Pacing

I completed my first 5k a few weeks back @ 42.22.  I walked a lot because I got winded early on from starting to fast. 

I notice when I'm on the treadmill I can jog at a 5.5 pace for two miles without stopping.  I can also do faster 2-4m sprints. 

I signed up for another 5k on Thanksgiving cause I don't think my first 5k was a true demonstration of where I am. 

I'm wondering if anyone has any tips on how to know what pace you're jogging when not on the TM.  In preparation for Turkey Trot I've been running outside.  Somedays I do 45 minutes outside, others I do 20m fast on the TM.  The other day I timed myself...I did 2miles outside in 25m but I have no idea what pace I was jogging or if it I should have been pushing for a faster pace as I did not want to get winded.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.   

Before triathlons I used a garmin. It has satalite and will tell you pace and milage.

I now use Polar products. The RSD200 has a footpod that will track your pace and distance.

Congrats on the 5ks.

One thing I have is a Garmin Forerunner watch that uses GPS and it tells me what pace I'm running (per mile).  I have a tendency to start out too fast and then slow way down, so this helps me pace it.  For example, mine will show that I'm going say 10:54 per mile (which translates to 5.5 MPH on treadmill), so then i can either speed up a bit if i want or stay right around there.

Brian
~350

Thanks Brian and Sherry for the tips.  Looking into these devices now. 

Sherry....way to go on the Triathlons..my 5 year goal is to compete in a Tri.  I just learned to swim ( I was deathly afraid of putting my head in water). 

Brian that starting fast ending turtle slow sucks so bad, eh'.  Glad you found something that works for ya'.  Hoping it does well for me.

Yea, pacing is very important for the long runs you will do.  I learned in my first half-marathon, i really slowed down the last 3 miles, nearly 36 minutes to do that, when i had been doing about 10:30 per mile.  Had I paced a little better, i could have shaved 3-4 min off my time.  Lessons learned!

Brian
~350

I was recently talking with a friend who is a much more accomplished runner than I am.
He uses one of the gps watches with the heart rate monitor.
He runs by the heart rate, not necessarily the speed the gps gives him.
If his heart rate isn't in that 80% range he knows he has to run faster, if it goes much above that, then he knows he needs to slow down.  His pace is totally set by his heart rate and what kind of workout he is getting.

Scott

I have a Garmin Forerunner 50 with the heart rate monitor and the footpod and it tells me everything I need to know regarding my distance, speed, heart rate and split times.   My girlfriend got it for me last Christmas and it was hands down one of the coolest presents I have ever reveived.  It was perfect!   I'm not the easiest person to shop for because honestly I don't want anything.   Unless she was willing to throw down $1500 for a new wheelset for my bike I didn't really want anything else. :)  It's not their GPS model but it does the trick for me and unlike some of the older GPS models you can wear it as a watch because it doesn't look like you have a cell phone strapped to your wrist.  :)  Garmin now makes a smaller GPS model that looks just like a normal watch similar to the Forerunner 50.  

I rarely train for distance anymore.  I train for a set time in heart rate zones on my bike and running.    Once you get a baseline of what your maximum heart rate is you can determine what training zone you should be in.   When I start to slack and my heart rate dips below where I SHOULD be my watch beeps at me and tells me to pick up the pace.   When I run too hard (this RARELY happens) it beeps at me to slow down.   Something like that may do the trick for you and you can probably get a Forerunner 50 with the footpod and heart rate monitor pretty cheap now since they released the GPS model.

Best of luck.

Chad
www.team464.com

 

Scott and Chad you bring up excellent points that I had not thought of....thanks for sharing!!  Looks like the Forerunner 50 it is. 

BTW, Chad you look hot in your after photo...great work!!and after reading your story cause you rock!!

Heh I just accidentally found out what I'm getting for Christmas.
I'm getting one of the Polar f11 model heart rate monitor/watch
My wife bought it on ebay then she used paypal to pay for it.  Oops paypal is emails me when the account is used.  Oh well, now I can hardly wait for Christmas.

Scott

That is funny.  Glad she didn't splurge on some expensive shoes or outfits ;0). 

The cool part is that you can go online to learn the features and operation so that on Christmas day you can hit the ground running using it (pun intended)  lol...Enjoy!!