Pace Question

Do you want no technology at all, or just not GPS?  If you can live with some tech I'd say use a foot pod type unit.

If you want no tech at all, maybe run on a marked trail (mine has markers every 1/2 mile).  Alternatively you can run a whole lot and then you will start to learn your "general" pace.  I'm pretty good at judging pace, most times I'm within 10-15 seconds on my per mile pacing.

After a while...it doesn't even need to be mile markers.  For a specific 2.8 mile loop I run...I know what time I should be at for specific points in order to run a certain pace.  I need to pass a statue at around 11 minutes, left turn at 18 minutes, and come out of a parking lot at 21 minutes if I want to do the whole loop in 25 minutes.  If I want to run faster or slower...I slightly adjust my expected splits for those landmarks.  To this day...I still haven't bothered to figure out how far each landmark is.

If I am running without my GPS, and attempting a pace based run (i.e a tempo) I go by RPE. 

If you're experienced enough to know what a 5k or 10k pace feels like, then this should work.

If you're not experienced enough to know that, I would look for a plan with a different method.  How would you even know the training paces are right for you?

I actually don't understand how mapping a route/trying to hit certain landmarks would tell me my pace while I am running.  I would always be early or late and then what's the point?  If I am missing something obvious, let me know, but you'll have to spell it out.   This is how I would follow a plan that used distance.

Take the distance between landmarks, and divide by the time it took you to get there.  That gives you pace.    You don't need to calculate it exactly if you don't want to...it's just training.

If you're always early or late...then you would likely be always too fast or too slow according to your GPS watch too.  As you mentioned, pacing is something that is learned...and a GPS watch or using landmarks is something to help us guage that internal pace and fine tune it, thus "learning" these paces better internally.  If you find no value in knowing you hit a landmark to early or late...or that your GPS watch says you're running 10 seconds per mile too fast/slow...then you're right...there is no point in using landmarks or a GPS watch.  Some people do use that information, and adjust accordingly.  To each their own.

I understand how I get pace from that data.  I am probably looking too deeply into the question, but was trying to understand how I would use that information to tell me what pace I am running while I ran it.  If all we want to know is that we ran a certain pace, then I understand.

I was thinking about workouts such as 6 x 400 5-K pace.  I use the landmarks to know where the 400s are, and I use time to determine if I did the right pace, but how does one determine that they are running the 5-k pace during the interval without a GPS?  (My answer is they do it by feel).  I thought that was the original question.

+1

Also +1 to whoever said landmarks don't have to be exactly a mile as long as you know the time you need to arrive. You'll probably find you only need to hit the first couple before you can do the rest of the run via RPE.

I still do it this way when I need to train and I don't have my stuff with me. You can also write landmark/time on your arm in something you won't sweat off. This helps if the run is too long to remember all the splits.

If the cost of a GPS is an issue, then you may be able to use your phone to track it. MapMyRun has apps for iPhones and Androids. There are probably others too.

John

tri808 - 2012-03-06 3:03 PM I know you knew how to calculate pace...LOL...but you're right, pace for shorter distances will be harder to do...and probably worth investing in a GPS watch if you're that serious about making sure you hit each interval spot on.  But you could still do it without...you would just need a lot of landmarks. 

It's not perfect and occasionally has been fussy, but I installed the "Runkeeper" app on my Android and carry it in my pocket on training runs. It gives me pace/time/distance feedback without the same investment as a GPS watch. I typically run the same routes so after time I know where the mile points are anyway and the my sense of pace evolves.

Av8rTx - 2012-03-06 3:10 PM

tri808 - 2012-03-06 3:03 PM I know you knew how to calculate pace...LOL...but you're right, pace for shorter distances will be harder to do...and probably worth investing in a GPS watch if you're that serious about making sure you hit each interval spot on.  But you could still do it without...you would just need a lot of landmarks. 

It's not perfect and occasionally has been fussy, but I installed the "Runkeeper" app on my Android and carry it in my pocket on training runs. It gives me pace/time/distance feedback without the same investment as a GPS watch. I typically run the same routes so after time I know where the mile points are anyway and the my sense of pace evolves.

Or if your like me and don't own a GPS, or a phone, or a watch, or a HRM, or an i-pod, or well any of that stuff, then it becomes much easier.  When the plan says you should run a fast pace, then run fast, when the plan says to run a slow pace, then run slow.  The rest is just details, and I don't need to be bothered with the details!