Understanding Race Pace Relativity

This article goes hand in hand with the article on Minutes vs. Miles, with the goal being to redefine how you look at workout targets. As we encounter more technical workouts, you may here me use the terms 1 hour race pace or 5K effort. What do I mean here? How do you find this out? My goal is to answer both those questions. 

I presented the chart below in a prior article. It's from Greg McMillan and using his naming convention for the different training zones, he outlines the physiological changes that happen as you hit progress through each zone. The key here is that the bottom of the chart (x-axis) shows the zone you are in relative to the race pace you are doing. This keeps everything relative to the capabilities of a runner, to help ensure we all achieve the same benefits. 

So if Runner A is a 30 minute 5K racer and Runner B is a 30 minute 10K racer, if the coach gives each a workout with intervals at a 60 (01:00:00) minute race pace for 3x10 minute intervals with 3 minutes recovery, they will achieve the exact same physiological benefit from the workout effort - work will be right around the lactate threshold, notable on the chart below by the pickup in lactate generation visible in the chart below. 

So how do you find out your 60 minute race pace? Two ways:

1. Use the McMillan Calculator or other similar training tools such as VDOT. 

2. If your signed up to be coached by me, I have provided a pace chart in your athlete workbook (assuming you have a recent race and a goal I can base it off of). Example below. If you don't have one, reach out to me - we can arrange a time trial. 

There are a few ways to use the chart. If I tell you to do a Steady State Run, you can look at the column on the left and get an estimated range directly from the McMillan calculator. Those familiar with Steady State Runs will see that this is a wide pace range, 4:49/km to 4:37/km - an athletes 2:30:00 race pace to their 01:15:00 pace. I can validate this by looking at the table in the center and looking at the athletes current estimated fitness, they'd be predicted to run a 20 Mile RACE in 2:35:35 or 4:50/km - just over 2:30:00 race pace. If I look at the time closet to 1:15:00, it predicts the athlete would run a 10 Mile RACE in 1:14:06 or 4:36/km - slightly faster than 1:15:00 race pace. 

I emphasized the word race above because when I say a 2:00:00 race pace, I don't mean what you'd do out an given weekend and run your long run at for 2 hours, I mean if you were on a starting line with hundreds or thousands of people and were told to run a consistent race for 2:00:00, how would that effort be. For the runner above, they'd run about 26.5KM. 

Sidebar: Time to take a second to nag you about endurance building runs again, note that the paces of these are paces slower than a marathon race pace. Easy, relaxed runs. 

So if I prescribe you a workout at a 1:00:00 race pace, you have the tools to look it to a pretty close range. For this runner we can see it'll be somewhere between 4:25/km and 4:36/km. This is a reasonable, and a reasonable range because as I constantly preach, I don't dwell on one number meaning success. Somedays are harder, somedays are easier - this is where the relative perceived effort always factors in. 

Another approach I may take, especially as we get to race specific training, would be to have an athlete run intervals at 5 x 5 minutes @ 5K race effort. Again, use the center chart to look to look it up. This runner, the current fitness estimate is a 4:16/km pace, the goal would be a 4:01/km pace. That does a reasonable job of defining your target pace (again, do not be staring at your watch to keep it in a range - rely on the the feel of the pace as well to teach your body 5K pace). 

Sidebar: My biggest issue with the above workout is that you will get the athlete come out and run a 5 to 8 minute race pace because they are living in that one 5 minute interval and only thinking about running for that time period, the result is often decreasing paces as the workout continues. The goal is to train your body to run the 5K race effort. The recoveries between help your prepare to run the next interval consistently. Over-cooking the workout and achieving diminishing returns eliminates the intended benefit.   

If you have any questions reach out to me through Final Surge, e-mail: markdidham@gmail.com; or Facebook PM.