Learning proper pacing by determining your body’s capability

Yeah, pacing is one of the more important skills that competitive racers have to learn. This is true for any endurance sport, swimming, track & field etc. Especially for longer marathons, you have to know when to pick up your pace and when to just moderate and take a breather.

Corzhens said:

When I joined a group of cyclists on their way to the uphill road just outside our village, I had heard some of their conversation during a respite before climbing. One said that stamina is the most important factor for a professional cyclist to which another remarked that stamina is actually the result of proper pacing. During that time, I had the dream of joining a race maybe not for winning but just for an experience. But perhaps we should listen to our body because what’s more important is the capacity of our body.

While you're training your pacing changes so much that you shouldn't bother too much with it. Pacing has to do with trained athletes who are not going to change the ability to go 2 mph average greater next month after training every day.

cyclintom said:

While you're training your pacing changes so much that you shouldn't bother too much with it. Pacing has to do with trained athletes who are not going to change the ability to go 2 mph average greater next month after training every day.

You are right that pacing is more for trained athletes. However, amateurs who are riding for long distances should also learn the proper pacing for themselves otherwise they will suffer a burnout early in the trip. That happened to some of my friends who do a leisure ride of more than 15 kilometers (that’s about 10 miles).

There’s no denying that stamina is an important factor when it comes down to racing, but it’s also going to depend on the type of race. Some races are sprints while others are marathons. When it comes to marathons, stamina and pacing are going to matter much more than during a sprint. Burn yourself out too early and you’re going to find yourself falling behind one position after another. It’s important to familiarize yourself with what pace you can hold and for what distance before you start becoming too fatigued.

DenisP said:

There’s no denying that stamina is an important factor when it comes down to racing, but it’s also going to depend on the type of race. Some races are sprints while others are marathons. When it comes to marathons, stamina and pacing are going to matter much more than during a sprint. Burn yourself out too early and you’re going to find yourself falling behind one position after another. It’s important to familiarize yourself with what pace you can hold and for what distance before you start becoming too fatigued.

Two years ago I was riding a lot with a friend who would always jump every damn stop-light turning yellow. Since I was always bringing up the rear I would have to REALLY jump on it to stay with him. Once I looked down and was doing 36 mph. That was a surprise.