Defining A Good Race Day Run: Images, Video and a Download!
| Note: The intent of this thread is to open a discussion around IM run performance in such a way as to clarify the use of Heart Rate and provide explicit guidance on what a good run is, as well as give you a means of evaluating your own run. Eventually this will be moved to a resource area, in the meantime you can refer to the Master HIM/IM Race Execution Page for our most current race specific advice. |
"There Is No Such Thing As A Good Bike Followed By A Poor Run."
This has been a mantra inside Endurance Nation ever since Coach Rich put his Race Execution hat on and changed the triathlon world forever. 
But what does it mean to have a good run?
"A Good Run Is Defined As Simply NOT SLOWING DOWN."
Better, but not 100% accurate. The way the human body works, in an Ironman, basically makes slowing down inevitable. Not that negative splitting the Ironman® marathon is impossible. It's just "practically" impossible given that less than five (5) Endurance Nation athletes have ever done it. Rather than put you on the path of chasing perfection, I want to have you think about doing the best with what you've got, aka:
"She Who Slows Down the Least Is the Fastest."
I think this is the best possible scenario, given that every single IM race is different. Not just different from the year before, but different on how the day plays out -- hot races, cold races, windy races, races with bears / waves / tacks...you get the idea.
This is why as of 2015 we recommend you race the IM Run by Heart Rate, not pace. Specifics live under the Run Execution section of the Master Race Execution Page, so I won't dive in too deeply other than to say the following:
- Heart Rate is something you can control on race day, whereas your Pace is often "whatever you've got."
- It is an opportunity to Think Less. HR is one, simple variable that "sums up" everything related to the weather, how you ate/drank, the terrain you are running on and much more.
- Heart Rate is transferrable from your training runs to your racing runs. While you might train at 6:00/mi pace and I train at 10:00/mi pace, we both have an average HR for our runs. This Avg HR is an expression of the "running effort load" that our body is prepared to handle. IOW, you can't outrun what your body is prepared to do.
- A "good" HR means that you can eat and drink and do all the things you need to do on race day. Hint: Eating and Drinking on the Run has been shown to Prevent Slowing Down. (9 out of 10 Non-Hunting Dentists Agree!).
Example: So on race day, on the surface of the sun, after a super windy bike, you might be excited to break out your 6:00/mi run that you built in the cool New England climate all year. But _that pace_ gives you an HR that is 10 beats higher than what you have trained at. After watching many rolls of the dice, I literally know you will blow up. You won't be able to eat. You won't be able to drink. And 26.2 miles is a loooooong way to go in that situation.
Most importantly, understand that you aren't resigning yourself to a slow run b/c of a Heart Rate Box. In fact, your early miles will be relatively fast, and your final miles will slow down less. So rather than having you get off the bike and go into "pace lockdown mode" -- a place where once you've slowed down it's hard to speed up -- we want you to enter the "Heart Rate Zone" where you are sustaining the good effort you built off the bike and transitioning it to a sustainable run experience.
Different Types of Ironman® Run Performances
So rather than just talk I did some searching to come up with three different IM Run Types. We have the ideal run performance, the usual IM run performance and the avoid-at-all-costs run performance examples. Names have been changed to protect the exhausted.
The Solid IM Run
This image ^above^ is from my run performance at Ironman® Texas 2015. I was in 2nd off the bike, and stayed there all day in my AG to a 3:2x run performance. Not my fastest but on a hot day after a solid bike, it was all I needed to do.
In the well-executed run, the pace starts a bit higher as the HR is low, and builds. At some point, the HR flatlines (here is mile 4) -- close to your target (and proven!) long run Avg Heart Rate...and the pace holds. Slowly over time that pace will drop as it simply gets harder and harder to be steady -- you are running lower on fuel, you are less efficient, etc.
The Heart Rate should stay steady (mine doesn't, as noted above, room for improvement!) and then build to the right as you approach the finish. So you are steady all day, never cook yourself and have the wherewithal to push the final miles -- not just that last 250 yards! 
The Classic IM Fade Run
The classic fade isn't that bad of a run. It just means you left a lot on the table...like 15 to 25 minutes, usually. Most folks would be very, very pleased with this type of run performance.
