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PhysicallyFIT
The Best
Time Spent
How Coaches and Athletes Can Most
Benefit from an Hour at the Track
By: Todd Parker, M.A., M.S.
Many athletes and coaches head to the track for speed
work; however, for triathletes and distance runners, there
is a more important workout known as a pacing session.
The moment the runner and I step on the track, I assess
biomechanics and form. Pacing for distance runs and
triathlons is one of the most critical components of successful
racing, and yet most never spend a concerted
effort “dialing it in.”
Todd
Parker
Why is that Unfortunately, most athletes are glued to their Heart Rate
Monitor (HRM) devices and use this feedback as the primary means to
pacing their runs. However it is just as critical to “learn the body
through the mind,” and use your personal biofeedback techniques to stay
within an intensity level appropriate to the race distance, course, and conditions.
By raising awareness of and learning your Perceived Exertion
(PE), as well as your onset and sweat rates for various conditions and
hydration, levels and how they alter within the eight training zones (but
especially Sub-Lactate Threshold through VO2max), the athlete can dialin
the optimal sustainable pacing.
You must remember, however, that when relying on HR as a performance
indicator, many things affect that HR. In most cases, HR is elevated by
inadequate recovery, hydration, or glycogen storage levels, as well as
overall physical, psychological, and emotional stress load, ambient temperature,
humidity, wind, altitude, terrain, and caffeine.
When I am with an athlete at the track, I prefer that they not focus on
their HR, and only refer to it at specific times. By having them focus on
PE, they can learn to gauge pacing more reliably. This is an important
skill to learn across the spectrum of conditions and intensities. Once
learned, it makes sustainable pacing performance much easier to identify
– whether you use a HRM or not. The pacing session I often do with my
athletes at the track for the first time is as follows:
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