Ace your Race at the right Pace!

The month of November is here, and so is Airtel Delhi Half Marathon (ADHM). On the 29^th of this month, runners of different ages, professions and nationalities will get on to the roads of Delhi to experience the eighth edition of this vibrant high energy running event. Different runners would have their own reasons to participate in the event. There would be some who would be there to experience the joy of running, some others would be there to experience the euphoria and intensity associated with this mega-event, there would be still others who would be there to achieve their personal timing targets. In case you happen to belong to that last category of runners (with aspirations to achieve your timing target), this article is probably going to be helpful for you.

Over the past few weeks, several running friends have approached me to discuss the best way to pace a Half-Marathon. Incidentally, many of them aspire to achieve a timing target of sub-2 hours at ADHM. Well, the reality is that Half-Marathon is a long distance and a lot can go right or wrong depending on how one paces the run. Additionally, there is no unique way in which two different runners can approach a race, even if they are gunning for the same target! In this article, I intend to illustrate a simple approach in which one can break the 21.1 Km (seemingly long and unmanageable stretch) into somewhat simpler and more easily manageable segments. For the purpose of illustration, I am taking the example of a timing target of 2-hr finish for the half-marathon.

Step 1: Assess the overall objective

If you are planning to achieve a timing of 2 hours for a half marathon, you need to achieve an average pace of 5:41 (mins:seconds) per Kilometer.

Average pace for 2 hr finish = 120 mins / 21.1 km = 5:41

The first question to be answered even before we get down to crafting a pacing plan is to ascertain if this is the right timing target. This is more of a subjective introspection than anything else. For instance, if you have recently clocked sub 2 hrs 10 mins then probably with a little bit of stretch there is merit in targeting 2 hours at ADHM. However, if your latest timing has been upward of 2 hrs 15 mins then probably 2 hrs target for ADHM is too aggressive.

Step 2: Understand the constraints and race-day conditions

This is probably the most critical step to appropriately plan a run and primarily involves two aspects – (i) understanding the race day conditions, and (ii) Understanding the current level of body conditioning (and pragmatic expectations of one’s own abilities). These are explained below:
  

Understanding race day conditions

There are several aspects that one needs to look at to understand the race day conditions. For instance, some of these could be (non-exhaustive list below):

• Negotiating crowd: If you are targeting a sub-2 finish, chances are that you have been lined up in sections B, C or D in the race start sections. This means you would have to negotiate crowd in the initial few kilometers, which means you will essentially run at a pace slower than the average target pace (which is actually not a bad thing as it allows the body to warm-up and is a desirable thing to do – crowd or no crowd).
• Race timing: Most of our local running events are designed to start the race at around 5:30 – 6:00 am. However, the Half-Marathon run at ADHM has a staggered start with section A starting at around 7:10 am, and then other sections starting with a time offset of around 5 mins. Hence, you will likely be running till around 9:15 to 9:45 am, and by that time sun would have assumed full effect. If you are one of those who does not necessarily enjoy running in the sun (like me), this may have an implication on your running pace in the last 4 to 5 kilometers.
• There may be other race day considerations such as elevation, humidity level, availability of hydration points etc., which may need to be factored into your running plan (some of these may not be big considerations for ADHM, as the course is fairly flat and the weather conditions are the best that one can expect for a running event; however, these would be big considerations for an event like Airtel Hyderabad Marathon).

Understanding current level of body conditioning
This is critical so that one can appropriately plan a pace for different segments of the race. Again, for the purpose of illustration, some of these considerations could be:

• Split timing: Unless, one is an elite runner, chances are that we are not gunning for negative splits (second half faster than the first half). During my training runs, I have found that I tend to take approximately the same time for the first 11 km, as I take for the remaining 10.1 km, i.e. in terms of timing, my time at 11 km mark tends to be the mid-point of the race. This could be an important input into my racing plan.
• Pace towards the end: Similarly, during the training runs one may observe that in the last 4 -5 km, average pace is around 20 – 25 seconds slower than the average target pace for the race. This is a common observation as by that time fatigue has already set-in and it adversely impacts the pace.

The above are some of the considerations that one may factor-in to develop a pacing plan. Please note that these are not exhaustive considerations, but just trying to illustrate what kind of aspects one can think through. Once we develop a thorough understanding of these constraints and considerations (and that really is the purpose of training runs), the next step is to put it all together in the form of actual race day pace plan. This is important as each consideration really has an implication in terms of how best to pace the race. For example, following figure highlights how each of the above considerations can be translated into a pacing implication:

No.	Constraint	What does it mean?	Pacing implication
1.	Timing at 11 km mark approx. represents the half-way mark (in terms of timing)	For a 2-hr target, need to cover first 11 km in 60 mins and next 10.1 km also in 60 mins	Average pace for: first 11 km is: 5:27 next 10.1 km is: 5:56
2.	Negotiating crowd in the first few kilometers will mean slower than average target pace	Average target pace for first 11 km is 5:27 (see point 1 above), but average pace for first 3 km would be around 20 - 25 seconds slower (let’s say 5:50)	Simple math will show that avg. pace:   for first 3 km is 5:50 for km 4 to 11 is 5:19 (this will allow one to achieve overall average pace of 5:27 for first 11 km)
3.	Fatigue and sun in the last few kms will slow me down	Average target pace for last 10.1 km is 5:56 (see point 1 above), but average pace for last 4.1 km would be around 10 – 20 seconds slower (let’s say, 6:10)	Simple math will show that avg. pace: for last 4.1 km is 6:10 for km 2 to 17 is 5:47 (this will allow one to achieve overall average pace of 5:56 for last 10.1 km)

Step 3: Put the plan together

As illustrated in the steps above, based on an understanding of race day conditions and our current body conditioning, we have segmented the overall 21.1 km into 4 segments as shown below:

Step 4: Follow the plan

Once you have done the due-diligence of identifying what formula works for you, the next important (and probably the hardest) step is to stick to the plan on the race day. For instance, the plan in the case we analyzed above is shown below: 

There invariably would be an urge to go faster than the planned pace in the initial few kilometers. However, it is important to keep following points on the radar:

• Do not try to beat your plan; after all, it is your own plan! If at all you had the ability to do better than the plan, it should have been factored into the plan in the first place.
• Having said that, it is important to listen to your body signals – if you constantly get a message that you can go faster than the plan (may be because of race day Adrenalin), conserve that energy for the last segment. Do not be lured by the desire to go faster in the initial few segments and risking your performance in the closing stages of the race. Remember you are more likely to realize your best timing potential by finishing strong (and not by starting strong).

I would just reiterate that each individual has to identify his / her own pacing plan for the race day (based on an understanding of self as well as the race conditions). The better one understands the real conditions and factors them into the pacing plan, the higher is the likelihood of beating the target on the race day.

All the best for ADHM 2015 and looking forward to meet you on the race day!

Sundeep Singh 

+91 - 98181 19794

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About the Author: By background, Sundeep Singh is a Mechanical Engineer from IIT Delhi and holds an MBA from IIM Kozhikode. Given his flair for mechanics and passion for running, he loves to deeply analyze the  finer nuances of running techniques / strategies. Sundeep ran his first half-Marathon on 12th Oct. 2014 and within less than a year of running, he achieved a personal best HM timing of 97 minutes. 

About Boot-Camp Yellow: Founded by coach Jatin Arora (in 2013), Boot-Camp Yellow is an outdoor workout experience that redefines fitness through structured training and sustainable nutrition. Our outdoor training offers broad programs that are suitable for any level of fitness. Our program is based on Cross-Fit methodology. For more details, please visit: http://www.bootcampyellow.com/. To book a trial class, call / whatsapp: +91-99104 09992

AHM 2015 - All it takes is ALL you got.

First things first – In the August edition I had shared a humbling experience at day-breaker half marathon (19^th July) where I registered my personal worst time. Here is an excerpt from the concluding section of that blog: “…Next month I am travelling to Hyderabad to participate in Airtel Hyderabad Marathon (AHM). I have heard a lot of nasty stories about the hilly terrain and weather conditions at AHM. Personally, I would have wanted to achieve anything but my PW in the last event before going into AHM next month. However, that was not to be and the only next step from here is to prepare stronger and harder…”. This edition of my ‘Running Reflections’ describes the journey from the time I wrote the above quote to the experience of running in AHM 2015.

Given that this year’s AHM was going to be my first experience of running in the testing conditions of Hyderabad, the first step for me was to understand the conditions better and customize the preparations accordingly. To achieve this, I started reaching out to all my fellow runners at Boot-Camp Yellow (BCY) who had earlier participated in AHM. Based on the inputs I gathered, it emerged that to do well at AHM I needed to overcome three challenges:

• Hills
• Heat
• Humidity

Typically, strategy consultants love to compress complicated ideas and thoughts into (apparently) neat looking frameworks. Some of you may have heard about concepts like 4P (product, price, place and promotion) framework, 7S framework etc. So, all I had to do as a strategy consultant (and of course as a runner!) was to overcome Hyderabad’s 3H obstacles. And, that’s where the preparation started.

Hills Challenge

I knew that for me to plan my run I needed to understand the terrain better. I needed to know the exact terrain (including steepness, points of uphill, downhill, plain stretch, lengths of different segments and what not). A little bit of online research and I seemed to have found a jack-pot – I came across a video of AHM’s half-marathon route with exact elevation listed at different points on the route. I used that information to build a granular profile of the 21.1km stretch with exact elevations at every 500 meters interval (shown below).