You didn't blow up here, on the run, but you probably did one of the following:
- started the run a bit too high (not super too high) and ran out of mojo;
- biked too hard;
- didn't fuel well on the bike
- maybe your run training was limited;
- you have some kind of cramp or intestinal discomfort;
- you didn't take in caffeine (gels, coke, etc).
The Classic IM Implosion Run
This one is hard to look at. It's harder to watch on race day. This is a person who has simply nuked themselves. Odds are it's a guy, and he's on a mission to find 3 to 4 other guys just like him with whom he can hold hands and chat about their awesome bike split.
All day this athlete is trying to get started, but every time he does, he simply can't sustain the effort. By all means, this is exactly the type of run performance you want to avoid at all costs. Sometimes you can't -- sometimes you get injured or sick, but now that you know what this run looks like I really Really REALLY hope you can avoid it!
Analyzing Your Performance
Past performance is the best predictor of future performance. And the smartest triathletes are usually the fastest (with a few notable exceptions). So, I created a spreadsheet tool for IM and 70.3 run data analysis -- Avg Pace Per Mile and Avg HR Per Mile. Once you grab that data and put it into the appropriate space in the right tab (choose IM or 70.3 according to your race) then you'll get a nifty little chart.
This chart ^above^ is from my IM Texas run data. So while the image from Strava (tippy top) looks good, this chart really highlights a few key things:
- Where my pace had to no joke slow down (Mile 9);
- The true HR cost of those middle miles. Even slower than my early miles, they were still too much work for me.
- How I regrouped my HR after those middle 4 miles to get back on track...
- but my effort was slowly fading as I was paying the price for those four harder miles.
- How I still "faded" -- evil mile 18 affects us all!
- Where I was able to regroup to finish strongly.
The chart isn't pretty, but there's no hiding from the data. I encourage you to enter your IM or 70.3 run data into the sheet to see what you learn from your performance, and how you can improve it. In some cases it might only confirm what you know, in others you might learn what new danger signs are for you, and how you can get better next time. There will be a next time, right?!?! 
Here are some resources for you:
- The Endurance Nation Run Report Card (.XLSX file) -- Download it here.
- A video walkthrough of me using the tool (and about HR on race day), note it's an earlier version of the tool. -- watch it here.
Ok, bring the comments baby!!
Comments
Coach, I will add my two cents here. My recent experience at IMLP was my best of 3. When I started the run, it was pretty warm. I had pace goals for the race as you know and I wanted to test them out. The run course at Lake Placid is hard to really judge your pace until you are passed mile 3 since it goes downhill so much. There is a 1.25 mile section in there that is fairly flat and during that section I was really focusing on both my run pace and my heart rate. You had told me that anything under 140 bpm is a sustainable run. During that section, my HR was creeping up. Once I got onto Riverside drive, there was very little shade. Even though I was running down stream, my HR was still moving up. By mile five, I knew my GRP was not going to happen. I kept your words in my mind and followed my heart rate the rest of the run. I used the aid stations to cool and lower my HR. The aid stations were water, ice, Gatorade/coke, water & ice then back to the run. My actual run pace for the marathon was 9:16/mile. My GRP for this race was 8:15/mile. Using your advice on heart rate made this my best marathon by 17 minutes. There is no doubt I would have blown apart if I tried to push my GRP longer than the first 5 miles. The chart below shows the Course profile in orange, my HR in red and pace in blue.
Amen!
Coach P, thanks for putting this out there and helping us overcome ourselves. I can't express how important this one concept is to successful IM performance!
SS
@Ed -- amazing run, and you killed it. If I had rolled up at your house that time of day and said we were going to PR our IM marathons, you would've postponed the run as it was too hot.
@Shaughn -- thanks!!
Coach,
This is so good/helpful. My IMC run this year and IMTX run last year are great examples of how to NOT do it! My Austin HIM file is pretty good though (I think?). I've (tried to) attach them. I couldn't tell if you were looking for more "data" or examples or if this was merely for our own purposes. The IMC bike killed me due to the cold and not enough W and too many Kg for that course and the last 8 miles of the run were pure torture and it shows. Would love some feedback if you have the time/interest, but I think I see your point clearly. Whether I could actually keep my HR up for that last 1-1.5 hrs is another issue....
