PACE THEORY

This chapter will discuss pace in training and competitive settings. Pace theory can broadly be
described as the pace along different points of the power-time curve and the accompanying
changes in pace as the power lessens moving to the right and the corresponding changes in pace
as this happens (see graph below). That’s to say, you’re going to see different forms of pace in time
as power moves from the left side of the power-time curve to the right side. Of course, in Mixed
Modal, there are different power-time curves depending on the modality. When these different
power-time curves are mixed, naturally there is confusion as to how to train for it. This chapter
aims to plot a way through the confusion.

It’s often asked what pace is it important to train at? The answer is actually dictated by the
competitive setting. For example, if an athlete’s whole year is focused on training for a 1 min 45
sec event, then they probably want to train, at that pace, quite a bit in order to get good at it. If
they were training all year for something that lasts for three hours, the pace would obviously be
different. Mixed Modal athletes then, need to do various race pace practice, towards the eight
minutes to 18 minute mark, given 12 minutes is the average time of task.

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Mixed Modal athletes also need to practice progression: from slow to fast, easy to complex, and
long to short. This is necessary to parlay skills with contraction styles and metabolic pace. If good
skills are mastered, great contraction styles are accomplished, and if the metabolic pace is done
correctly prior to the competitive setting, then they’ll have excellent execution of that pace in the
competitive setting.

There are also different kinds of pace to consider, relative to the phase of training. Competitive
pace is obviously the pace that resembles the competition or the competitive scenario, and
that’s practiced quite a bit in pre-competitive phases, as well as competition phases. Specific
pace, meanwhile, is the training of parts of a specific pace you want to improve. It’s similar to
competition pace but it’s achieved through steady state practice, threshold training, or specific
style intervals. This pace is different, of course, than the competitive pace, in kind and in the way
it’s done. Specific pace is done more so in tough and pre-competition phases, and done more in the
interval style format, in a lot of cases, to resemble the competition itself.

The third kind of pace is special pace. Special pace is training intervals in order to create learning
and volume with accumulation. Note this doesn’t contain as much fatigue. This suggests it should
be in a lot of base-building phases, and that’s exactly where it sits.

Fourthly, there’s general pace. General pacing is various modalities performed at slower rates.
This is done for skill practice and volume building, so most times is slower than the competitive
pace. This is seen a lot in deload and base phases of training.

Note, whenever we do any of these styles of pace, we are assuming the athlete can sustain,
recover and grow through these pieces.

If pace training is practiced, it requires a lot of variation and there must be significant practice in
all areas of race pace. Take the Mixed Modal power-time curve and your average power or max
power average throughout a 15-minute race piece of:

Run 200 meters

10 bar muscle ups
10 thrusters.

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Contemplate how many different variances and different working options the athlete needs to do
not only get good at the bar muscle ups, the running, and the thrusters, but the race pace interval
of 15 minutes.

Finally, just like in all other sports, there is a particular style of endurance and pace required for
Mixed Modal. This can’t be forgotten amongst the variety of modalities.

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