Maybe you get wrapped up in the hype and accidentally come out too fast. Or maybe you finish the race and realize you could have gone much faster than expected. Even when you’ve done all your preparation for race day it can still go sideways because of your pacing.
The number one thing you must learn when training for a run is pacing. This rings especially true if you are chasing down a specific time to beat in a race.
Avoid This by Paying Attention to Your Breath
In order to avoid this happening pay attention to both your breathing gears and breath timing during training. Then use them to create a strategy for race day.
Breathing gears can be used with even more precision when running to determine your pace. Like swimming you can time your breaths with the cadence of your movement. Luckily, though, you can breathe anytime unlike being in the water. This means you are free to adjust the timing throughout your run.
The easiest way to adjust your pace and intensity is by timing your inhales and exhales with your steps. The faster you go the less steps you will be able to include with each breath. A good place to begin with is 3 steps while you inhale and then 3 steps during your exhale. Three in and three out. If you are an efficient runner you may be able to keep a 4/4 pace. As you go faster you may need to shift down to two in and two out.
The more you pay attention to your timing and breathing efficiency the easier it will be to understand your own pace and make adjustments.
