How to Determine Your Own Pace as a Runner
How do you accelerate?
I get asked about this topic frequently by runners who want to go faster, but there's no simple solution. "Fast" is relative, to start. I reply by asking, "What do you define as fast?"
This causes a change in how speed is perceived, emphasizing the individual over a set pace. Despite the apparent simplicity of this, it took me years and innumerable approaches to discover my own unique definition. However, I now have a quick and easy approach for you to identify and complete your fast: FAST is a technique I developed and employ on a daily basis.
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This summer, Focus, Assess, Strengthen, and Train are the four easy stages that can help you fulfill your need for speed and realize your full potential. This is how.
Step Back
Focus on a quantifiable objective. Over time, this will change, and it will keep evolving and changing along with you. In high school, the 200- and 400-meter distances were the focal points of my "fast" runs. My primary concentration now is on the marathon; perhaps in the future, I'll work on getting better at the 5K. Achieving a significant amount of speed starts with having a clear, measurable objective, such as distance, pace, negative splits, or hill work.
* Evaluate
Analyze your current running situation and the steps necessary to accomplish your objective. Examine your training, consistency, and effort level honestly, and then list the areas where you can improve. Consider every aspect of your running, such as recuperation, rest, weekly mileage, diet, and even your easy run pace and effort, when you complete this exercise. I find that a lot of runners have a lot of room for development when it comes to maintaining consistency and discipline throughout easy weekly mileage.
It seems so easy, doesn't it? Move with ease. However, for some people, it may rank among the most difficult assignments. Easy is not a pace; it's an effort. Run at a faster pace than your club or top athletes. Far too frequently, runners simply run easy runs too quickly because they believe doing so will make them faster, but this is untrue. Respecting the goal of every run or workout is essential if you want to increase your speed and performance. During easy running, many of the physiological changes that make you quick and efficient take place. Hence, be truthful in your evaluation to identify an appropriate plan that supports your objective.
→ Reinforce
You have to get stronger in order to get faster. It takes power, both mental and physical, to reach new heights. Physically, I never lifted large weights until a few years ago because I thought they were intimidating. However, I soon came to the conclusion that lifting big weights is nothing to be terrified of. Strength training forces your body to adapt to stress by applying load and resistance, which improves your running power, endurance, speed, and efficiency.
My strength training improved, and I soon achieved new PRs and faster times. It also helped me strengthen my mental toughness, which helps me get through challenging long runs and intense workouts alike. Additionally, it helps me maintain my discipline so that even on days when I don't feel like it, I stick to my training schedule. Strength training will help you become more resilient, powerful, and explosive on both a mental and physical level.
← Train
Take the guesswork out of your preparation. Getting faster or stronger isn’t something that happens overnight or randomly, so it’s crucial that you commit to your training and follow a strategy. Trust the process and remain consistent. As you train, keep your mental toughness sharp, and allow that to fuel your running effort. Trust the training, whether it's a recuperation day, an easy run, or speedwork.
I know this technique will help you in your quest for speed because it helped me cut more than 20 minutes off my marathon time. Never forget that YOU define FAST. It's possible that your fast will look different from mine, but isn't that one of the wonderful things about running? We outline the path forward. It's time to focus on a fresh objective that will test you. Write it down, and let’s go after it together!
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Strength for Speed: Full-Body Strength
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Movold has been a running veteran for over ten years. She is a certified strength and running coach for members of Runner's World+ and the Mile High Run Club in New York City. When she's not inspiring her students with strenuous treadmill exercises, you can probably find her preparing for her next marathon or zigzagging around the boroughs on bridges in Brooklyn and Manhattan. She is eager to help you reach your next running objective while she pursues her own, which is to finish a marathon in under three hours.