19-20 minutes? That's awesome!!!!

scottd521 · April 2009

It helps to know waypoints. If you calculate the run distances you start to get a natural feel for pace as well. I use www.mapmyrun.com to find the distances.

SHBoss1673 · April 2009

right, if you're running for health, concentrate on HR not pace.

Banks- could you elaborate on this? what are we trying for with the heart rate? To get it back down quickly after exercising, or....?

I did a 5K (38:43) and a 10K (1:20:14), so the pace was about the same for both of those- that's good, right? I took it to mean that my endurance was (pretty)good, since I kept the same pace for twice as long. Am I looking at this wrong?

What I mean is basically, if you're training to get a better time, then pace is important, but if you're just trying to improve your fitness level, then watching your heart rate is more important. It doesn't matter how fast you run for fitness, it matters where your heart rate is at. if you're in ok shape or better, by that I mean you can at least jog a 5K (even if it's a slow pace) then you probably want to keep your heart rate between 72% and 85%, that's just above the "comfortable" range for most people. But if you're a newbie runner, then above 80% will probably feel brutal to you and you probably won't be able to keep up that pace.
For instance, my average heart rate on a 4 mile run is about 82% (I don't start my HRM until after I warm up and I get my heart rate above 70%, but I also don't start measuring my distance until then either), but I'm not really caring about heart rate, I'm usually trying to increase my pace. For my next 5K I'm looking to improve by about 20 seconds on my last one. But if I was just looking for health, I wouldn't care about the time it took, I'd be more focused on keeping my heart rate at that 82% for about 35 to 40 minutes. That's tough for me, but usually very doable.

Does this help? I hope so, I'm not sure how else to explain it.

LuckyLeprechaun · April 2009

yeah- thanks banks :bigsmile:

blum0133 · April 2009

How do I know what a good pace is when I am running? I am training for a marathon (which I have never done before) and never know how hard I am supposed to run each day. For example, this week my training schedule is 14 sunday, 6 tue, 8 wed, 6 th, 4 sat....I am trying to really get myself into shape so I can run this thing fast but I am not expert on improving my running time.

SHBoss1673 · April 2009

How do I know what a good pace is when I am running? I am training for a marathon (which I have never done before) and never know how hard I am supposed to run each day. For example, this week my training schedule is 14 sunday, 6 tue, 8 wed, 6 th, 4 sat....I am trying to really get myself into shape so I can run this thing fast but I am not expert on improving my running time.

you need to run at a pace that is slightly faster then comfortable, keep that up for a 10K, and track your time. Once you do that, you should know what your sustainable pace is. Then you can do the calculations to try to stay on that pace for your longer or shorter runs. To increase your pace, you need to set goals over the duration of your training, and HIT them. Make them small, a new to medium runner that is in decent shape, should be able to gain 15 to 30 seconds a mile per month. So to increase your pace, shoot for 2 to 3 seconds faster per mile per training sesison, this is a small goal, but if you train 3 times a week, that's 24 to 36 seconds a mile increase per month. Someone who is more advanced should still be able to gain 5 to 15 seconds a mile while training. But should only raise their goals once a week or so, because at this level you're training your muscles and tuning your form as much as training your blood oxygen levels and muscle oxygen proficiency. There is (of course) a ceiling to this, we can only run so fast, but that comes waaaaayyyyy down the line.

blum0133 · April 2009

Thank you so much! That was a real big help. I have read a little bit on correct form but do you have any specific info on that?

SHBoss1673 · April 2009

Thank you so much! That was a real big help. I have read a little bit on correct form but do you have any specific info on that?

there's a lot on it, but it's hard to describe, better to head over to runnersworld.com and look at their description, they have a whole section for newer runners focusing on form, pace, routines, strategies...etc.

blum0133 · April 2009

Thanks a ton!!

Phoenix_Rising · April 2009

I know certain songs have specific beats per minute. Maybe you can google up songs with specific beats per minute that equate to a specific running time? As long as you can run to a beat, it would keep you at the pace you are looking for in a more organic fashion, and without having to continually look at a HRM/ GPS/ pacecar/ guy with a stick.....

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