How can runners avoid going too fast at the beginning of a race? Are there workouts that can help?
You might find it comforting to know that pacing is one of the most challenging aspects of racing. You’re not alone in your struggle. The great news is that there are many workouts that focus on improving your pacing skills, and with practice, you’ll soon be finishing strong.
First, it’s important to learn how to Runners World, Part of the Hearst UK Wellbeing Network. Once you can do that, you’ll be able to understand these workouts that will help you learn how to pace yourself properly.
The effort 'zones' for the following workouts:
Running vs. swimming: Which is better for you Yellow Zone for our easy runs, recovery runs and long runs. Running at this effort allows us to run for a long time, improves our fat-burning enzymes and isn’t very stressful on the body.
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The Orange Zone is a step up from Yellow and hovers around the lactate threshold (redline), the point at which we shift from using more fat for energy to using more glycogen. We run in this zone during workouts like tempo runs and long intervals to raise the redline, which helps us run faster at easier efforts.
Run 4 miles in the Yellow Zone, 3 miles in the Orange Zone, and 1 mile in the Red Zone Red Zone, or the effort level that is flat-out hard, well outside your comfort zone. This is the effort where we run intervals, hill repeats and any high-intensity workout. Training in this zone will improve fitness and speed and boost your metabolism for hours post-workout.
Workout 1 - Fast Finish Run
This workout helps you learn the differences between the effort zones, and how to go from a moderate to a hard effort and back again.
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Cooldown: Run 4 miles in the Yellow Zone, 3 miles in the Orange Zone, and 1 mile in the Red Zone
Walk 2-3 minutes, then run 10 minutes in the Yellow Zone
This classic workout develops race-effort stamina, to help you run faster (and maintain the pace) with less effort.
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Run 5 minutes in the Yellow Zone, then walk 2-3 minutes.
Cooldown: Run 10 minutes in the Yellow Zone, then walk 2-3 minutes
Workout 3 - Race Simulation Run
There are a variety of ways to perform this dress-rehearsal run, and I weave it into training plans during cutback long runs of five to 10 miles in duration. This workout teaches you how to pace wisely on race day, starting out at an easy effort level and building to moderate and hard as you make your way to the finish line. Here’s an 8-mile sample workout:
Warm-up: Walk 2-3 minutes
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Cooldown: Walk 2-3 minutes
As you gain fitness, you can run more Orange Zone miles and fewer Yellow Zone. A newer runner might start with a 6-mile Race Pace Run and run 3 miles in Yellow, 2 miles in Orange, and 1 mile in Red. A seasoned runner might start with the workout mentioned above.
The key is to learn how to pace yourself in all three zones and then practice them in a variety of workouts during the season. It will pay off on race day as you pace yourself to a strong finish.
