(soft music)
- Welcome back to the Triathlon Training Explained show
powered by Training Peaks.
This week our focus is moving to run pacing.
Now there's so many different things that can affect
your running time and two of the major ones being
distance of your running race
and also what you've done before it.
But I'm delighted to say that for today's video
I've found a new runner, GCN presenter, James.
- Yeah, I'm super excited to get more into running
and while I haven't done running a lot so I've got a lot
to learn before my first triathlon.
Now, I have done a five kilometres but what that wasn't
after a swim and then a bike so I'm aware
I've got to time it a little bit differently.
And while the same goes endurance on all the runs.
- Yeah, exactly, you can't just expect to run
at your 5K pace if you're doing a marathon
and the saying goes in fact you're probably not going
to be able to do a 10K peak PB after a 1500 swim
and a 40K bike like you're in an Olympic distance triathlon.
- So I guess the real question we're asking is how do I time
and pace for my next event.
- Well, you know what, James?
You're in luck because in today's video we're going to be
looking at the different methods and calculations
in which to work out your running pace
for different distances for your next race.
(soft music)
- So unless you're very new to running,
you're probably gonna have the race or an event
that you can use to benchmark.
I haven't run in a while so...but I have done a 5K
so I'm gonna use my 5K I did a while ago
as my starting point.
- Yeah, and you honestly have to realise that your pace
and your fitness is gonna change throughout your career
but also throughout your season and there are ways
to measure your current pressure pace
but saving that video for another day.
So for today's seg, like you said,
we're going to use your 5K time.
And then we can work out predicted times.
I think a good example would be to look at your predicted
marathon because if you do want to do an ironman next year
that you've mentioned, you'll need to know that pace
and you'll also then need to know how that pace will change
when you add in quite a lot
of swimming and cycling before it.
- Yes, cause I guess if I do a 5K I can't just double
that for 10K and I can't do a 10K and double
that to do a 20K, you should know that won't really work.
- No, probably not.
Yeah, you're right, I think a calculation is needed
and there are various online calculators that will give
you options at the different distances that you run
and they work basically everything derived by a guy called
Pete Rigle who was a research engineer
but also a marathon runner and they've widely
been used for the last 20 years.
- Yes, so bear with us because, well, it's a long one.
Its T2 equals T1 times D2 divided D1 to the power of 1.06
where T1 is the given time, D1 is the given distance,
D2 is the distance to predict a time for,
and T2 is the calculated time for D2.
So I hope you've made it through that, well,
rather complicated formula but if you sail with us,
I've recorded my five kilometres and in theory
I could use that time to calculate any distances.
- Yeah, I think it's time we put it to the test
so they'll know you'd like to find out what your marathon
time could potentially be so James, this is a time of truth
you've got to tell us, what is your 5K time.
- Oh, wow, could we have a drum roll please!
- Okay, drumr oll!
- 23 minutes and 12 seconds.
- Okay, right, well, bear with me, I need to put this into
that book cause I can't do this calculation on my own.
So if T2 is 23 minutes and 12, then we times
that by 42.2K divided by 5K for the distances
to the power of 1.06 and once you've worked out the seconds
into the minutes and then into the hours,
James, your time predicted for the marathon
is three hours, 42 minutes, 32 seconds.
- Wow, that sounds pretty good.
- It does, that's quite respectable.
- I think I'll take that right now.
- Well, I mean that is a very complicating calculation
and you can just go and use an online tool
and we're actually going to have a look at all of our times.
We're going to input mine and yours and see if we can
work out what potentially you could run for 10K,
a half marathon, and a marathon.
And let's have a look.
So for an 18:42, that would give me a sub 39 minute 10K
and actually gives me a PB in a half marathon
and a sub three hour marathon.
And for James, he's got a 48 minute 10K in theory
and a 1:46 half marathon,
and a 3:42 marathon that we already mentioned.
Well, you know what, I'm personally quite happy
with those times because it predicts that I could do
a PB over a 10K, a half marathon,
and even get a sub three hour marathon
but I think at the moment that might be a bit of a dream.
- Yeah, but the real question is what's
a 48 minute 10K feel like?
- Well, I think we need to work out what pace you have
to run at and then you can go and find out for yourself
so let's put this into another calculator so if you have
a 48:22 like you said that we worked at for 10K,
that means you're going to hold four minutes,
50 per kilometre to be able to run that time.
So you've got a watch.
- Alright, I can do that.
- Go and find out. - So let's test.
Here we go.
(soft music)
- Oh, that was quick, James.
- Get my breath back.
- Are you okay?
- Yeah, to be honest, I didn't feel too bad at that pace.
- You sure?
