Re-learning Marathon Pacing Lessons

Graph of heart rate over distance showing heart rate is not sustainable

This week I realized I am having a problem sticking with the spirit of the run and remembering what my new marathon race pace should be. I’m always learning from my runs and believe I am missing the point of getting a feel for my marathon pace by emphasizing hitting my marathon pace goal each split.

After the Oakland half marathon, I thought my marathon pace should be 9:25/mile. Somehow, I forgot that and decided to run last week’s six-mile marathon pace run at 9:20/mile. I struggled with pacing and was so concerned about hitting 9:20 miles I ran each split faster than 9:20/mile. I know my marathon pace should be the average for the entire run and not each split; however, I have difficulty executing this practice while running.

9:20/mile felt quick but sustainable for 26.2 miles, and, in hindsight, 9:25/mile would have felt even better. However, I was so concerned about running 9:20 miles I was running faster than I should have. 9:16/mile and 9:14/mile uphill on the return trip were not sustainable. The run should have made me walk away thinking my pace felt good, and I should be able to maintain it for the race. Unfortunately, the 9:12/mile average pace resulted in an unsustainable feel. While this was also a lesson, it was not the lesson I wanted to learn.

However, I have a chance for redemption this week. There is a 10-mile marathon pace run planned for Wednesday. My goal is to feel what a 9:20/mile average pace feels like. Much like last week’s 12-mile long run, which went really well, I will allow myself to be a little faster than pace on the way out, on account of the downhill, and a little slower on the return trip uphill. While the focus of my long runs is to stay in Z2, my secondary goal on Saturday was to run as close to 10:30/mile as possible; I was able to do both.

This whole experience has me wondering how I averaged 9:01/mile in the Oakland Half Marathon. They say the experience of running with others, being in race mode, the crowd cheering you on, and the taper help you on race day. My 9:12/mile training run made it seem that 9:01/mile would be impossible. I am starting to think I am not valuing the race atmosphere as much as I should.

Have you had a similar experience with pacing? Do you have any tips? Please feel free to share them in the comments below.

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