Triathlon - Pace for running

How do you know what pace you are running during your training or during your events when you are outside? Do you know that you are running at 7 mph or is it 6.5? Do you know because of you heart rate? Do you know because of how you feel while you are running? Do you use the latest and greatest electronic device or an old device?

I can easily set the treadmill up to make me run at 6.7 mph for my 5k runs that I am currently doing. But soon, I should be able to run outside and I want to keep that pace up, other than my time after running a 3.1 mile (5k) distance and compare that to my treadmill times, how will I know?

I like the treadmill running, as it scans and lets me know my time, speed, distance and heart rate without any work. I know when I go outside, I should just run the distance and see where I am for time, but I really want to keep up with where I am on the treadmill and get better from there.

I run my treadmill and find that I am slower on it than out side..it is nice to know how far and fast you are running but I prefer to run out side. I have selected several types of runs where I knwo exactly how far I use the previous time as a base. Some are flat and fast some hillly others offroad..Everynow and again I go to local track and blow out a mile just for fun.....
Treadmills were made to prevent you from losing it all not a good primary training tool, or so I say.

I run on the treadmill and it's not very accurate... The treadmill says i'm running at 4.5 mph which means about a 13 minute mile. However i can easily do a 3 mile run in 30 minutes and that's after swimming and biking...

It's always good to have a nice outdoor place to run that has a known distance. I go down to the local YMCA where there is a trail out front (which has a nice soft shoulder that's easy on the knees) that's exactly 1 mile long (measured with my GPS unit). :)

Garmin Forerunner 305

I always plot my pace by distance over time. If I run for 7 miles and it takes me 42 minutes I know pace was 6 min. Believe it not a few years I go I ran so much that I could tell you how far and fast I was running at any point in my run with out looking at a watch.

I use a Nike+ ipod sport kit with my Ipod Nano. The device is $20 and it tracks pace and distance pretty accurately.

i have a nike + as well. works great. recently bought a suunto t3 wristop computer. works great for pacing yourself. comes with heartrate moniter and you can buy the footpod for the same effect as the nike + also has a bike pod for the bike. great for tracking you progress.

I know the distances of most of my regular run routes. Found via www.gmap-pedometer.com or something similar. I wear a regular watch and know the time between mile markers and can figure out my pace from there. As well, run enough and you'll learn to feel what your regular pace is and if you are running slower or faster that day.

When you run outside the terrain will vary so it will be hard to maintain a consistent pace unless you want to run around a track. If you run around a track you can pace yourself to meet your goal. Doing this once or twice a week should give you a good indication of pace and you can transfer it to a road run. Try not to concentrate too much on going a specific pace though. Enjoy the variations of running on roads or trails. Push the hills, coast the down hills and try to run steady on the flats. Run how you are feeling for the day as it will vary. Just go out and enjoy it!!

I'm with you tajsss - gmap-pedometer.com and experience.

I have a gps now, but I ran for about a year with just a stop watch. Set a fix route, and time it. divide the distance by the lap time ==> miles per hour, pace

There are google maps based sites that will allow you to measure your distance. I use a 400 meter circuit at a middle school with a stop watch to make it easy. This way I know what my lap time is.

use google earth to map out your course (use the path function), then you will know the distance to certain landmarks and be able to tell by a glance at your stopwatch whether you are on schedule or not.

long before gmap-pedometer, people would drive routes, or bike them with an odometer, and they'd know their time at the end.

I've almost never ran with a heart rate monitor, gps and sometimes not even a watch(look at clock when I leave, look at clock when I arrive home). Yes I'm a decent runner.

You shouldn't worry about your speed, you should worry about your perceived rate of exertion and what your goal is of the day. Is it a hard day, easy day, tempo day, hill day, interval day, threshold day? Not all days should be the same. If you can run 5k comfortably at 6.7mph then....

one day a week you should run 5-5.5 mph for 5-10 miles
one day a week you should run 4 miles. Start with a one mile warm up then alternate one minute hard at 7-8mph, and two minutes easy at 4-5.5mph.
one day a week run 6 mph but every half mile do a "hill" on the treadmill for a half mile.
one-two days a week do your 5k at the comfortable pace.

I know how fast I'm running in general just because I've ran thousands of miles in my lifetime. This isn't to say I don't need a watch when I'm doing my track workouts, but I get by in training runs.

I think in about a week the ice should be off of our streets and sidewalks, so I will try some outdoor stuff, or at least that is my plan. I will work out a route and just do it and see how I feel. My biggest problem is pushing myself when running. I don't have the same problem on my bike, that is why I was wondering about pacing. If I start slacking on the bike, I see it in my mph and start working harder.

I will leave electronics out of it and just run.

I will leave electronics out of it and just run.

You shouldn't be a slave to your watch and HRM during the run, but it's nice to have the detailed data recorded for logging and post analysis.

