10K race strategy

The only 10k strategy I gleaned in college was from a teammate who was conference champ his senior year. He told me that if you feel bad at all by two miles, you're in deep shit.

rip van cripple wrote:

You are not dehydrated in the sense that it affects cooling your core temp. It is common knowledge you can lose a half pound to a pound per mile from sweating and if you are properly hydrated to begin the race, it will not have a negative affect. It is also common knowledge that you will run faster with the same energy output at a lower weight. I am not pulling this out of my a**. It is pretty common sense stuff.

I don't have time to find the studies. Do your own search on google or what ever search engine you like and you should be able to find them.

Perhaps you should google the meaning of common knowledge. It is certainly NOT common knowledge that one can lose 8 to 16oz of water per mile via sweating and not have a negative effect in a race.

mytwocents wrote:

The only 10k strategy I gleaned in college was from a teammate who was conference champ his senior year. He told me that if you feel bad at all by two miles, you're in deep shit.

I might even extend that two the 5k mark, but yea, if you feel the race at the 1/3 mark, you're completely screwed and it's gonna be a painful race.

common cents wrote:

I might even extend that two the 5k mark, but yea, if you feel the race at the 1/3 mark, you're completely screwed and it's gonna be a painful race.

Well, according to rip van cripple, if you're feeling like crap at the 5k mark, but you're sweating a lot, then you're in good shape, because the lost water weight will allow you to speed up! As he said, it's pretty common sense stuff.

Go out at pace and stay as relaxed as possible hitting even splits. If you pass 4 miles and feel pretty good then you can be confident that you will race well. If you can pick it up a little at this point then do so then and hammer out that last mile.

Magua wrote:

Go out at pace and stay as relaxed as possible hitting even splits. If you pass 4 miles and feel pretty good then you can be confident that you will race well. If you can pick it up a little at this point then do so then and hammer out that last mile.

Sounds perfect.

Tootsie, remember to focus on the positives. Don't worry about the sun beating on you in the 4th mile, or the gradual uphill near the end that is tough mentally. In the 4th mile, you should have just finished a nice downhill and you should be cruising at a very nice pace. Think positive and enjoy this long, flat section where you can just relax and roll through the miles. By mile 5, the remaining hills are insignificant, because your 2k from your goal! Explode to the finish line!

In all honesty, if you've done the training, people tend to underestimate themselves when choosing a goal. I think you'll find yourself comfortably on pace at mile 4 and ready to accelerate to the finish and beat your goal. Best luck! Remember to keep your race thoughts positive. Relax in the first 4 miles, and have fun.

The Bellin, I knew it! Your first description was good.

I'm running it too. I've run it several times. Here's what I think is important:

1) Don't be fooled by the signs directing you to starting areas by your mile pace. It's not going to work out neatly like that... you'll have people starting at the 7:00 pace sign that will run 8:00s and up, and vice versa. I suggest lining up at a place faster than what you expect to run.

2) The Bellin isn't all that hilly, in my opinion. Start out at 6:50-6:55 and then work down to whatever you can after 5k or 4 mi.

3) There are clocks at each mile, but they operate on gun time. Either remember to convert by knowing how much time passed between the firing of the gun and crossing the line, or wear your own watch. It might take a while to get to the line, more time than previous years, since they're implementing a funnel start this year. I was less than 10 seconds back from the front line, being conservative instead of mad-dashing at the start. I was running at about 6:00 pace.

The mistake you are making is assuming the runner is not properly hydrated before the race begins. If you are properly hydrated, a 130-140 lb runner should be able to lose 6-8 lbs of sweat before the dehydration will become a limiting factor. When you are sweating during the race, it is beneficial by keeping your core temp low. Only when you get TOO dehydrated does it have a negative affect.

The 6:30 mile would allow for the downhill. My experience has been that a 100 ft elevation drop per mile would result in a pace 10-15 seconds faster for that mile.

I haven't been able to find the study but here is an article worth reading.

http://www.rxrunning.com/article_pacing.htm

Tergat went 1:03:04-1:01:51

Radclife went 1:08:03-1:07:23

Bekele went 13:09-13:08. The year before he went 13:13-13:07.

rip van cripple wrote:

The mistake you are making is assuming the runner is not properly hydrated before the race begins. If you are properly hydrated, a 130-140 lb runner should be able to lose 6-8 lbs of sweat before the dehydration will become a limiting factor. When you are sweating during the race, it is beneficial by keeping your core temp low. Only when you get TOO dehydrated does it have a negative affect.

The 6:30 mile would allow for the downhill. My experience has been that a 100 ft elevation drop per mile would result in a pace 10-15 seconds faster for that mile.

I haven't been able to find the study but here is an article worth reading.

http://www.rxrunning.com/article_pacing.htm

Tergat went 1:03:04-1:01:51

Radclife went 1:08:03-1:07:23

Bekele went 13:09-13:08. The year before he went 13:13-13:07.

I think post-race analysis is the improper way to determine an ideal pace for a goal. Why? Well, these people that set WR's probably all EXCEEDED their goals. For example, Tergat probably thought it was MOST likely that he would run 2:06. So he paced to 1:03, and he knew that if he felt good and had an excellent race, he would be able to negative split and have a shot at the WR. This is how WRs are set. You pace to get close to WR, and then if you're having a good day, you are able to increase the pace slightly, negative split, and set the WR.

