How Good Are You at Pacing? Lessons from Athletes and the Pool

Pacing is one of the trickiest skills in swimming, cycling, and running. Too fast, and the effort crashes; too cautious, and you leave potential on the table. Every athlete struggles with it at some point.

Recently, an experienced athlete shared their cycling five-minute power test experience – a classic example of the “optimistic start” versus controlled pacing struggle.

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The Athlete Story: Learning Through Testing

“Did the 5-min power test. Still not proud of my pacing, but it was all much more even than last time. I think it is my best ever 5-min output. I was 1–2 seconds away from seeing my breakfast. I don’t think I’ll ever learn.”

I replied: “I hear you! Pacing is tricky – even the most experienced athletes struggle. But look at the positives: your power was more even than last time, and you achieved your best-ever 5-minute output. That’s progress.”

Starting too high is completely normal – it’s almost impossible to know exactly how your body will respond until you test. Each attempt teaches you something about pacing, effort, and thresholds.

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The Universal Lesson: Pacing is a Skill, Not a Guess

Pacing isn’t about perfection in one attempt. It’s about learning, adjusting, and improving gradually. Every test brings you closer to a better understanding of your limits and capabilities.

“Even the river learns the best line through the rapids one run at a time.”

Short, maximal efforts are all about learning your limits and fine-tuning pacing. Going out too hard is common – adrenaline and optimism take over. But reviewing the data, noticing what worked, and adjusting next time is what builds skill, confidence, and performance over time.

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Types of Pacing to Know

1. Even Pace – Holding a consistent speed from start to finish. Reliable, predictable, and safe. Ideal for steady sets, time trials, and long efforts where endurance is the key.
2. Negative Split – Start slightly slower than your target, and finish faster. Encourages energy conservation early and a strong finish. Very effective in swims, runs, and races longer than a sprint.
3. Building Pace – Gradually increase effort over a set or distance, allowing the body to warm into speed. Useful for long intervals or threshold sets.
4. All-Out / Explosive Start – Going as hard as you can from the start. Risky – often leads to fatigue, like my 200m butterfly final story – but teaches limits and sharpens pacing judgment over time.

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A Hard Lesson from the Pool

I still remember a 200m butterfly final many years ago. I set off like my pants were on fire – absolute all-out effort. By 100m, I’d hit a personal best and turned at the wall right alongside the national champion.

By then I knew I’d made a monumental mistake. The second 100m was carnage. My heart rate climbed, my hips sank, and the whites of his eyes disappeared ahead. I finished humbled, wiser, and painfully aware that pacing isn’t about how fast you can go – it’s about how long you can maintain a sustainable effort.

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Practical Swim Tip

When pacing longer swims or interval sets:

• Start slightly slower than your perceived sustainable pace.
• Focus on maintaining control and rhythm.
• Build or negative split as the set progresses.
• Review and adjust next time.

Try it — you’ll thank me later.

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Final Thoughts

It’s tempting to chase early glory, but controlled pacing wins over time. Lessons from swimming, cycling, or running all converge: trust your body, experiment, and refine gradually.

Optimistic starts are normal. The skill is in learning from them.