How To Pace Your Next Running Race. The Science of Blowing Up

[@eric13hill]

"Lactate is the messenger of unsustainable work" That is GOOD.

[@mcfarvo]

And so many athletes shoot the messenger rather than heed the message and adjust their behavior!!!

[@samuelhughes7960]

Keep going with this channel , I think your content is excellent. And this channel is sure to grow.

[@drwilloconnor]

Hope so! Just need to find the time!

[@hikerJohn]

This is great content. I don't even run much, I just do long distance backpacking and hiking (at 68 years old) but I want to start trail running and I kinda already knew some of this but you said it all so clearly. I just need to lose weight that I put on from a knee injury that cost me 3 months of no hiking. I think the knee is 90% cure but I occasionally still feel it. I was told it's a patella-femoral pain syndrome. X-ray shows no damage. I'm up to hiking hills 20 miles with 2000ft elevation gain/loss one day and 10-15 miles the next and will start running when I lose 15 pounds. Sometimes I do faster run/walk 8 miles with 1000 ft of elevation gain. My BMI is 27 right now. I found this channel by searching for "are there any long distance runners that are on a ketogenic diet" . . . liked, commented and subscribed.

[@drwilloconnor]

Awesome! Thanks, John. All the best with the knee.

[@Kelly_Ben]

You'd love ultras! Run when you can, hike when you need to, walk when you must... and eat the whole time! 😂 Best wishes!

[@MrLorenzobringheli]

Your channel is an hidden gem. Ad maiora!

[@drwilloconnor]

Thank you!

[@alaskahudson]

First video on your channel. Halfway through. I am interested in hearing more.

[@drwilloconnor]

Welcome aboard!

[@jandunlop6827]

From what I understand your ability to clear lactate is the key, if you can better utilise the lactate as a fuel the less will accumulate in your blood which affects the ph and gives you that burning feeling. How do you better utilise lactate? Lots of zone 2 training to build your endurance base, this will boost your mitochondrial development which allows you to burn more fat AND recycle more lactate as fuel.

[@Blazingh_Runner]

New to your channel well be going through your videos and hopefully take away some good advice.

[@hikerJohn]

Ive been keto for 6 years, is this why I seem to never have DOMS even on my hardest training sessions where I almost hit the wall after 10 miles of hills? The only time I feel a little DOMS is in the quads from a long down hill run but it's minor compared to before I started my keto diet. I plan on eating carbs again as soon as I need the speed that burning fat can't supply.

[@joeccriscuola]

Would you agree we should run Ultras in zone 2 then?

[@drwilloconnor]

As a blanket answer, yes. The only exception would be if you can run 50km < 5hrs, then you could allow a bit of Z3.

[@joeccriscuola]

@@drwilloconnor okay, so my PR 50K is 4:27. I am training for a flat 100 miler(Umstead100) and was wondering what to aim for zone wise.

[@drwilloconnor]

For 100 miles, someone of your fitness level, I'd say start a the bottom of zone 2 and allow yourself to drift to the top of Z2 on the climbs. 100 miles is hard because you've got to maximise your running before your legs are dead without overdoing it.

[@joeccriscuola]

@@drwilloconnor so not exactly go out fast but also don't slow play it because there is no way I am negatively splitting a 100 ? Thanks Doc.

[@SuperTreybo]

Good video! My last marathon last March , I ran most of my long runs in cold weather January and February. I did total of 3 20 milers and 18 miler leading up to myrtle beach marathon. I did 22 miler as my longest run at 9 18 pace 1 month out. Then on race day it was 65 degrees 100 percent humidity , so I started out at 9 15 pace thinking it would be ok and for first 18 miles felt ok then hit wall after mile 18…. Ended up with 9 50 pace way slower hit wall hard mile 18. Entire race my Garmin said I was in zone 4. Do u think I should started around 9 35-940 pace and worked down to 915 pace? My best marathon time was 4 hours and 1 min back in 2019 I have not come close since. U think I need start doing most of my runs at 10 min paces lower heart rate ? Build my zone 3 speed?

[@Ollieoopbigboy]

I thought we burnt some carbs even at low efforts like zone 1?

[@amitsrivastava5743]

Thank you that's great content. If I am to race a marathon at 90 percent of my threshold pace, which I calculate as my best avg pace I can hold for 1hr, right!... but I am mostly training in weather conditions warmer than my race, so how do I calculate my threshold pace in warm and humid climate for a race 4 to 6 months down the line, in cooler temps?

[@drwilloconnor]

Hey, that's a great question. If you had data from cooler races in which you trained in hot conditions, you could use that data to make an adjustment. Otherwise, it'll be super hard to guess what adjustment you need to make to your pace. The easier option is to use HR to guide you over the first hour. Once you drop down to cooler temps, your HR will be a few Bpm lower than your usual marathon training pace. You could use your Z3 HR as your target for the first hour and let pace take care of itself.

[@amitsrivastava5743]

@@drwilloconnor thank you so much

[@ryanveale4432]

Dr Will - I watched your last video about sub-3 hour marathon where you said sub-3 is not possible unless you’ve run sub 40min 10k…. I’m 193cm and 110kg (118kgs esrlier this year) …. I’ve been running for 6 months and recently clocked 41mins for 10km/m and 66min 10mile ….do you think I’ll be able to break 40mins/10km;3hour marathon, if I lose some more weight? If so, how much? What is the ideal weight to running power (watt) ratio?

[@drwilloconnor]

Hey Mate, If you're already hitting 41min at over 100 kegs, it's clear that you have a MASSIVE engine. Given your current performances, I'd be confident to say that you've got the underlying fitness to run a sub-3 if you carry less excess mass. I can't give you a weight loss number because so much goes into it. There's not an ideal power-to-weight ratio because you and I could run at 3 Watts/Kg, but I could go 30sec/km faster than you. It's better to look at "form power ratio", which is your vertical power/total power, to determine how much of your power is being used to move forward. A good ratio is around 25%.

[@ryanveale4432]

@@drwilloconnor thanks very much! This really helps 👍🏻

[@dazamad]

So is the lower end of my zone 3 the slower pace or the faster pace? So mine is 5.20 - 5.40min/km for zone 3. Thanks

[@drwilloconnor]

Hey Darren, so the lower end would be the slower pace - 5:40min/km.