Assuming an "average" track, how many seconds per 400m is a track faster than the road/sidewalk?
I ask as my coach says to do tempos/intervals on either, but I find it way harder to hit, say, 5:30 mile pace on a road than I do the track.
Cheers.
Assuming an "average" track, how many seconds per 400m is a track faster than the road/sidewalk?
I ask as my coach says to do tempos/intervals on either, but I find it way harder to hit, say, 5:30 mile pace on a road than I do the track.
Cheers.
Assuming the road is flat, accurately measured and doesn't involve a bunch of turns there isn't much of a difference maybe a few seconds per mile and most of that is probably mental not because of the actual running surface. If you are finding it way harder to hit your paces then you are either a headcase or the course is not accurate.
The road 10 kilometer world record is 26:44 the track 10,000 meter world record is 26:17, that is only 4.5 seconds per mile difference.
For 10,000m I would say that they are *roughly* equivalent. Although you get the benefit of 400m splits on a track, and some extra cushion. So, better pacing and some extra cush that could help with fatigue.
Road has elevation change and wind, and sometimes traffic. Road edges also tend to be crowned which can affect your stride.
Joe Jackson wrote:
Road has elevation change and wind, and sometimes traffic. Road edges also tend to be crowned which can affect your stride.
Tracks have wind too...
Two second per 5k
Geoffrey Kamworor
Track 5k 12:59
Road 5k 13:01
but not by the same runner. Komon has not run 26:44 on the track. The turns (50 of them in a 10000) are taxing too.
2-3 sec per mile?
Not too much difference if you are running a perfectly flat course with no sharp turns. Maybe 2-3 per seconds per mile because of the surface.
However, most road courses I encounter are about 8-12 seconds slower per mile.
LoneStarXC wrote:
Joe Jackson wrote:
Road has elevation change and wind, and sometimes traffic. Road edges also tend to be crowned which can affect your stride.
Tracks have wind too...
They have both headwinds and tailwinds, guaranteed. Not so on a road course.
A lot of races on the track are tactical, so depending on surges and amount of time in turns spent in lanes 2 or 3 or in the right half of lane 1, it could be worse than the roads
Joe Jackson wrote:
LoneStarXC wrote:
Tracks have wind too...
They have both headwinds and tailwinds, guaranteed. Not so on a road course.
Those with stands all the way round can have swirling wind which can be 100% behind or 100% against.
I find it way harder to hit, say, 5:30 mile pace on a road than I do the track.
finding it harder has nothing to do with whether roads or tracks "are" faster.
it's called proprioception.
this is responding to the feedback you get when you do something. it's how pianists learn to play long pieces from memory, how jugglers know where the balls are when they're not looking at them, and so forth.
when you run on a track regularly, you get used to where things are, to how you will feel as you pass the steeplechase barrier, to how tired you will be on the third lap, and you learn to respond to cues like the ringing of the bell and so forth.
when you run somewhere else, you do not get these cues. you are at a loss to know how you are supposed to feel at any given point, you don't have a good sense of how far you have to go, and your confidence in your own ability is knocked off kilter by this lack of familiarity.
if you do this more often, you will get used to it. this is actually one of the reasons why sessions with your coach are called "practice."
and your coach is right. there is no difference. there is no physiological benefit to running on a 2ft wide strip of red rubber with white lines down the side. running is just running.
cheers.