How is racing 10k supposed to feel

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auburnette Sep 2018 11:09am, 17 Sep 2018 1,583 posts	0 auburnette The hilly one was pretty bad - 55.11 and got overtaken by 2 ladies in final 2k so missed out on 3rd by about 20 seconds (it's a small race). Looking at my heart rate data I should really have tried harder as wasn't really going as hard as it seemed! Ran one yesterday that was much flatter and did 47.30 - not the 46.xx I was looking for but I've had two weeks of less than ideal prep due to an ankle niggle and then a cold. I need to sort my pacing out though -ran the first mile in 6.41 so no wonder it went a bit pear shaped towards the end! Next time I race a flat one I'll be looking to control my speed a bit more in the first few miles but otherwise I think I'm figuring out how it's supposed to feel (hard! horrible! )
Lizzie W Sep 2018 11:15am, 17 Sep 2018 18,289 posts	0 Lizzie W
HermanBloom Sep 2018 11:27am, 17 Sep 2018 5,232 posts	0 HermanBloom Glad the second one went well, that is a good time! When I was properly training I also found 10k's hard to judge. I always found the first 5km fine but 5-8k I was constantly struggling so was then wondering if i should back off/push through/just maintain. Then by the end of the race I would look back and I would have run the first 9k's at almost identical times! Going to watch this thread to see what theories develop in addition to the ones already mentioned, as hope to get in better 10k shape over the winter hears his toddler snigger at the thought
Dooogs Sep 2018 11:29am, 17 Sep 2018 4,929 posts	0 Dooogs Well done, auburn - my subjective experience is that you have to treat hilly and flat 10ks very differently: * Flattish ones - you can get away with treating a bit like a double-5k, except, as larkim says, with target pace a bit slower all the way through- and then chuck the kitchen sink at it for the last half-k or so. * Hilly ones - I've tried two approaches - 1) attempting to run all the uphills and 2) power-walking the worst bits of the uphills (as if it were a fell race). I' m convinced the latter approach makes for a quicker overall time on steep courses. My last 10k was super-hilly and I got overtaken by 6 runners at 8k - dragging themselves up the hill 'running' at only just faster than walking pace. I overtook all six in the final k - they'd knackered their legs trying to run up a 12% slope.
auburnette Sep 2018 11:33am, 17 Sep 2018 1,584 posts	0 auburnette Yeah at 5k i felt okay but experienced the slump from about 6k onward. Looking at my splits the rot set in almost straight away although there is a slight hill to confuse things: 1: 6.41 (downhill) 2: 7.27 (minor uphill) 3. 7.43 (flattish) 4: 7.33 (downhill - should have been faster than this) 5: 7.57 (minor uphill - holding okay here) 6: 8.14 (er...) .2: 7:36 Was really hard to gauge how fast I should let myself run though as didn't know how much adverse impact 2 weeks of not very much running would have had.
auburnette Sep 2018 11:35am, 17 Sep 2018 1,585 posts	0 auburnette That's interesting Dooogs. Anecdotally I heard that much faster runners than me power walked some of the hills in the first 10k. The inclines are often more than 12%, a lot of them are 25%+! I will try this approach next year (actually the course is in our local woods so I could do some experimenting beforehand )
Wriggling Snake Sep 2018 11:42am, 17 Sep 2018 19,430 posts	0 Wriggling Snake Those splits look at touch fast early on, even the downhill bit. I think it is something people take a few races to get a hang of (some people NEVER learn!), that with a 10k you have to hold back a little all the way. You learn through running races, now that you have a time, you can, as you say experiment with the paces. Walking up steep hills is certainly an option. I found that out myself over Hill Half Marathons rather than 10ks. If you pace your uphill effort correctly, you can run them, practicing hill running is the way to go.
auburnette Sep 2018 11:55am, 17 Sep 2018 1,586 posts	0 auburnette Yes I agree both mile 1 and 2 were too fast, I think I thought I was running a 5k
The_Saint Sep 2018 12:27pm, 17 Sep 2018 6,321 posts	0 The_Saint Start at an optimistic pace then fizzle out
larkim Sep 2018 12:42pm, 17 Sep 2018 5,589 posts	0 larkim Ran my annual 10k yesterday, reminding me of why I hate them so much! Unusually for me though I didn't have my garmin on me so had to trust km markers and an old fashioned digital watch to try to pace things, and as a result went out a bit harder than planned - 3m40s for first km, so 20s under 40 min pace when target was for about 39:45 overall, then gradually corrected that pace to get to half way in about 19:30, and ran the second half in just a shade over 20m. Got exactly the same sensation as last year at about 8.5km when it really, really feels very hard and I feel like want to throw up (the only event I ever get close to throwing up in is a 10k), and just about hung on to the end. I suspect the intensity of that effort does depend a little on how long you expect to be running for - if you're expecting to run a 10k in an hour then you wouldn't want to get to 8km and feel like that with 12 minutes of running left (it was bad enough with 6 minutes of running left). Everyone has their own level and I suspect the description of effort levels needs to vary between those running at low 30 mins vs those at low 60 mins as they are fundamentally two different races.