The same thing applies here. It's most efficient for Tootsie to run negative splits. But it's still possible that Tootsie could run to mile 4 averaging 6:45 pace, and then feel good, and speed up, and not only meet his goal, but beat it! Certainly everyone has experienced this, right?

Most of the studies I found said that if you're within 2% of goal pace, that's "close enough" to be near optimum efficiency. So, assuming a flat course, I think Tootsie shouldn't have to vary by more than ~8 seconds from his 6:45. Since there are hills, he might want to vary a little more than this, but I still think you're advice of starting out with a 7:00 minute mile is setting up for failure.

And at this point, I'll say that we're probably splitting hairs and I was sort of being sarcastic in my first post when I said you were way off. I understand the reasoning behind your recommendation, I just feel like your start is too conservative and your expected acceleration throughout the race is too ambitious.

We could take a poll. How many of you people have accelerated from a 7:00 minute mile to a 6:35 over the course of a 10k? Since the first and last mile are both slightly uphill, it seems you could compare it to a flat 10k and be fairly close.

Oh, and I guess we need conversions. 7:00-6:35 would be equivalent to:

first mile - last mile

8:06-7:33

7:32-7:02

7:00-6:35 - your recommendation

6:31-6:09

5:59-5:41

5:32-5:16

5:01-4:49

4:30-4:21

Anybody sped up this much between their first and last mile in a 10k AND think it was the most efficient way to race? I can guarantee you that you'll have a hell of a time finding any WRs or even elite personal bests that show this much variation between the first and last mile of a 10k. The only thing I can think that might throw it off is if someone hasn't raced a lot of 10k's and got in a tactical start and then finished fast for a PB.

Anyone? I've never been able to speed up that much, including the races where I think I went out too slow!

10k virtually flat with upgrade in mile 2.

5:50

5:58 11:48

5:42 17:30

5:39 23:09

5:33 28:42

5:30 34:12

1:12 35:24

Hilly net downhill 10k

6:00 up

5:28 11:28 down

5:42 17:10

5:35 22:45

5:55 28:40 up

5:20 34:00 down

1:09 35:09

half marathon rolling hills

6:20

6:28 12:49

6:06 18:55

6:14 25:10

5:59 31:10

5:59 37:09

6:08 43:18

5:43 49:02

6:03 55:05

6:08 61:13

5:56 67:10

5:42 72:52

5:50 78:42

:35 79:17

5 mile

5:43 flat

5:54 11:37 up

5:31 17:08 down

5:32 22:40 down

5:29 28:09 flat

Based on my experience where I pass 10-30 runners the last half of most races, I doubt you will get hardly anyone who runs even splits let alone negatives.

Yes, rarely do recreational or semi serious runners run negative splits. Most everyone starts too fast.

With the Bellin Run, it is a challenge to run negative splits because mile 3 has a big downhill.

I think my plan is do

6:50 pace first mile which will feel like I am holding back.

6:50 mile 2

6:30 mile 3

6:45 mile 4

6:45 mile 5

6:30 - 6:40 for mile 6+ (I hope)

This would get me in under 6:45 pace with a bit of leeway that last mile if I am struggling.

But seriously, I will run by feel and make sure I don't start too fast. When I have ran it in the past, I have never been able to pick it up the last 3 miles but my first mile was always a tad faster than goal pace.

Good Luck!!

Did the Bellin 10K - perfect day low 50s dry a little wind. Time was 41:57 Happy with this.

Pace avg. with Garmin 6:41 Official 6:44 (Garmin measured 6.25 including 1.22 after mile 5 on straightaway.

Here are my splits - my max HR is 183

avg HR

6:44 164

6:49 172 very gradual hill first 2 miles

6:26 173 2 down hills

6:48 173

6:42 175

6:37 177

last .26 at 5:49 pace 179 avg HR

With my Garmin I was at 3.1 exactly at 3.1 mile mark with a split of 20:55. I ran an even split or faster if you count the extra .05 in second half of race. It is certified but don't understand the extra without that many turns. Was able to pick it up a bit at mile 4 into the 8-10 mph wind and finish strong.

So, how did I race it? I felt like I ran a smart race....

Thanks for the help,

Norm

Nice job.

Tootsie wrote:

What is the best way to race a 10K road race if going for time. If my goal pace is 6:45, should I focus on 6:45 right away or start a tad slower??? First 2 miles is very slightly uphill, 3rd mile is downhill last 3 miles very gradually work there way back up.

Just go out quickly the first 400-800m and settle into your pace, Your first mile may be a bit fast but only because of the quick start. be patient than gun it when the time is necessary.

Kenyan Way wrote:

Just go out quickly the first 400-800m and settle into your pace, Your first mile may be a bit fast but only because of the quick start. be patient than gun it when the time is necessary.

You may be able to go out quickly for a 200, but you go hard the first 800 and put yourself in oxygen debt, you will have a very poor race. A local high school runner went out hard the first 300 meters in the state meet and ran about 40 seconds slower for 5k. Instead of a top 5 place (small school division), he finsihed in the middle of the pack.

Congratulations! The pacing looks good. You were able to kick it up the last couple miles. Good stuff!