10k Pacing Strategies

During the pandemic, races are few and far between. And the likelihood of me racing in one is just as slim. That being said, races, or time trials, provide a checkpoint for where you are at in your training. They are on opportunity to adjust your training paces. And it has been a while since I partook in one. Queue my 10k Time Trial that I ran yesterday. For my 10k, I employed a specific race pacing plan. 10k’s can be tricky to pace, so I wanted to share that plan with everyone as well as some other options as well.

Just Want To Finish Plan

I know a 10k can feel daunting. This really comes down to mind over matter. It’s okay if you jog. It’s okay if you walk. The important thing here is just to keep moving. Put one foot in front of the next. Sip water and gatorade at the water stops. Just don’t run too hard to begin the race. It’s better to start conservatively.

Negative Split Plan

Some of you may have never heard of the term negative split. Well, all it means is your second half of the race is faster than the first half. If you have a target race time in mind, run the first half of the race at a 5-10 second pace slower than your goal pace. Then on the second half, run at a 5-10 second pace faster than your average. For the last .2 miles, run all out.

Last Mile Hard

Some people emplore this method where miles 1-5 are consistently the same pace, with the last 1.2 miles being hard.

Progressively Faster

This is my favorite strategy and the one I used yesterday.

• Miles 0-2 - run 5-10 seconds slower than your goal pace
• Miles 2-5 - run at your goal pace
• Miles 5-6 - run hard with a perceived effort of 9 out of 10
• the last .2 - run as hard as you can

Other Things To Think About

• If it is hot outside, make sure you take some water along the way
• Be careful with going up hills. Shorten your stride and slow your pace slightly
• Turnover, keep a high turnover in your stride