Running 101 - Pacing is the key to improving your time

Like baseball players pacing out base strategies in spring training, one of the most important things a runner can learn is developing pacing strategies. Intuitive pacing is essential to effective training and good race results for those who are competitive runners.

Practicing pace can be done anywhere: the track, road or trails. Running too slow doesn't stimulate the body enough for the best improvement, while going too fast requires too much recovery and is a risk for injury. With practice, you can develop different paces at will. When you learn how to hold paces over a set distance, you begin to manage your training, a conditioning factor that controls improvement. A course with half-mile landmarks is good for starters. For trail runners, develop your internal sense of pace by checking against the watch to learn how to adjust for terrain. As pacing improves, you will relate it to how you "feel", and possibly won't need a watch or markers.

"Tempo" pace, known as lactate threshold, is most important for building endurance. Lactate threshold pace is the fastest you can run without building up lactate in your blood and is typically six to ten seconds slower per 200 meters than your best one-mile race pace. Lactic acid is produced when there is an absence of oxygen in the muscle cells, which causes glucose to breakdown (known as anaerobic glycolysis). At threshold pace, your effort is maximized without needing extensive recovery time. As you progress in your training and/or fitness level, threshold pace usually improves and other training paces need to be adjusted. Measure threshold pace again about six to eight weeks into the training.

In a race, working beyond lactate threshold helps you use your full race potential. Through anaerobic training, the buffering systems within the muscles and blood are improved and you can persist at anaerobic activities for longer periods of time without becoming fatigued. This training improves your physiological tolerance to lactic acid.

Everybody has a maximum pace they can maintain over the majority of a race. Running just a little faster than this pace, known as your "red line" pace, causes the muscles to fatigue and lose power. Your mind starts saying you can't keep going. Knowing when you are at red line and how far and how long you can go when you are over it are keys to training for and managing race paces.

Lactate measurement and heart rate monitors were once available only to Olympians. Now any runner can take advantage of professional knowledge, coaching, and training tools. Heart rate monitors are as varied as car models, but Polar is the original. Depending on the features you want, monitors range between $50 for basic model and $350-plus for a model that measures heart rate, speed, distance, and much more.

Training discipline, confidence, and experience are keys to pacing that help you run your best or race to your potential.