I will probably just wear my cheap Polar HRM for me to watch the heart rate, but not worry about the speed. I talked to a friend the has been running for quite some time. Not for speed, but for fitness, and he said there are days that he struggles to finish his run anywhere close to what is normal and there are days he is way ahead. It all depends upon how he feels on that day. He will do some track running to check his speed once a month maybe at best. The nice thing about our track is the new blacktop coating that is supposed to be better for the joints.

I bought a musician's metronome that clips on my ear. Right now I'm running indoors on a treadmill, but when I go outside I'll have worked out what pace to set the metronome at to run my 11-minute or 10-minute miles (I'm slow :o). I plan to set it to beep every 5rd step so I don't weight my run on one leg more than the other, and also because that's how I try to breathe to prevent cramps in my side.
I also use it indoors on my bike trainer because I don't have a cadence computer and also it allows me to watch a movie without breaking pace.

-- Joolie

i have a lot of measured routes that i run, but otherwise i'll use something like g-mapspedometer. otherwise i just estimate that i'm running around 7:15 pace, if i'm a little off, i really don't care

I agree with itri45 the nike kit for the ipod. I measure the distance then calibrate the ipod. The only problem with this is that it always turns out that I am not as fast as I want to be.

chevy57

You don't need anything fancy. All you need to do is drive or cycle your route. At each km (or half a mile) make a mental note of an object that you will remember. Then work out what time you would like to be at when you run past each point. Having two or 3 different routes to run to do hills, time trials, flat and steady, will help your training and add variety.

A lot of the advice here tells someone how fast they covered a certain distance but I think the OP asked how to tell how fast you're currently running.

If you cover a mile in 8 minutes, it doesn't mean that you ran at an 8 minute pace the whole time. Many experienced runners can tell you that they went out and did 8 min/mi for the first 15 min and dialed it up to 7 min/mi for the rest of the time. Back in HS, we used to plan our runs before we left...like, "We'll do the Signal Hill run at 6:20's (I'm a lot slower now).

Of course, this takes a lot of running experience to be able to do this. That's why I recommended the Garmin Forerunner. If you want to see your current pace, you look at the display.

You shouldn't be a slave to your watch and HRM during the run, but it's nice to have the detailed data recorded for logging and post analysis.

I'm going to have to disagree with this.

I spoke recently with Bev Anderson-Abbs (she was recently named USATF "Ultrarunner of the Year" for 2007). She got a Garmin 305 last fall, and said it has absolutely revolutionized her training. With it, she can easily tell exactly how fast she is currently running, how far she's run, what her overall pace is, and keep track of mile or kilometer splits. It's at least as useful when racing as it is in training.

I bought my girlfriend (a runner for over 20 years) a Garmin 205 last December (same as the 305, minus the heart rate monitor), and see feels the same about it. It's become her "coach" and she never goes out for a run without it.

You can pick up a Garmin 205 for only $150 or so (check CostCo). If you're serious about your training, and want to take it to the next level, it's a very good investment.

Another vote for the FR 305. The BS factor goes away if you're prone to rounding in your favor (yeah, that was 3 miles!) Also, it cues interval/complex workouts for you if you set it up right. Beyond that, with the right software (sport tracks) it's neat to see the graphs of pace/HR/cadence vs time/distance.

With the bike kit and cadence sensor, not only can you see how fast you're clipping along (or crawling, in my case), but it will very easily turn into a bike computer that is everything short of a power meter.

~Rob

Thanks for the info. Do you have the 305 with cadence, heart rate, etc....??

How quickly can you take it from the bike to the run, or do you just wear the receiver while running? I was thinking it had to be clipped into something while on the bike?

I bought the FR305 (comes with the HR strap) over a year ago to run with, and when I came into a bike late last year, I added the bike kit and the cadence sensor.

The bike kit comes with a mount for your handlebars, and a velcro wristband to clip it into when running. Takes all of about 3 seconds to unclip from the bike and clip onto your wrist.

The cadence sensor is not really necessary, since if the GPS is working you will have speed on the bike from that. I like to have the cadence displayed though, especially since I'm still starting out and my legs don't have that 'feel' for what an appropriate cadence feels like.


~Rob

Suunto T3 and footpod here. I set upper and lower speed limits and let it nag me -- I'm a big heavy slow runner, and find it easy to lose mental focus otherwise and drift down to a jog.

Garmin Forerunner 305


+1 FTW

I also run alot so i can tell what my pace is just because i've done it so long...

I've done plenty of running and just go by feel unless I'm doing a tempo run where I need to know the pace I'm going. Once you get used to going by feel you can usually estimate your pace and be within 15 seconds of your actual pace. Plus this way you don't get stressed about running slowly when you feel bad or the conditions aren't conducive to running a decent pace.