Negative Splits in Races

Audio Transcript

Coach Michael: Hey Runners Connect fans. Today’s question is from Mark.

Mark: My question is about running negative splits. I recently ran two races, a marathon and a half marathon, where I was able to run negative splits.

For the marathon, I ran the second half ten minutes faster and for the half marathon I ran the second half around five minutes faster. This seems like a big difference to me.

Are there any guidelines on the best way to run negative splits?

For instance, should they be more evenly paced with just a few seconds between them? Does this mean that I started too conservatively in both of these races?

Could or should I have pushed harder from the start?

For the last few kilometers of both these races I was really giving it everything I had, but I’m wondering if I should be doing something different. Thank you.

Coach Michael: That’s a tremendous question Mark, thank you for your submission. First off, negative splits are what you want.

You, a hundred percent want to run negative splits in pretty much any race.

To put a commonly held belief to rest, putting time in the bank is no good for a marathon, even a half marathon.

That’s the idea of running a fast first half, then holding on. This almost never works out. I think this comes from shorter races, this idea.

It comes from 5Ks, 10K’s, where you can kind of get away with it.You can go out fast.

You can really hammer the first mile, and then just kind of hang on. This, just absolutely doesn’t work at the half, and certainly doesn’t work at the full.

One interesting stat is that every single world record, from the 1500 meters to the marathon was set with negative splits.

Now that’s not necessarily evidence directly but it’s still an indicator of what works.

Now the second big point; this can and should be practiced in training. Let’s say you’re doing perhaps five times a 1000 meters at 9:00-9:20 per mile pace.

The ideal way is to start closer to that 9:20 pace for the first interval, and finish closer to 9 minute pace for the last interval.

You want to have a steady progression throughout.Something that would look really good would be perhaps,9:20 for the first one then 9:15, 9:12,9:08 and then getting close to maybe 9:01 or 9:02, something like that for the last split.

Basically, you just want to have very slow and steady progression throughout.The most important thing is that you finish faster than you started.

What you don’t want is to go out too hard and then slow down throughout. This is very common and is a very easy mistake to make.You get excited and you think it’s going to be harder than it is.

Now, for those having this issue, the easiest thing- and I know this sounds probably easier than it actually is to implement in practice – but essentially you just want to start slow or you just want to start the first interval slower.

Even if it’s slower than the range, that’s totally fine.

You just want to make sure that that first interval isn’t too hard, because if that first interval’s too hard, that’s going to really put a damper on the rest of your workout.

If it takes treating the first interval as essentially part of the warm up, that’s fine. That’s totally okay.Let’s say you get a mile or two mile warmup, then you start the workout, your first interval can essentially be working into the pace.

Going back to that example of that five times, that 1000 meter workout 9:00-9:20 pace, if the first interval’s 9:30, that’s fine.That’s totally fine because then you’re in a good position from there.

You know where you’re at, you’re feeling good, you’re probably not too tired and you can work down the pace. You can gauge where the effort is to hit that 9:30 pace and pick it up a little bit to get in the range.

Then again, the big thing is that you want to steadily progress in the paces.Just because you start the first one slower, you don’t want to all of a sudden, on the second interval just hammer down the pace close to 9:00 and then potentially slow down throughout.

So again the worst thing you can do in a workout, obviously this is the same thing in a race, is do the opposite of what we’re talking about.

You start at 9:00 for the first one and then by the end, you’re running 9:20 or slower pace. It’s not good for your body and it’s not good for your mind.

When have you left a workout where that happens and felt good about it?You have no confidence. And it’s not good practice for races where you pretty much want to be doing the opposite of that.

Now, to get more specific with race strategy, I am going to use a 4 flat marathon as an example; that’s 9:00-9:09 pace per mile roughly.

Here’s our recommended breakdown for a four flat marathon. The first three miles you want to run right about 9:15-9:20 pace.

The big thing here is that you don’t want to get caught up in the hustle and bustle.

Everybody’s excited, everybody’s all jazzed up from all the events of the day, especially at the bigger marathons, and everyone goes out, almost everyone goes out too hard.

That’s okay for the first, maybe even up to 400 meters about a quarter mile, that’s okay to be going a little fast but you want to make sure that you’re holding back.

Again, this means slower than your pace.We’re looking at about a 9:09-9:10 pace overall, yet we want you to be running about 9:15-9:20 pace for the first 3 miles, 5K or so.