. The "whip" to drive my HR to stay steady and/or rise might lose to the "whip" of my body refusing/pain.
Let me know if you can't open these files...I've tried to attach them, but am not computer literate and not sure I did it right. The video sure helped create the files...very fast and easy even for me!
Thanks, Jeff
IMC2015_Run-Analysis_JeffLeslie.xlsx
IMTX2014_Run_Analysis_JeffLeslie.xlsx
AustinHIM_2014_RunAnalysis_Jeff_Leslie.xlsx
And now run speed for me is more about how little I fade when running at 136bpm and less about how fast I can run a 5k. And I can test that run speed often. Just get on a treadmill, take 10 or 15min to get my body moving and run at 136bpm(my number. Yours will be yours) and take mile splits for 3mi. Then do the rest of my run. If my training is changing me I should see progress. Much less of a beat down than running an all out 5k IMO.
I've reviewed the data I have for my IM runs since 9-05. There was a period when I stopped wearing my HR strap, so I don't have complete data for all my races. But two years ago, @ IM AZ, I produced a marathon which I think can serve as an example of what we're talking about here. I can;t use the tool Coach P made, as I don;t have access to any compatible spreadsheet programs, but here is pretty much the same thing in a WKO graph (from the NEW Mac version!)
The HR is continually rising throughout the run, along with the pace (getting faster) and cadence. Note a few points:
Apparently, I'm one of those bad examples who can even/neg split the run. Not saying that's the right or wrong thing to do, it just happened from the way I approached the challenge. Here's how it goes, in a nutshell: take the first mile to settle in to a pace which feels SLOWER than my weekly long run pace. If I hear myself breath, I'm going too fast. Then, simply "let" myself go a bit harder with every passing mile. I think I perfected that process in this IM AZ '13 race, and discovered that my HR was doing just what Coach P said it should. I was surprised by how high my HR could get, and I could still maintain running form (cadence, posture).
Now, here's a graph of me "blowing up" at the end of the run, just to show it's a knife edge we're running on. This is from last week's IMLP. The grey area shows where the hills are
:
The difference between these two runs, IMO? Poor attention to hydration during the bike, first off. Next, the temp was 10-15 degrees higher in LP, AND the temps were dropping in the second half of the AZ run, while they were RISING in LP. The HR can help with the latter (remind you slow down when its warmer), but not the former. You still have to execute the bike properly to set up a satisfactory run.
What do you think about using HR vs GAP rather than HR vs Pace? Seems like GAP (to the extent that the GAP model is valid) tells a better story about what is going on since it normalizes the terrain out of the pace...??
The one question I'm not quite clear on is regarding the guidance on what HR to select after that "bike split HR" section. I know we are to look at our AHR from our long runs. But is that the AHR across the entire long run or across the Z1 part of the run only (taking out the Z2 and Best Effort intervals)
Thanks!
Perfect questions. As to the first, what worked for me was to go with the HR I was seeing in the last hour or so of my bike - in the 117-123 range. My first 8 miles worked up from 120 >> 123 av HR for each mile/lap.
What we do in training to prepare to use this method on race day? Remember, this is my opinion, not necessarily EN gospel...I think the role of training, along with getting fitter, is to help you lock in to your running consciousness what your HR and RPE are at various paces, specifically LRP and MP. During the race, the idea is to slowly work the RPE and HR from slightly BELOW what we notice when in LRP, thru LRP, to MP during the last 1.5 hours. Of course, your actual pace on race day will NOT be the same as during training sessions, but the RPE and the HR should be the same.
Racing by HR on the IM marathon this makes sense after I looked at my average HR from all my long runs of 12 miles or more since January 2015 and compared that to my race HR. My average long run training HR ranged from 140-147, which included a lot of progression runs. My average HR for IMLP was 143. Bam...that's how you figure your HR range for race day...is it that simple? Would be interested to know if others get similar results using their "good run day" IM results.
Now on race day, you should show up with Power Targets for the bike, but an HR expectation. I plan to ride 200 watts, and I _expect_ my HR will build (based on my long ride and previous racing experience) from 130 bpms to 145 bpms across the 6 hours of cycling.
