Faster running times: Negative splitting
If you want to run a faster 5K or a marathon or just get better in the running leg of a triathlon you gotta learn to tune with your body and understand what is often called, perceived effort.
The majority of the runners out there start out a little faster than they can maintain over the course of the race and gradually slow down their pace or fade out. They may run a fast time this way but the question is: could it be faster with negative splitting? There has been lots of discussion on the subject over the years and there are lots of examples on elite athletes racing with different strategies. Excluding the exceptions (exceptions always exist to general rules) most records have been broken either by even splitting or negative splitting. The latter is what describes the time of the second half being faster than the time of the first half. And this is hard to accomplish.
Understanding how fast you should go during the first half so that you can save a tiny bit to run the second half faster takes time, experience and constant practice/workouts that are tailored towards that goal. You don't want to start off too fast neither too slow. You don't want to just sprint the last half a mile, you just want to run faster the second half than the first half and with a small differential between the halves. First you have to learn how to back off at the start and don't get swamped with the adrenaline rash of the race start. Then you have to learn how to back off at a pace that is a tiny slower than your fast pace. This is a great skill to develop. Once you master it you will be amazed how much faster you can run and how much more control over your body you will have! It is amazing to understand your gears that you can chose and control: gear 1, gear 2, gear 3, and maybe discover a last gear 4 you can drop occasionally at a race digging deep.
You can practice at a track but also at any loop around a park or around your neighborhood. Your intervals don't have to be exactly at a 400m track...you can do intervals at any closed loop: just check your time at each loop and monitor your perceived exertion or perceived effort. Learn how to start with speed 1 and finish with speed 4 for example. Get a running schedule online or talk with your coach on the details.
Happy running!
Understanding how fast you should go during the first half so that you can save a tiny bit to run the second half faster takes time, experience and constant practice/workouts that are tailored towards that goal. You don't want to start off too fast neither too slow. You don't want to just sprint the last half a mile, you just want to run faster the second half than the first half and with a small differential between the halves. First you have to learn how to back off at the start and don't get swamped with the adrenaline rash of the race start. Then you have to learn how to back off at a pace that is a tiny slower than your fast pace. This is a great skill to develop. Once you master it you will be amazed how much faster you can run and how much more control over your body you will have! It is amazing to understand your gears that you can chose and control: gear 1, gear 2, gear 3, and maybe discover a last gear 4 you can drop occasionally at a race digging deep.
You can practice at a track but also at any loop around a park or around your neighborhood. Your intervals don't have to be exactly at a 400m track...you can do intervals at any closed loop: just check your time at each loop and monitor your perceived exertion or perceived effort. Learn how to start with speed 1 and finish with speed 4 for example. Get a running schedule online or talk with your coach on the details.
Happy running!
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