Being new to the world of distance and trail running, I do a TON of research. Among my daily reads while training for a recent 10k trail race in the East Bay Area, I found a few great tips that led me to crush my goal time by 10 minutes.
Do Your Research
Before you get to race day, get out on the course and do a test run if you can. You'll want to understand the breakdown of each mile, where you need to conserve and where you need to push. I was able to run the course of a recent 10k trail run and got a great understanding of what hills I could run and where I needed to walk depending on what was coming next. One hill seemed small but took a turn and kept climbing, most people drained their energy on the first portion and had to break during the second. I was able to walk the entire hill and passed all of these runners.
Run Your 1st Mile Slow
Don't go all out from the start. You've got 6.2 miles ahead, and you don't want to burn all your energy on mile 1. Get a feel for the pace around you, how your body is feeling, and loosen out any kinks or tightness. Don't worry about losing pace with others, we've got a plan to catch up with them later.
Don't Be Afraid to Walk
This tip is pretty specific to trail running, or a road race with a lot of hills. Being from San Francisco, I can name a few of those! During a trail race, you're going to come across a lot of hills. And most people think they need to run up those hills, the entire race in fact. But what if I said you could walk the uphills and still beat the others by minutes? Well, I've tried it, and it works! When facing a hill, don't try to run it as quick as possible. Walk briskly if you need to to conserve that energy. You'll be surprised at how much energy you save and that you'll only be about 10 seconds behind those who ran it. Once you reach the top, take off again. You'll be amazed at how quickly you'll catch up and surpass those who lost all their energy on the uphill. I even ran a race where I walked up to and passed a woman who was running on the uphill. Just walk at that point!
Crush the Downhills
Downhill is where everyone rests. It's where they recover after the tough uphill they just faced. But since you and I walked the uphill, are only about 10 seconds behind them, and are full of energy, we're going to crush the downhill, and they won't even know what's coming! Once you reach the top, take off. Gravity will take you down the hill, and it will take you fast! So be sure to watch your form, look ahead, pick your line and lean forwards from your waist. There's a feeling of being almost out of control, but you know exactly what you're doing. And you're picking up time fast!
Finish Strong
Your last mile should be your fastest. You took the first mile slow, walked up the hills, let gravity get you down the hills and now you're ready to push the home stretch. Most of your fellow racers will be taking this mile the slowest, which is great for you! Start picking out runners ahead of you and focus on catching up to them. Don't let them out of your sight! Realize that you're almost done and push. You'll start picking off runners in front of you one by one. See how many you can pass before you reach the finish line.
You did it! You crushed your 10k! Bet you can't wait to run the next one!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Kim_Suarez/2219606
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