So when you lock in your power, you should see the right corresponding HR. When you don't see that HR, then you have to adjust. Options are:
1) it's early and you just left T1 and You Must Chill (!!!) to get the HR down; or
2) it's hot and your body is responding to it, so you must dial things back on the power side as HR is the number that determines the course of your RACE, whereas power determines the course of your bike.
Race > Bike
Now once you have executed at good bike, you'll have a heart rate you've been nuturing over the last 30 to 40 miles...that HR is the number you want to START the run with. Doing so make sure you don't accumulate heat, you have time to eat, you don't run too hard, etc...then you can build up over the course of the run!
So over the last few long runs, run them as you plan but use your HRM and review your Avg HR info so you can plan to be your best on race day!
This is how I've been integrating these running with HR and pace ideas with cycling with HR and power, sharing this with my campers at my recent IMWI and IMChat camps:
On the bike you have your:
On the run you have your:
My apologies for using so much of myself in the examples above, but yesterday was my 2nd to last long run, I'm sitting here in running kit with Riley whining next to me, as I'm about to punch the clock with him at my JRA HR, I was deep into these topics all last weekend with 25 campers on the IMChat course, and tomorrow I'm going to TT 112 miles to continue to focus on my 112 power. The most powerful observations I've had lately are:
So my personal observations of my personal data tells me that the strategy, for me, is a bike and run pacing plan that supports hydration and fueling first, playing defense and banking mental reserves to spend in the last 6 miles of the run. Also understand how this aligns with my personal race day: I'll likely have the top 3 AG swim split, building on that on the bike, and start the run placed very well (my IMWI AG has one freak who's always 9:1x...I don't consider him in this plan
). Everyone else then has to come to me vs chasing people down, so it's truly about not slowing down.
Ok, Riley is pissed...I gotta go!
Thanks!!
Yeah ... the training plans were written almost a year ago, and without the knowledge of this wiki post just put online. It will be interesting to see how the plans are tweaked for next year to incorporate this refined thinking about using heart rate both during the race and during that last 6 weeks.
In the meantime, here's how I would interpret things (being fully prepared to be shot down by Coach P). First, the long run as written in the plan, e.g.: "MS: 3 hours or 15 to 18 miles (whichever comes first) done as 25%-50%-25%.
• 30% (1 hour OR 5 to 6 miles) at Zone 1 / LRP / Easy Pace PLUS 30" per mile.
• 50% (1.5 hours OR 7 to 9 miles) at Zone 1 / LRP / Easy Pace.
• 20% (30 minutes OR 3 miles) at Zone 3 / HMP / Mod-Hard (or as close as possible)."
The middle 50% is easy - that's your long run average HR, as described in the wiki post. The first 25%? I would (will) use my average HR from the last 1-2 hours of my RR bike, or the last hour or so from recent long bikes. The last 25%? I know what that number is for me, its the HR I see when running at the top (fast) end of my MP. HMP is saved for maybe the last mile of this run.
Since the places I usually run are hilly, I have routinely done my long runs using HR and RPE as the primary metrics for years. So I personally don't plan on doing anything different.
That's how I did my 2hr run today on a route that will never give me a PR, but may set me up for a PR on race day. Should have some HR data for the next time I do this route. (Dead battery at this point)
I'm guessing that's the "Advance" plan. The Intermediate plans have something more like the following on a weekly basis (this is for my upcoming IMMD RR Run, time is a bit different but all the long runs have this same flavor:
135 min as
60' or 6 miles (whichever first) @ Z1/LRP/Easy
60' @ Z2/MP/Steady
15' @ best effort
Both are essentially a flavor of "Progressive Pace Run" where you start easy and get faster finishing with a final push to simulate the final push to the line. But this obviously could(should) skew the AHR for the whole run higher than the "comfortable here all day" heart rate.
On the same note, should we consider adjusting our RR long run to look more like what we expect to do on race day (estimate that last 90 min of the bike HR, run by HR for a certain amount of time and then hit a steady pace letting it rise over the rest of the RR) or should we stick to the progressive pace run as written? I can see value to both options.