Decoupling is when your heart rate and pace are not longer consistent with each other. Either heart rate rises relative to pace or pace drops relative to heart rate. This can be seen in the photo below.
Ultra Runner Decoupling
At the start of a run or race these two progress in unison. But if you go out too hard and fatigue starts to take over these two will separate.
The result is a runner who struggles to the finish line vs. the runner who is strong and consistent through to the end.
Being able to nail this skill is harder than ultra runners realize and it certainly doesn’t just ‘happen’.
The three essentials to make sure you nail this element are:
- Practice pacing in training
- Have a pacing plan come race day
- Be aware of your emotional connection to the race
If decoupling is happening to you in your events the question is, ‘How much faster can you go?’ 5, 10, 30, 60 minutes or more?
Enjoy the adventure.
Run, smile and have fun!
Nick
P.S. Training Peaks has a great feature that allows you to easily compare your pace to heart rate. Its called Pa:Hr. It compares the first half of a run to the second half of a run and gives you the value as a %. Aim to keep this less than 5%.