Pacing the Run: Embracing Negative Splits and Nurturing Personal Growth

We were just talking about gratitude right before we hit the live button . Angie , how are you doing this morning ?

I like football , but I'm not a diehard sports fan , and so I literally was there for the halftime show , for sure , and for the commercials . I love the commercials . You know , rudy and I were talking about this last night .

If they would only create a second show off of the Super Bowl show every year , of just the commercials in the first half the Super Bowl , the halftime show , and then the commercials in the second half and just make it its own little production , like after the Super Bowl , I'm pretty sure that would get a lot , of a lot of watches , because I would go back

and watch it .

I know I'm weird like that , but I kept up with the scores , but I didn't watch the Play by the Boy , but it seemed like an exciting game . I got to go to a couple of Chief's games this year , so super cool . I'm not a huge football fan , but this I'll actually go into Arrowhead Stadium . It's pretty , pretty awesome .

Definitely , definitely made me appreciate a little bit more . That's cool . But go Chief's , though . Hopefully , hopefully , your team won , and if you didn't , well , oh well , I guess there's an extra year or so . Yeah , all right .

Well , hey , before we get into today's topic , we're going to talk about running splits today and how you can best use them to improve your running . But before we get into that , make sure you smash that subscribe button so you're notified of future episodes . Leave us a review .

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But this morning we're going to talk about splits , running splits and this is a why did you know we were ? We always collaborate and why did you feel that this would be a good topic to talk about this morning ?

We hadn't been previously been friends on Strava . And I looked at his time and I was like , dude , you had negative splits . That's awesome . And he was like , oh , okay , what's that ? What does negative splits mean ?

And so we were talking about it and I was just , you know , super pumped for him because we , we are running the Army 10-Miler together this year and so he's training now .

He is an avid cyclist and he I got , we went to school together at the end of last year and we ran a couple times together and just , you know , super great person , super he's super excited about it . And yeah , I just was like , wow , yeah , let's , let's , let's remind people and educate people what splits are and how they can use them .

It's a great tool to help you improve your running and you know , our mission here is to get people to enjoy running to run faster I think it's a goal for most runners and to enjoy it Right . So this is a great tool that you can use . Kind of goes along with the the topics from the last couple of weeks .

We're talking about pace training and things like that .

Being able to measure your paces via splits is is is how you can improve . So , if you haven't heard us , if you want to go back and review , like a episode or two back and go back and check out the different paces , but this morning we'll talk about split . So what is a split ? Well , it's a .

It's a running and racing term that that ultimately means the time it takes to complete a specific distance as part of your run . So , for example , if you're running five miles , your time at each mile marker would be your mile split .

So you can even break them down , like if you're running , like intervals on a track , you know the every lap that you take around the track , whether you're running 400s or 800s , those individual repetitions that you're doing around the track would be your split .

So you want to , you want to check those to see where you're at with in regards to your pacing , or you're keeping up with your , with the pace that you've set . So tracking your mile splits is crucial .

If you're racing and you're trying to PR Say you're trying to qualify for the Boston marathon or train for or run the Boston marathon , you know you can estimate your finish time and that's of it . So , ultimately , what we're doing is we're taking our run and we're dividing it into smaller sections and intervals and measuring how long it takes to achieve that .

There are two types of splits . There's even splits and negative splits . Well , I guess there's three , because there's positive splits .

When I'm training runners , you know it's it's not uncommon for runners to kind of you know , because they haven't done this before , you get slower as the run goes on right Because you're getting more tired . But we train so we can actually do the opposite , where we actually run faster and finish the race . So am I missing anything on the splits there ?

For the explanation .

You know , because when I'm running I'm like , oh you know , am I feeling tired today , am I feeling fast today , am I feeling energetic today ? And I'll just go back and it kind of reinforces .

I've been running long enough now to where I'll go back and look at my splits and be like , yeah , I was tired and it shows I can see that that positive split or that negative split where I was , you know , not tired and super jazz and really into it .

This is where a lot of people kind of struggle is they're looking at their splits . Well , obviously , if you have elevation , you're going to get slower . They're like man , I ran like a minute slower that mile but you climbed , you know , a few hundred feet in elevation . Give yourself some grace on that .

But tracking your splits and measuring , and when I , as I train runners , you know , using the V dot app , you know it gives splits of all of their runs , so I can analyze that and give feedback when needed . So it's pretty cool . So , all right . So how do you track your splits ? How are , what are some practices to do that ?

