Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

As some have said the best way to get a feel for rating is mark out 
distances on your normal conditioning trail then use the most accurate 
technology we have to determine your speed - a stop watch. For a mile a 
5 mph pace is a 12 minute mile, a 6 mph pace is a 10 minute mile, a 7.5 
mph pace is an 8 minute mile, an 8 mph pace is a 7:30 mile,10 mph pace 
is a 6 minute mile, a 12 mph pace is a 5 minute mile, a 15 mph pace is a 
4 minute mile, a 20 mph pace is a 3 minute mile, etc. GPS is not quite 
there at these slower speeds - at 5 mph the error is about 20%.

Memorize those conversions - or write them on your arm ;-) . Then go 
ride your measured miles. Ride them over and over at different paces. 
Ride them until you can hit the time for a desired pace to within a few 
seconds. Do it till it hurts. Do it till you can hit the pace with your 
eyes closed talking to a riding partner so you are doing it by feel.

This was the way my track coaches trained us to pace. If you have the 
experience that you can feel the pace - that is something that you won't 
lose. Changing horses will only take a few times out to learn his pace 
once you are trained.

For new people in distance riding, at some point you should consider 
doing some CTR's to help you learn pace. It is not that CTR's are better 
or worse than endurance but they are much more anal about pacing and 
timing than endurance and that is a big plus in learning to pace. It 
doesn't matter if the CTR is NTRC, SEDRA, UMECTRA, ECTRA, etc. Most 
CTR's do have mile markers which can be a help in learning to pace.

Learning to pace is something that is very critical to success in an 
endurance ride. Once you know how to pace you can then make the decision 
that you will go faster or slower and as Jonni you can adjust your pace 
locally slowing down in bad footing, speeding up in good footing so you 
can hit an target pace for say 25 miles by running at different paces 
during the ride. It can be done. Like anything else - it takes 
commitment and practice.

Pacing is the most under rated talent an endurance rider can have. The 
great ones have it. I bet you could tell Steve Rojek you wanted him to 
do a 10 mile loop in 58:29 seconds and he would be less than 10 seconds 
off.

Now it is absolutely beautiful riding weather outside and I'm going out 
enjoy myself with my buddy.

Cheers
Truman

Tx Trigger wrote:
> It is more common for a trail to NOT have any mileage markers. Our 
> local trails have 5 different loops out of camp, with mileage markers 
> every mile, on every trail Had to laugh at a rider who thought ALL 
> rides would be that way, as this was the only place she had ridden, 
> and was very upset at a ride that had trails with no mileage markers.
> With technology changing since the "early days", one of the best 
> training tools I have ever bought has been a GPS, or even the Timex 
> speed/distance watch, to see what different speeds my horses walks, 
> trots, fast trot, steady trot, and also to be able to set it up to 
> keep my average PACE for the trail. Ride with one in training, and you 
> just get a feel for what a 5.5mph average pace is...including stops 
> for water etc. You can learn the feel of having to walk through the 
> deep sand or rocks means you need to pick it up on the nice section 
> with wonderful footing to average your pace out.
> Jonni


--

“It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how 
smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong” Richard 
Feynman, Nobel Laureate in Physics


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