10k Racing, Pacing Strategies and the First Race of the Season

Triathlon Team Rhein Main, at the Mainzspitzlauf 10k. Benny, Pantani and Me... finishing 5th, 6th and 1st... Gut Gemacht Team!

So like Super Hans I ran a 10k not so long ago... it wasn't quite as 'Easy like a Sonntag Morgen' though I was a bit of a jelly afterwards, however it was good to get a race into the body and mind.
The race was a flat though technical course through the countryside near Mainz. A good test to see how the winter base training had gone. Races are the best way to practice... ermmmm... racing. It doesn't matter how many 'simulation races' and 'race pace sessions' you do in training they can't replace the real thing. Racing brings a whole different spectrum of experiences: pre-race nerves; getting up early in the morning; travel; friendly or not so friendly competition; new equipment; performance anxiety; spectators; eating Bratwurst; having a poo 4 times before 10 am... all these are things you can't experience and therefore get used to and learn from unless you race. A small 10k race like this enables you to experience the complexities of racing so that you can be more prepared come the important races in your season... Benny now knows not to drink Hefeweizen und Flammkuchen the night before a race ;-) 


So I went into this wanting a full all out effort (nothing can push you more than racing) and may be get on the podium so I intended to race it a bit tactically... depending on how many skinny ass runners showed up.


Looking on the start line there didn't appear to be too many fast runners... I can tell just by looking at their legs... paying particular attention to anyone with a milk bottle for shoulders and a distinct lack of 'Guns' where the biceps should be... these are the enemy... the guys who only run. Quite a few triathletes there... in one piece tri-kit... you wouldn't get that in NZ???
So I thought I'd sprint the first 100m and see who follows... hopefully I'll be able to force any fast guys to set off too fast and hopefully they'll blow up later.... hahahahaha... what a cunning plan! Seemed to work... I heard one guy say 'Ach! Das ist zu schnell!'... two guys went with me and I let one of them take the lead... mwhahahaha... ;-)
The guy who took the lead was an obvious runner... he kept checking his watch every 1K to see that he was running at his target pace (or so I thought). Now although I hated to be beaten by this skinny guy with green compression socks on... yes bad fashion, I had to let him go. He was pushing me out of my comfort zone and he gained a 20m advantage :-(. 
But then at about the 4k mark he slowed and all of a sudden I was on his shoulder :-). OK I thought, I'll sit here, make it look as though I'm cruising and break him... I don't want to have to fight for the next 6k. Trouble was I nearly tripped him up as I kept catching his legs... jeez I would of been well pissed if I was him... I think he was struggling though. Well at 5k I thought I'm going to trip him up if I carry on like this so I'd better go and I moved into my final gear and left him... I was a bit pissed with that as it meant I had a suffer fest for the rest of the run but once you look into 'The Heart of Darkness' there's no turning back. 
I crossed the line in first place in 33:23 he was 50 seconds behind which meant I didn't have to hurt myself so bad but I wasn't looking back to see where he was. Funnily enough he asked me what my 10k PB time was... I said I don't know as I'm a triathlete from New Zealand and I can't remember when I last ran a 10k... so I told him this was it... couldn't make out whether this made him happier or not???

In the Heart of Darkness but thankfully with the finish line ahead :-)

Now a word on Pacing...


If you want to run a fast time then 'even or negatively split' your race... i.e. finish the first half of the race the same or faster than the second half... don't set off too freekin FAST! The guy who was second ran the same pace as me for the first 5k and then 50 seconds slower in the final 5k... this is BAD pacing... especially as he was checking his splits every K... what was he thinking??

For most races I don't race with a watch, HRM, GPS, Garmin or whatever... I think it's important to learn to race on feel, everything else is just a distraction. I tend to have 3 pacing Zones... the 'feelings' are generally the same whatever the distance you just spend longer in each zone:

1. "Right yes, this is fast, I'm working but I'm just under what I am capable of running". I was running this pace when I was sitting on the guys shoulder in the 10k... it kind of gives you a bit of recovery mid race if you need it.
2. "OK this is IT! This is freekin painful, but under control, this is my race pace, just need to focus on staying relaxed, control breathing, just keep flowing, forget about any pain or negative thoughts that pops into the brain". This was my pace over the first few k of the race when I didn't want to be sucked into going any faster which would've caused me to blow later.
3. "Now I'm looking into The Heart of Darkness... this is so so painful... all I can do is try and ignore that pain and stay as relaxed as possible... why won't it stop... make it go away ;-( ahhh Thank FFT... The finish". You can't keep this pace up for long during a race, 10 minutes, a few k before you have to drop the pace or finish... so try to avoid this feeling as best as you can when racing.

During a race you should aim to spend most of the time in Zone 2... using zone 1 as mid race recovery and Zone 3 as your turbo booster only to be used when really necessary... the last 5 - 10k of an IM I am in this zone.

So don't get too hung up on HR, speed, power when racing... there are too many factors at play when it comes to a race: inaccuracy in course measurements; hills; wind; cobble stones (???); 180 degree turns; temperature; weather; your fitness on the day; other competitors; drafting; emotions; nerves; equipment malfunction (my HRM never works in a race anyway!); coffee; bad pizza the night before.

I'll be doing the Mainz Half Marathon on the 9th May. As it's a flat and supposedly accurately measured course I will be using a watch to pace my 1K splits... even though I haven't run a half marathon for years so only have a vague idea of what time I can run. In the end I'll be focusing on my breathing and pain levels and just trying to go as fast as I can :-).

You can see the full results here: Mainzspitz 10k race results

And I hope you all like the new website... still a few things to do but nearly there.


Wherever you are in the World enjoy your racing or your resting... sweet as!


Westy xxx