Negative Splitting a 10K (Like my Training Runs)

Saturday I'm signed up to do the first USATF MN circuit race of the year: the Get in Gear 10K. And I think I'll approach the race a bit differently than past races.

You've OFTEN heard me saying that I start off hard in races where I want to do well, and that's mainly because of something I unofficially learned between my first two 10 mile races. My first 10 mile race was 1:02:43 and I noted that I started easy. My second 10 mile race was 1:02:19 (on a slightly easier course) and I went out harder because I wanted to try to be faster. I suffered a LOT more to earn back those 24 seconds, which could have all been based on the easier course. I believed that going out hard was my "PR" mentality when I wanted to race super fast. I've only recently begun to think that going out faster actually HURTS me.

Even look at last year's TC 10 Mile: I went out a BIT hard (still feeling OK about it), but then DIED in the last half. I wonder if I could have been faster overall by easing up in those opening 3 miles.

And all of my long training runs seem to be pointing towards why I like to build into my races. Here are some charts with my last 8 weeks of long runs (before this week's as it was a bit shorter because I'm racing this weekend). They show my faster "at pace" miles in the middle of my run. First, here's my oldest 3 long runs that were all still on the treadmill with perfect descending splits as I speed up by 0.1 mph every 0.5 mile:

Just the treadmill runs: perfect descend! (Easy to do when you can control the speed!)


Last 8 long runs: very tight mile 1 and 2, then getting faster if possible, or just holding on.


Same 8 runs, with first half vs second half.


Lines here showing more clearly the different negative splits. (The dark blue 4/4 run was
my best long run ever, as you see I made up about 30 seconds in the first 3 miles.)

So what does all this tell me about this weekend's 10K? That I'm NOT going to start too hard! I'm going to ease into it a little, but STILL shoot for a fast time. If I can find the right balance of "this still feels a BIT easy" and "I'm not totally bleeding time," then I have a SHOT at a 10K PR. Yes, at 41 years old. The temperature needs to be perfect, it can't be too windy, I can't get caught up in the wrong paced crowd, I have to be feeling snappy, etc, etc... but a PR is not out of the realm of possibilities.

And it's even stranger to be thinking about a possible PR while also thinking about not going out too hard. That's odd for me.

I'm sure NOT in any sort of "PR or bust" mindset - we'll see what happens on Saturday morning, and it COULD be something great if all the stars align...

...and if my new race stradegy isn't a horribly stupid idea.