The next step was to understand what would be the ‘limiting factor’ that would determine my eventual timing at AHM - lung capacity, leg strength, cramps, hydration, body weight, pacing strategy? I realized it would be a bit of everything, but given the hilly terrain I realized that two things were more critical than others:

1. Legs would get sore sooner than usual (compared to a plain terrain).
2. Given the never-ending hills, I realized it would be important to pace the run intelligently. I didn’t want to commit the mistake of running too fast in the initial uphill segment and running out of ammunition midway.

To address the first challenge, I decided to focus deeply on building leg strength. Thanks to BCY coach Jatin in helping me identify different variants of squats and lunges which helped me build reasonable leg strength to combat the hills. In fact, 60 - 70 percent of my work-outs prior to the two months leading to AHM event (before I started tapering down) focused on legs.

To address the second challenge, I decided to pace my run based on the elevation profile. The idea was simple – given the rolling hills, there was no point trying to maintain the same pace through-out. It was more prudent to maintain the same effort through the run. This essentially meant  that I needed to run faster on down-hills and plain sections and run slower (or perhaps jog) on the up-hills. With a little bit of thought and consideration, I developed a pacing strategy for myself that would help me achieve my target timing of 1:50 for this rolling hill terrain.

Heat and Humidity challenge

To address this challenge, I started with a bit of research to understand the historic weather conditions in Hyderabad during August end mornings. It emerged that this is the period of high heat and humidity in Hyderabad. Specifically, I found that temperature could possibly be as high as 32 degree Celsius (i.e. around 90 degree Fahrenheit) and humidity could be as high as 90 percent. This is very close to what AHM runners witnessed last year (thankfully, it was very pleasant this year).

Having understood this, I was keen to understand how exactly these conditions impact running performance. A little bit of research and I seemed to have found just the kind of information I was looking for. See figure below – it provides a great view of what heat and humidity can do to running performance. Based on historic Hyderabad weather, the conditions were likely to be somewhere in the Danger zone.

Source: http://frayedlacesracing.com/how-heat-and-humidity-affect-running-performance/

I was concerned to see this and then the next question was to identify the actions to address these harsh conditions. Following are the two deviations I made from my regular running habits, specifically to combat the conditions at AHM:

1. I realized that sweating was going to be a serious challenge. To combat that I decided to cut short my running attire and minimize the skin contact with clothing.
2. I usually rely on hydration available on the route. However, for AHM I decided to carry two small bottles. I had heard that ‘thirst’ is the final warning call that the body is getting dehydrated. I wanted to ensure that I don’t reach that stage and planned to keep sipping through-out the run (especially, on the hilly parts where I planned to jog and it was easier to sip due to relatively slow motion). 

Event Day (30th Aug)

So, with this basic preparation spanning across 6 weeks came the big day (30^th August) and I was certainly anxious on the day of the run. In fact, I was so anxious that I couldn’t sleep after 1:30 am on the night before the run. After a little bit of futile effort to sleep, I decided to give up and get to the starting point. For the 6:00 am start, I was at the start line a little before 4:00 am. There was hardly anyone in the ground when I reached the venue.

A little later, my fellow runners from BCY arrived at the race venue. Their arrival did help to settle the nerves a bit. At around 5:45 am, all runners assembled in the holding area behind the start line. That’s the time when my coach Jatin walked up to me. I was certain that Jatin would share some running tip (just the way he did before the day-breaker half marathon about a month ago). However, on this occasion he did not share any coaching tip.

This is what he said – “…I know you have been working hard for this race. I don’t want to share anything specific. Just do what you have planned and things would be fine…”.

The tip may sound a little generic, but I guess that’s exactly what I wanted to hear before the start and it did help me a lot.

Shortly, thereafter the run started. Like always there was a temptation to run faster in the initial few kilometers. I guess no matter how much mental planning one does, this initial temptation does creep in. It has something to do with the ambience, adrenalin rush, loud music, and a sudden release of pent-up energy (which is desperate to be released after an hour long wait). However, on this occasion, I kept telling myself the only chance of getting close to 1:50 on this hilly terrain is to conserve energy and finish strong. So, I kept conserving energy and running as per the pacing plan I had made for myself. The other thing that I kept telling myself was to take the game into the last 4 kilometers (hopefully into a situation where I needed to strike a pace of about 5 mins per kilometer for the final 4 kilometers to get to overall 1 hour 50 minutes time).

By the time I reached the finish line, I had surprised myself by finishing good 8 minutes faster than the timing I was targeting (finished it off in 1:42). All in all, it was a very satisfying day and a very well organized event. Kudos to all the organizers for such nicely organized event - I look forward to come back to AHM next year. 

Sundeep Singh: +91 - 98181 19794

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About the Author: By background, Sundeep Singh is a Mechanical Engineer from IIT Delhi. Given his flair for mechanics and passion for running, he loves to deeply analyze the  finer nuances of running techniques / strategies. Sundeep ran his first half-Marathon on 12th Oct. 2014 and within less than a year of running, he has achieved a personal best HM timing of 97 minutes.