Unexpected pace training…

A few days ago, we got a light dusting of snow overnight. It was so light you could still see the pavement, though the snow was definitely there. The surprise was that because it had been so cold, some of the hard surfaces were incredibly slick. I could tell this when leaving and running along my neighborhood sidewalk. 90% of my route that day was going to be on dirt trails, which would not pose the same slip hazard, and I realized I had an opportunity.

Pacing in races is challenging, as I’ve mentioned several times in past blog posts. It’s important to get out quickly so that I don’t get boxed in with a group that’s running slower than I want. After that, I want to settle into a pace to achieve whatever goal I’ve set.

There are two problems with settling into a pace that’s too fast. One is that if I try to hold it, there’s a good chance I won’t be able to and I’ll flame out and have to trot the last part of the race. The second is that even if I don’t try to hold it, backing off is equally challenging. By the point I’ve realized the pace is too fast, a small amount of fatigue may already be creeping in and when I back off, it will be too easy to go with a pace that feels good, but is much slower than I wanted. The trick is to have the discipline to both back off when necessary, then speed back up if you need to.

Here’s where running on the ice the other day was an unexpected training boon. Every time I had to run over a stretch of concrete or asphalt, I slowed down to avoid falling. Every time I transitioned back to the dirt, I sped back up. This may not have mimicked perfectly when I would need to switch gears in a race, but it gave me a little practice in the exercise of doing so.