Micro-Pacing

What your does your racing strategy look like in terms of pacing? All too frequently a blanket approach is taken solely based on distances e.g. getting faster as the miles progress or speeding up in the second half of the race. On paper this may be ideal, however may prove challenging to execute without consideration for important factors such as having other competitors nearby (drafting advantages), environmental changes or terrain, etc. While there are many external factors out of your control, a well thought out pacing strategy based on your strengths and/or weaknesses may provide you with a constructive framework to focus on. 

A study published this past month in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living investigated performance outcomes based on male and female athlete’s pacing in a cross-country ski race (Stauton et al., 2002). The study used a novel statistical technique to analyze biomechanical data in combination with a navigation system that enabled comparison of skiing speeds between athletes at specific locations on a racecourse. Among other things, the study identified portions of the course that proved to be key to determining overall finishing positions. While every racecourse is different in terms of terrain, weather, competition, etc., research such as this highlights the value of using data to guide training and micro-pacing as strategy that you may consider refining to optimize your performance.