Well , most of your running watches are equipped to do that . You know , even on the old Timex there's a little split track you just when you run that lap around the track or you hit that mile mark or kilometer , you know , you just , you can just click it , you know , on your watch . Most of these running devices are automatically doing that .

If you're using Strava or what not , they're already kind of breaking that down . I , you know old school , especially if I'm doing track workouts I still do this to the stale . I'll pull out a Sharpie and I'll write on my hand my pace and my splits and I just use the watch and I know exactly . That's why I love running on the track .

I know exactly where I'm at by a hundred meter , you know . And I can just look at my watch and I just do it the old fashioned way with timing . I just break it down by time and that's a way to just kind of to break it down and track it .

So if you're new to this , I would just encourage you to , as you're on your run , to kind of , you know , set your pace and just kind of practice doing it , just practice being aware of what your paces are and average them out . I mean , it's pretty , it's pretty straightforward , I think .

But if you're doing a 5k , you know you break it down by kilometer every point , six miles . That's going to be your split and ultimately , what we want to do to improve and get better is we want to be shooting for that negative split . You want to be finishing the race faster than you started .

When I do even my novice runners when we're doing , we're doing our longer runs . Once we've got some good base down , I will have them . They might be doing a long run , like a 10 mile run . It might be seven miles easy , and then the last three miles are going to be faster than they started , so more like that marathon pace or threshold pace .

If they have more base of fitness , they might be running some of their marathon pace and then they're going to finish the last three miles even faster . And that's the goal . It's just we want to train the body and the mind that at the end of the race we can push and finish it faster . And I've certainly had races early where I've blown up at the end .

It's been the opposite . So you've got to like , modulate your , your energy to be able to do that . So it's great training .

And I think another thing to point out is if you haven't run a large organized race , a lot of times they'll have your pace bracelet which has got that on there .

So , like Bass Pro does it I know United Airlines half did it , the Brooklyn half they provide these wristbands and , depending on what your goal is for that race , it breaks down every mile it breaks down your pace and you can keep track of it manually , like Jay said , yeah , absolutely , it's pretty good , Pretty good tool . Yeah .

But ultimately , what we're trying to strive to do is a negative split and what I , you know if someone is new to running , you know and they're , whether it be a 5k , a half marathon or a marathon , that first run , just don't even worry about paces , just go for the sake of enjoyment . Like Lacey and I , we're gonna do the rock and roll .

I'm gonna encourage her not even to bring her watch , if I can get away with it . Just let's just go and just finish the race . Then the second one . Now let's start looking at our paces and and kind of start to dial it in . Let's see if we can run an even split , start to finish the Whole way .

That's what the best marathoners do is they run that , they run that same pace till the very end . They do the negative split and let . But it takes a lot of discipline to be able to do that , but it's , it's . But it really gets you good at conserving your energy . Knowing where you're at , you really get in tune with your body , like on a longer event .

I can sense it when I eat and drink stuff , like I can just feel the , the surge of energy or I know that I'm hitting the wall . It's like I can kind of tell how long this is gonna take and what I would need to do to kind of pull out of it .

You know those last few miles because I'm just so comfortable like I can pretty just run the same thing every single mile , you know , and Just something to have to be aware of and train .

Oh , so it's great , it is , it is Oops . So how do new runners can start using splits ? Well , if you're new , you know the idea of tracking . It might seem a bit daunting .

Don't , don't put a lot of pressure on it , but just just start to track it , to take your , take your run , break it down by kilometers or miles and just start to become Familiar with it . We just start to analyze it and start looking for distances .

Take , take a , take a look at your route that you're running and Just spend a little bit of time of just analyzing the , the data . I now the pitfall of this some people get so data driven that when they go out to run , it's like they got to try to beat it the very next time and Once again go back to a couple episodes we're talking about .

Every run has a purpose . We're not trying to beat ourselves every single day you will , you're gonna fall apart , you it ? You're gonna , you're gonna suck the fun out of running and and I don't know , wait , that's how you get end up in that , the yo-yo thing . So some runs just no , no data right , but it's . It is good to analyze it .

I just say that with a great assault , cuz I say there's a lot of people get so data driven that they suck the fun . Yeah , runs so , but they're , they're a powerful tool for sure . What else ? What else when you hit on on splits or anything ?

We have a trail here near where I live and it's got some pretty steep elevation on it and when I was a new runner , I remember running it and my pace was probably Two minutes slower because of how steep it was and I remember going back and looking at my numbers you know you're talking about data and I was just like so I was kind of beating myself up for

feeling like I was going too slow , but then I really had to take into account that elevation and you know you really do . I Didn't want to burn myself out . I think it's a two and a half mile loop , is what it is , and I don't want to burn myself out on the first loop . I did several loops that day . But yeah , you just just keep it .

