Embrace the negative split!
Did you know the men's world record in the marathon was recently broken with negative splits? If you are unfamiliar with the negative split method, that’s fine! This is a popular racing strategy embraced by runners of all calibers around the world. The idea is that you want to speed up as the race progresses, opposed to running too fast early and then dying off. The biggest mistake I see athletes make is that they burn their energy too early in the race. It happens to us all. Often nerves and race anxiety are to blame. Let me use the marathon for example. Most runners feel great for the first 10 miles so they naturally want to run quicker than they trained. However, feeling great should not be your excuse for why you are running 20-30 seconds faster than your goal pace. Many are hesitant to try to running negative splits because the thought of getting faster as the race goes on can be a daunting task especially for those runners who rely on banking time to race their race. With my athletes, I suggest negative splitting using pace ranges opposed to specific mile splits. For example, if you are running a half marathon, I will break up the race into miles 1-3, 3-6, 6-10, and 10-13. Each section will be faster than the previous one. The pace range in each section may vary from 5-10 seconds depending on the athlete. (See example below.) The theory behind embracing this strategy is that you will give your body the opportunity to run your best when it counts in the second half of the race. My belief when designing race strategies for my athletes is that it’s my job to get them out smart the first half of a race. It’s their job to put the work in and race the second half. There is no perfect race. However, practicing these types of strategies in training will help you become a better racer. Best of luck! Example Half Plan: 1-3 miles 6:50-7:00 pace3-6 miles 6:45-6:50 pace6-10 miles 6:25-6:40 pace10-13 miles Run as fast as you can! *Spewak Training coaches are accepting new clients. Please feel free to reach out to us contact@spewaktraining.com to learn more about our training services.*