Have you ever been a pacer?

[gt7301b]

My friend asked me to pace her on a 5K this fall to help her get under 30 min.  I said, "sure, no problem", but then I realized that I have no idea how to actually pace someone.  Any tips?

[blndsnbrdr]

I've never been an official pacer but I have run with people as a motivator...so sort of the same thing?

Make sure you have your Garmin/GPS fully charged and set up so you can keep an eye on at least the average pace and the distance. Do whatever you can to keep her moving as quickly as possible. Keep in check with her physical well being. With a 5K it'll be easier but I'd keep an eye on water intake if its a hot day.

Thats all I have...good luck!

[osulori]

I have, but as a leader for a pace group during 5ks and a half marathon instead of pacing a friend or two. In general though, find out what pace you friend wants to run and be in charge of making sure you're keeping an eye on overall pace, what distance you're at, and your estimated overall time if need be. Stay upbeat and positive, make sure your friend is feeling good at the pace you're at and if they're really struggling get them to slow down a touch. Find out beforehand if your friend is going to want to walk or jog through water stops because you'll have to make up those seconds pacewise at some point. And have fun!

[gumi]

In a 5k, the most important thing is to pace the first mile. Everyone loves top start out too fast. I don't know a 29:59 pace but since courses are a little long, I would aim for 10 seconds faster per mile.

Sent from my SCH-I605

[gt7301b]

Jul 14, 2013 21:46:09 GMT -5 gumi said:

In a 5k, the most important thing is to pace the first mile. Everyone loves top start out too fast. I don't know a 29:59 pace but since courses are a little long, I would aim for 10 seconds faster per mile.

Sent from my SCH-I605

Lol, you are so correct. I have no idea how I'm going to keep myself from going out too fast on the first mile. Practice maybe? 25:59 is a 9:38 pace, so I was thinking I could just try running my training runs at a 9:30 pace to get comfortable at that pace.

[Wines Not Whines]

I paced my husband during a race earlier this year. I relied on my Garmin and my own feel of the pace. It was a longer race though (10 miles), so there was a little more room for error.

I would talk to your friend beforehand to find out what she wants you to do if she starts to slow down or get noticeably tired near the end. Some people would want you to keep pushing them to keep up the pace. Others would want you to back off and let them slow down, even if it means they don't make their goal. I pushed my husband during our race, because I knew that was what he wanted, but he was hating life from miles 8-10. But he was really happy with the end result and the fact that I pushed him.

[grk2012]

A faster friend paced me to my still-standing 5K PR a few years ago. We did a 2mi warmup with speed pickups so the adrenaline rush had subsided a bit before we hit the starting line, and we didn't rocket off too fast. She had me turn off my Garmin (I just turned it to clock time, not stopwatch time) so I wouldn't be distracted by it. Then she stayed just a touch in front of/next to me. She hollered encouraging things along the way and pushed me to keep going even when I thought it hurt. It was so short, really, the discomfort couldn't last forever (even if you/your friend think it's interminable). Find out what works for your pal--is there's beer at the end? commiserating with her about the weather? saying she looks great and can totally do this?--and use that to motivate her. If she is the kind who doesn't want to know her pace or how much is left, don't use those.

[gt7301b]

That's for the tips. I know she really wants to break 30 and would want me to push her. (She's tried several times and cone up short) I just have to figure out what is the best motivator as we haven't been friends that long.