My 10k pace is slower than my HM pace

stanmorek

It takes at least 10-15 minutes for me to get up to 10k race pace. I force myself to start slowly because my left leg muscles in the shin area tighten up to the point of being quite painful to move and my foot goes numb if I start off too quickly. I don't know what it is but it feels like what is described as tarsal tunnel syndrome. After the initial 10-15 minutes the risk of it happening is gone.

As a result my average pace for half marathon is always quicker than the 10k. It's a little frustrating I can do HM in 90 minutes but 10k takes me 45 minutes. I've tried warming up pre-race but it doesn't work as I can't reproduce race conditions. It's something I've always suffered since I began running from 24 years ago.

Anyone heard of or had this problem before? I've not gone for a professional opinion as I'm just grateful I can actually run but it would be nice to improve on my 10k time because it's a good distance to run.
  

Stevie G

Goodness knows mate, but In the short term,  simply set off telling yourself you're out for a HM and then just stop at 10k and voila, you've bettered your usual 10k time straight away!

Gul Darr

Hi Stan. When you've tried warming up pre-race, what exactly has the warm-up consisted of? You don't have to get to 10k pace and maintain it for any length of time. Just do 15-20 mins of easy running, gradually increasing the pace a bit and then do a few short sprints or strides. Once you get the warm-up right, I'm sure you'll crack the problem.
I can see that Stevie G's suggestion unfortunately won't work, because if the first 15 mins of the race are at a slower pace and the remaining at a constant pace then the longer the distance the faster the average pace will be!

Cheerful Dave

What is it about 'race conditions' that you can't replicate in a warm-up?  Do you get the same problem if you try running 10k pace in a training run?

stanmorek

Thanks for the responses. Maybe I should have been clearer in the thread title, i meant to say average pace. Yes I always end up running negative splits.

Tried using sprints in the pre-race warm up but they haven't worked. I think "race conditions" would be better said as near race pace for a sustained length of time which is difficult to do when you're turning up to a race full of people getting to the start line. I can get the "dead leg syndrome" on training runs if I start off too fast. Once that happens it takes about 30-40 minutes of painful running for it to pass and its happened during races.

I don't do enough races to experiment with different warm up routines. I could try running from home to a local race if its not too far.

I appreciate the suggestions but its not a cry for help because I'm grateful I can still run. I just need to manage it better.

I've only been to one race, Harrow Hill 10k, with a proper athletics track next to the starting line.

bigballer69

I had something similar last year. Would start a race or any fast (well fast for me) training run fine but like clockwork around 2 miles both shins would start burning. Would then try push through the pain as best I could but around 5 miles the pain would disappear and I could continue even up to marathon distance.

One theory I had was maybe I was going out to fast and lactic acid would build up which would then take half hour or so to go down, but that’s just my uneducated guess.

Ultimately I think the problem was shin splints so I took a few months of running and started back slowly and the problem has gone away. One thing I am doing now is stretching my calves which I think helps with the shin pain.

Cheerful Dave

Do you have a local parkrun you can use to try your warm-up routines?  There's always room to get a decent warm-up done at those and there's no pressure to actually complete the 'race' if it's not going well.

stanmorek

Interesting theory bigballer69 with the lactic acid build though I only suffer problem in the left leg. I've suffered a bout of shin splints years ago but have biomechanical issues like the left leg being shorter than the other. Like you the problem doesn't start immediately when I start a race. I've been able to the Westminster Mile Race normally but I'm sure the fast start sets the problem in motion because I can still feel the tightening up.

Dave. I'm not sure if its helpful but I was thinking of trying out different paces in the park and delibrately induce the problem and work backwards. See what my limits are. Good idea with the park run there's one close to me. I'll give it a shot some time. 

Cheers