- Yeah, but I only did 5K.
- Oh.
- I think I need a bit more training to move up to the 10K
to be quite honest.
- Well, I mean, fair enough, it is just a calculation
and a prediction and if say for example you train
specifically for 5K, then it's not gonna be as accurate
a prediction to give you your marathon pace
and some of us are more physiologically suited
to shorter distance or longer distances
and that's another factor to bear in mind
and I know as a cyclist you're quite strong and powerful
so maybe this calculator, your times more likely
to drop a little bit more for the longer distances.
- Drop off, well that seems a little disappointing.
Are there any other ways I can predict my race time?
- Well, I mean, there are, depends on what you use
to measure your running, there's obviously
various different apps.
For example, training peaks will use your recent
running data and give you a chart that shows
current running pace for the varying distances
and mine here show my pace drop off
from 800 metres up to 10K.
Polar, for example, uses running index
on their polar flow out and that takes into account
your current running efficiency to give you
a predicted time for the different distances.
And I seem to be hovering around the 61, 62 mark
which I can then compare on this other chart
and that gives me a predicted marathon time
of say three hours, 13 to three hours, 20
and it takes into account all of my training runs
as well as races.
But doesn't give me quite such preferable figures
as the calculator did.
But maybe its more realistic.
- So now you know how to predict your run time
but what happens if you put it into a triathlon
having swam and biked?
- Well, that's, you know, a good point.
Your running PB isn't really that significant,
its about how fast you can run at the end of a triathlon
and some athletes are more efficient and they will do that
back of an algorithm.
To be a good triathlete, you actually want your run times
to be as similar to your run PB as it is
to your triathlon PB and there's various theories
on how you can calculate this.
Some people say if you can be within five to 6%
of your running PB in a triathlon, then that's a really good
target to have and then for example, for a 5K
more a ballpark figure between one and two minutes
but that vary depending on what pace you're running at.
- So how much slower do you think you will be
in a triathlon compared to pure running?
- Well, I mean, it does vary from races I've done
as to how hard the bike, what the conditions are like,
and how my legs are feeling going into that.
But on the whole I've found that over a 5K or I'm sort of
about a minute slower, over a 10K it's sort of two-ish
minutes, and then a half marathon when I've done
the half marathons and a half ironman, my time tends
to be about five, four, five minutes difference.
But I've not ran a stand alone marathon
so I can't really compare that.
- So in theory, draught league athletes will see less
of a difference in their triathlon run at PB
than say non-draft league athletes.
- Yeah, and going back to talking about different courses
and how to predict your time, there's actually now an online
tool called the Pacing Project that helps you do this
and earlier I spoke to the guy who designed it.
- Hello, my name's Ryan Cooper.
I'm the creator of Best Bike Split
and now chief scientist at Train Me.
- Well this is very similar to the Best Bike Split
which allows you to work out your specific pace
for a certain course and then from that, you can work out
your exact pacing strategy for the run.
- So Basic Project is similar to Best Bike Split
in that it takes the course and breaks it into sections
but unlike Best Bike Split, where we give you a power target
Pacing Project gives you a pace target
for each section of the course.
- That sounds too good to be true.
In theory then, I could actually work out the exact pace
that I need to run even if its not on a path
that course or in perfect conditions.
- In Pacing Project, there's three ways to get an optimal
pacing strategy for your race.
You can input a goal time, you can input a graded base,
which is kind of your flatline pace over an ironman distance
or over a half ironman distance, or you can use
personal best from shorter distances to calculate what your
best would be or your pacing strategy
for a different distance.
- So I could put in the actual time that I want
to do at this race and then it would give me
a pacing strategy from that.
Or I could put in a pace I know I've run
at from a previous race and go from there.
- So the result of the model is that it gives you a specific
pace for every section of the course or per kilometre
and four mile and every course is different so we have
different courses in the system.
Ironman Wales will have ironman Kona up shortly,
so it gives you an idea of how these paces will change
per different courses and conditions.
- Well, that's actually really interesting and helpful.
I can't wait to actually put this into practise.
- Yeah, I mean, I find it motivating as well to have those
times and it can be really useful for your training,
especially if you've got hills in a course and you can
practise running at race pace, but do remember it is just
a guy and his calculator.
It can't take into consideration all the other factors.
- Yes, but I do find it really motivating to use that time
for the longer rides and it's also really useful
in constructed training plan and race strategy.
- Yeah, well, if you've enjoyed this and you wanna get
all of our videos from DTN then hit the globe to subscribe
and if you wanna see a video that Mark did for triathlon
training explained on Wick Workouts 101 that's just here.
- And if you wanna see a video on your bike timing,
click down here.