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Posts Tagged ‘running pace’

Analyzing GPS Watch Splits

Posted in Gear, Half marathon, Racing, Running, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 29, 2013| 2 Comments »

I wore my Garmin Forerunner 110 GPS watch for the Spring Blast Half Marathon on May 11 (race recap here). I had fun uploading the data to Garmin Connect online and analyzing the race splits. As you might recall, my target race pace was 8:35 per mile, and I came in overall at 8:40 per mile. The chart below says I came in at 8:37 due to a 3 second difference between my Garmin running time and the race official’s stopwatch, and between the 13.1 miles on the course and the 13.17 I actually ran as I navigated the course and dodged people on the path (I didn’t think I did much of that but obviously enough to add 0.07 — a little over a football field in length — to the course):

GPS Garmin Race Splits

Overall I’m happy with how it went. In analyzing these splits, I can tell that wearing a GPS watch helps me a lot. If I don’t wear one and don’t pay attention to my average pace for the current mile, I go out way too fast in the beginning of the race when I feel fantastic, and I don’t push hard enough when I start to lose steam toward the end. For the half marathon, knowing my mile splits helped me keep more of an even pace. In fact, when I checked to see if I negative split the run, I found I came in at nearly even splits, taking just 15 seconds more to run the second half of the race than the first.

You can tell by the mile splits above that I felt really good through about mile 9, then started to lose steam at mile 10 as I was going up the slight incline, then picked up speed on the way back down for mile 11, slogged through mile 12 at about 15 seconds behind the goal pace, then gave it my all for mile 13 at 6 seconds ahead of pace, and sprinted to the finish at 40 seconds ahead of goal pace.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t obsess over my race splits or beat myself up over what I could have or should have done. It’s simply interesting to look back over it and see how the splits compare to how I felt during the race.

Do you wear a GPS watch for training runs and races? I love my Garmin and I wear it most of the time, but I make sure to take it off occasionally and just run naked.

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Marathon Race Goals

Posted in Marathon, Racing, Running, tagged , , , , , , , on August 18, 2012| 4 Comments »

Putting my marathon race goals out there for everyone to see intimidates me. I know that saying them out loud makes me no more or less likely to achieve them. I will put in the hard work of training. I will do my best to rest for recovery, eat well, and stay healthy. With a little luck thrown in, I will show up well-trained and injury-free on race day. Then it’s a matter of seeing how the cards fall that morning.

Which of these goals will I achieve? Does it make it any less of an accomplishment if I don’t achieve them all? (Remind self on race day: the answer is no — if you achieve any of these goals, you should be thrilled and proud and ready to strive for the next goal at the next race!)

5. Finish the race. I know all too well that the goal with any race, and particularly a new running race distance, is to finish. No DNS, no DNF = win! An automatic PR! Better yet, finish without injury and you’re golden even without a spot on the podium.

4. Finish in under 4:30. That would be a darn respectable time.

3. Finish in under 4:10. Now we’re talking.

2. Finish in under 4:04. That’s what the McMillan Running Calculator and other pace calculators predict I can do based on my half marathon time — somewhere in the range of 4:04 and 4:02.

1. Sub-4! There’s a big difference between 4:04 and 3:59:59. Some (including the authors of Run Less, Run Faster) would say it’s not wise for me to push the pace and try to break four hours. Perhaps they are right, and “they” can tell me they told me so on race day. I am content to strive for my highest goal. My training thus far proves that the goal is on target. Using the Run Less, Run Faster plan and assuming a marathon pace of 9:06, I am able to meet the prescribed times for the track repeats, tempo runs and long runs. Fingers crossed, knock on wood, I’ve-put-it-out-there-don’t-smite-me-now, I will achieve one or more of my goals at my first marathon less than three months from now!

Do you set one or more goals for yourself for a race? How has that played out for you in past races? I broke 30 minutes in my first 5K as an adult. I completed my first 8K and 10Ks without injury (I set a low bar on those races!), and I reached my highest goal of a sub-2 for my first half marathon.

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