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"Pick Up The Pace"

Posted by Smokey Stover on July 22, 2006

In Reply to: "Pick Up The Pace" posted by MR.X on July 22, 2006

: I would greatly appreciate it if someone could tell me the meaning of the phrase; "Pick Up The Pace" Thank you

Go faster. In a long race the field generally falls into a speed which will not exhaust the runners, so that they will have enough stamina left to make their final sprint. The meaning of "Pace yourself" is, don't use up all your strength and stamina early in the game. (Figurative use is common.) If one or more runners feels he can keep it up, even at a greater speed, he may cause the whole field to "pick up the pace," speed it up.

The term is also used, with the same meaning, for individual workouts, whether running or doing other repetitive exercises. (Is there any other kind?)

In horse racing the expression may be heard less often (I'm not sure), since the horses are already in full gallop as soon as they come out of the gate--or in full trot, in the case of harness racing. Nonetheless, the jockeys do pace their horses with the intent of leaving the steeds enough strength to "pick it up" in the final stretch.
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