Maintain awareness when you , when you're tracking your splits , when you're tracking your pace and your training for something . Maintain awareness of the route that you're running , take into consideration the elevation and taking into consideration how you're feeling that day . And , and just you know , make it one , one package . Wait , you know , make it a package .

Don't forget the things that that really go into .

Well , I don't know if you , I'm pretty sure you saw this , but late last night we had some bad news in the running world Kelvin Kiptum , who just recently had his Chicago marathon codified two hours and 35 seconds . Unfortunately , him and his coach were killed a car accident last night .

Oh , and so people are mourning around the world because he was Actually , I mean , he , his heart was set on breaking the two hour mark . So it's been pretty tragic To hear that news and see that . But man , I don't know when I take that news in , it's like man , I just grateful for another day and just goes to show that you just never know .

You know when what one's gonna be our last . But I , it was really Incredible to see his effort and really sad news for him and his family and this , the family of the running coach . So , but yeah , so that's tough , that's just tough news that is . All right , well , we still have Tim mince love . Are we done ? Is there anything more ?

You want to hit on with the splits ?

Well , you know , you look at the splits and once again they hit a hill or something like that . Yeah , don't beat yourself up over . Give yourself some grace . Enjoy running for the sake of running . Every run should have a purpose and just a few minor tweaks in your training can really revolutionize how you view your running .

But if you're getting beat up , like running should be enjoyable and you should be walking away from a run enjoying that runner's high and not getting so pissed off about your times . Don't put so much pressure on yourself . Yeah , train hard , but yeah , don't put so much pressure on it .

I wish there were a better way . And what made me think about this is , again , I'm running the Army 10-miler this year and I've got a group of friends that we're all running together , and one of them we were texting yesterday when my one friend , dave , shared that he ran five miles for the first time .

Our other friend was like , yeah , I still hate running . I'm only running it just so I can run it with you guys , but I still hate it , and he's trained into past his PT test and so you know , just I wish there were a way , there were a way for me to figure out how to , how to change that mindset of for people that just hate running , how to ?

I don't know what the magic word is . I don't know what the magic cure is . I don't know .

Because for some people their first exposure to running is some dude screaming at them , sleep deprived , and you know you have a test assigned to this activity . Anytime you got a testing assigned to it like it's just pressure . So and then once you graduate , again every run all out or really long .

There's no , as much as I love the military from a coaching perspective , there's not a lot of rhyme or reason to how they train . They're not training properly and so , yeah , you have a lot of apprehension . Every run is all out . Every run comes with stress of this test that you have to pass .

And so people like you got the military , like I'm done with this , I'm done with it , it's out of my life , right , because they just associate the stress with it .

And , to your point , I love helping people run for the sake of running and fall in love with the joy of running , because it really is , if you just take the pressure off and you , you know you train . And Lacey said something recently that really kind of dawned . I mean , I really thought about it .

But every run , whether it be training or a race , it's its own unique experience and event . Like I ran this Saturday morning and I knew there was going to be a group meetup . I had no idea who was going to be there , but it was great . I got to see my friends that I didn't expect to see you there . I didn't expect to see some other people there .

We ran a little bit . I got to see a new route because someone , one of my friends , was like hey , let's go down and touch this gate , and that was super cool .

And so every run is unique and every run has a purpose . And , if you can , some runs are just to get out there and just move the body and be in my head , and then other runs are for time and you know we're training for something and I don't know it's all , there's nothing like it .

I mean , I cycle , I do you know weight training and there's , but running is different when it comes to my mindset .

I gotta I have to really pay attention , but when I'm running , I can just have a conversation and learn about the people I'm running with and share my life with the people I'm running with , and I don't know , it's just like where we , we solve the world's problems , or at least we attempt to .

And I haven't run Superior Road in a really long time and we for those of you tuning in we have a beautiful creek , the Ruby Dew .

That is along a running path that we have group runs on , and it's just so beautiful and there's fields and there's bluffs and it's just cows and horses and you know , I don't know , it's just , it's great , it's great , it's beautiful and it's yeah , Like you said , every , every run is its own unique experience , Absolutely .

I've learned that sometimes you get too much stuff on the dashboard . This happens in your life too . Like you get too much stuff on your mental dashboard . It doesn't quite operate quite correctly . Yeah , that's what we're having here , so you gotta clear your mind . Well , we got one photo up here . I was hoping to get the other photos up here . Shoot the one .