Now this is not an easy thing to do. There is going to be people around, and flying past you, are going to be people who you probably know, who are going to be running right around your time or maybe even a little slower yet they’re flying past you this first 5K.

That’s totally okay as it’s a long race.

There is a saying for other things; it’s a marathon not a sprint? Well now I mean that literally, it is a marathon not a sprint.

So these people that are sprinting past you, flying past you this first 5K, you’re the smart one in the situation,and you’re going to catch them later.

Now, for the next ten miles, this is about the 5K, right up until about 13, right about the halfway, you want to really settle in.

You want to hit your pace. This is where you want to start getting consistent with your splits, so we’re going to say 9:09 pace for this.

We are going to say you’re getting into that groove of running the pace, that you ultimately want to run for the race.

The important thing here again, is that you don’t go too fast.

We would put the speed limit on your actual pace, that 9:09 pace. You don’t want to be getting ahead of yourself yet, because you have such a long way to go.We’ll get to that soon.

Now, after the halfway point for the next ten miles, this is miles 13-23; this is where you really want to start working.We’re going to put the pace at about 9:03-9:04 to that 9:09 pace.

As long as you’re at that 9:09 pace or under, then you’re right on. But, this is the point where if you’re feeling good, which with our strategy we think you will, then this is the point where you can really start working it down your 9:09, 9:06, 9:04 pace.

You can work those next ten miles, but without going all out obviously. We want to save a little bit for the end which of course takes us to the last 5K.

Pretty much all we say at this point is, as fast as you can. This is your chance to really hammer down. If you’ve got a lot left, you can make up quite a bit of time at the end there.You can work down the pace.

Let’s say you’ve been running 9:05 or so for those last ten miles. If you’re feeling great, you work it down to 8:45 pace or something like that.

You’re going to take quite a bit of time off and you’re going to run a solid time at the end.

Again, it’s that last 5K, as fast as you can. Don’t hit the point where you have 5K left and just start sprinting. You obviously still have 5Kto go; you still have 3 miles to go.

But that’s the point where you can say okay, we’re just about the end of this thing and I’m probably not going to bonk from here, so I can really start to work down the pace.

And then obviously, for the last 200-400 meters, that’s where you can get your Usain Bolt sprint form and get a nice picture moment.

The best thing about this strategy is that it’s designed to prevent the bonk. Obviously, there’s other factors that go into that, but pacing is the biggest and by far the most common.

I mean, you’ve trained so hard, why would you let poor pacing ruin your race plan? If you’re disciplined and have a proper plan going in,then the biggest thing is that you’re patient because most people are not going to be patient at all.

You’re going to let those people go that first 5K. You’re going to tell your ego shut up andrealize that you’ve got plenty of racing left to do.

Again, it’s a marathon literally, not a sprint.

So you want to start slow and finish fast. That’s really a good monitor for any race but especially half and full marathons.

Finally, today’s podcast has been sponsored by Pacific Health.

As runners, we ask a lot of our bodies, so it’s important that we equip them properly, both inside and out.

What if I told you that one company makes some of the best training and recovery products on the market? Pacific Health are makers of the top of the line supplements such as Endurox and Accel Gel.

I first started using Endurox back in high school and I’ve loved it ever since.

I can truly feel the difference in my recovery, the next day. Nothing else even comes close. The wonderful people at Pacific Health genuinely want to help people reach their running goals.

That’s why they’ve been at the forefront of research on fuel and recovery for endurance athletes for 20 years, and their products have more peer reviewed scientific data than any product on the market.

We’ve already heard some incredible testimonies regarding Pacific Health’s Accel Gel and 2nd Surge products.

Accel Gel gives that four to one ratio of carbs to proteins for longer lasting energy. In fact, Accel Gel has been shown by researchers at James Madison University, to offer significant advantages over GU, the most commonly used product.

Cyclists using Accel Gel showed 13% more endurance and 50% less muscle damage compared to those using GU.

Pretty awesome stuff.

2nd Surge, and this is really cool, is the first all-natural energy gel specifically formulated to delay the onset of both muscle and brain fatigue.

That’s right, fatigue isn’t just in your muscles, it’s in your brain as well. 2nd Surge also adds some caffeine, and contains great tasting flavors such as chocolate and double espresso. Delicious! Please visit runnersconnect.net/pacifichealth for more information.

That’s it Runners Connect fans. Thanks again for tuning in and have a great run today.