Pacing Big Cottonwood Canyon Half Marathon

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor at 10:35 PM

On paper, the pace should be fast for the Big Cottonwood Half Marathon. For the course being downhill, and really doesn't seem to even out, at least not til the very end. Two things that come to mind about this race is that downhill does assist with running a faster pace, which could be a good thing. The other thing is that with a downhill race, your legs could take a beating. Running a half marathon on flat ground can sometimes be hard enough on people, but take that distance on a downhill course, and it could cause people to be in pain for a few days or few weeks after the race.

I have made a goal for this race to run 1:20, I expect my self to run at least 1:30. I like this goal, because the fastest half I have ran was 1:35, and this was several years ago in high school. I think that this is a course where I can reach that goal. And with the training I had last month, and the training I plan to do over the next 10 days, I think that this is a very attainable goal. 

I have recently come across this website where you can figure your goal pace for a certain race and have it made into a temporary tattoo. This is a great idea for those who are looking to make a certain time. Usually because it is hard to keep a mental picture of what pace you should be running. In most cases, only very experienced runners are able to keep paces in their minds during a race. And this usually takes a lot of practice. 

After entering my information for the time that I would like to finish, the chart to the left is the pace times that go with the elevation drop. I have been studying this pace and seeing how it parallels with the elevation drop.As I look at the miles where the pace drops below six minutes per mile, this is the part of the course where it really turns downhill. So I'm looking at four miles are going to be under six minutes, for the rest, 6:29 seems to be the slowest mile, with an overall pace at 6:06 per mile.

One more thing that I keep in mind when it comes to pace, is mentally keeping focus on the pace. Such as keeping calm to manage the slower pace, and not loosing focus with a split time is not met. It is sometimes easy to panic when your split time is not as fast as it should be, and runners will tend to psych themselves out during the race. Then spending too much energy trying to calm themselves and regain focus. Another thing to keep in mind is that when a split time is not met, confidence can be an issue. Sometimes when runners see that they are falling behind their pace, they tend to give up on trying to make up time, or to finish the race strongly. Falling behind pace can happen, but it doesn't mean that the race is lost. Mental visualization and meditation can help with knowing how to react when pacing during the race.

In closing, as the race gets closer, I'm feeling the excitement and anxiety, but still trying to remain focused for a good showing and to achieve my goal.