I'm clicking on things . It's not quite working . It's a Monday . Y'all Happy , are you getting ?

I'm going to have to stall you got to sing a song I am not singing .

I met him through Nadine . He is from Lebanon , missouri . He's a wrestling coach . He's always after getting after . He was the first one on our team that did the the first two runs to a hundred percent on the Tajie . Larry Laws , though , was right behind him , but he finished up over the weekend and that's . And I got to meet him last year up in Columbia .

We're doing a 5K together . He's like are you JTgs on the gun ? Like I'm Clint Smith . Oh , that's cool , cause we met on Facebook . Didn't quite know the first time we met in

person . So really , really good dude doing a lot of great work in the community teaching other wrestlers how to wrestle , which I think is a fantastic anytime that we can roll , model the way and give back outstanding . And he's a gritty dude always out getting after it . So , clint , we appreciate you . Fantastic effort for the Tajji 100 .

We're going to send you a shirt for doing hard things and being a great role model for others , so I appreciate you . Awesome , awesome , so keep getting after it . Yes , yeah , absolutely . So all right , so let's see here . All right .

So one I want to do like a , so I think the format , we've been doing a lot of like movement stuff and but I want to leave a mindset nugget before we bounce out for the day . So this is what was on my mind the other day and I kind of kind of wrote this down .

But I've been thinking about the grasses and always here on the other side , I've been thinking a lot about that with my transition from the military and a lot of people are like man , we're always looking at what that other person has and when you get there , it's like not enough , like what is that about ?

And when I think about the grass isn't greener on the other side , what I've learned in my own life is that the grass is greener where you water it . So where is this green grass at ? Well , it's not the patch of grass that's over there that someone else has , it's your own grass , it's you know , it's where you water it and you're the grass .

So when you think of like we're , if I want , if you're thinking about being somewhere else in the grass being greener on the other side , I want you to think that you are the grass and that you need to water yourself .

And in a world that's constantly chasing the next big thing and distraction , it's easy to overlook the fence and see what other people have People constantly doing this on social media . But the real growth , the real green , vibrant life and grass happens where you're planted .

This is something that you've said in the past that's really resonated with me grow where you're planted and that's in the you know how do you water yourself ? What's the daily grind ? It's the small actions and the consistency of care that you give yourself each and every day . And so how do you water yourself ? Well , that's with mindset and movement .

Mindset because your thoughts shape your feelings and your feelings align with your actions . If you have negative thoughts , well , your actions aren't going to be supportive and your outcomes aren't going to be great . And your thoughts are really the seeds of your reality and you know your mind will bear fruit . I love this from as a man thinketh .

Whether you can call , if you have a garden out in your backyard , it's going to bear something . It'll be full of weeds or it can be like abundant fruit , but you have to cultivate intent to that garden . But either way it's going to bear something , cultivating positivity and resilience and gratitude on a daily , you know , is an important thing .

And then movement , because our bodies are designed to move . Movement is an inherent part of our life and it's every step that we take . And it's about having energy and feeling alive , and I'm a firm believer . I love the book Born to Run . You know , humans are the ultimate endurance athlete .

That's what we're designed to do , and I know that I am infinitely happier and better when I am moving . My body and my mindset is better . So I think they go hand in hand . So how do you water yourself ? Well , you grow where you're planted . You flourish in your own way .

You don't need to look at anyone else's fence or another patch of grass , because you are the grass . You're the grass and do hard things every day , and the framework for that hard is health and wellness , affluence and wealth , relationships and then development . How you're upskilling every day . That's how you water yourself .

You do something intentional each and every day , with consistency in those areas , and you will water yourself and your grass will be greener . That's what I learned .

You know , when I open my fridge and I see everything ready for the week , I'm like , yeah , this is 100% how I show myself love . And then , on top of all the other things , you know , movement and getting out there and getting after it .

So I feel like I'm pulling weeds out of my garden right now by just getting rid of the stuff , and then I've got bags of stuff I'm going to take over and donate today and it feels really frickin good , and so it doesn't have to be anything transformational . It's just the little things in life .

Just tense your garden every day , whatever that is for you , whether it be mill prepping by giving yourself some nourishment , working out a gesture of kindness all of these things have a compounding interest . Whatever that is for you , but do something for yourself . I realized by decluttering it seems like it wasn't really on my radar , but I feel so much better .

Oh yeah , I think we're the shit that's in my life . Yeah .