Practice proper pacing...period!

“Proper pacing prevents poor performance.”

That’s the mantra of Fleet Feet Chico’s Coach Susan Zepernick, as it relates to pacing—pacing during a long easy run, pacing during a speed workout, pacing during a race. If you’re putting forth effort in any type of workout, proper pacing is absolutely crucial.

When you join a Fleet Feet training program, one of the many benefits is that we educate you on the reason for and benefits of running at different paces and work with you to meet your goals and improve your racing capabilities. Your coach has evaluated you, discussed goals and prescribed a pace he or she feels is appropriate for you—and it wasn’t just to hear the words come out of his or her mouth.

Within the training plan, and during each group workout, we have you run a pace to help you achieve specific objectives. Stay on that path, and you’re upping the chances of success. Stray from that too much, and you’re risking inconsistency, frustration and injury—none of which are good, by the way.

Believe me, I know what it’s like to feel good on a long run. You’re cruising along, halfway through long run, and you feel like you could pick up the pace a little—just a few seconds per mile, what could that hurt? And sure, maybe it’s time to turn the dials and tweak your training workouts and pace a little. But if you increase the pace of your longer runs, you’ll have to do the same for your speedwork, for consistency sake. And if you’re not ready to do that, you’re not ready to increase the pace of the long runs.

So, when it comes to pacing during a workout: be patient, be consistent and be mindful of how fast you’re running. Align yourself with a group of runners that runs at the same pace. Find a running partner you can count on. And practice proper pacing now, and it’ll pay off big time when you toe the line on race day.