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Click to view Kevin717's profile Rookie
Kevin717
3 posts since
Jan 2, 2007

Oct 9, 2007 8:32 PM

A question about pace

I'm training for my first marathon in January and have a nagging question about my pace. I would like to hit 4:00 and have no problem maintaining a 9:09 pace over about 6 miles or so, very comfortable run for me.

I have been doing my midweek runs at 8:45 - 9:00 and a once a week long run at 10:30 - 10:45. My midweek pace runs will peak at around 8 miles and my long runs at 20 miles (I am following Hal Higdon's Intermediate 1 plan).

My question is, with a pace run of only 8 miles, how can I be confident I will be able to hold that pace for 26.2? It seems everyone says DO NOT run your long runs anywhere near marathon pace.
Click to view formationflier's profile Legend
formationflier
989 posts since
Oct 13, 2007
1. Dec 26, 2007 6:50 AM in response to: Kevin717
There's no magic answer. You'll just have to take it on faith.
My training pace is between about 8:30 and 11/mile outside,
7:30 or so on the treadmill for up to an hour, where it's easy and there are no
hills heat or humidity. Nothing ever faster, except for short downhill
stints. Marathon pace - about 7:10/mile. 2-mile pace - 6:10/mile.
With that said, you haven't provided enough information to indicate
whether 4 hrs is the right marathon time for you. What are your shorter
distance race times?


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http://This message has been edited by leitnerj (edited Oct-09-2007).
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Click to view milkbaby004's profile Legend
milkbaby004
464 posts since
Jul 28, 2003
2. Oct 10, 2007 4:03 AM in response to: Kevin717
You never know what you will run in a marathon until it's over. If the course is hard or the weather unfavorable, all bets are off.

If you run a half marathon race, you can enter the time into a race "predictor" calculator like this one:
http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/rununiv/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm[/URL" target="_blank">

You could use a time trial result instead of a real race result instead if you don't plan to run a HM soon -- just run hard over a HM (13.1 mile) course and use that time. Other race distances can be used to compute an equivalent marathon performance, but the closer the distance is to the full marathon, the higher quality prediction you will get.

The longer your running history, and the higher mileage you run, the more likely you are to achieve the predicted race time. Personally I feel that if during a week of the heaviest training I can run a continuous run of 13 or more miles at desired pace, I have a chance of holding that for twice as long on race day. No real science behind that, just my own personal experience...
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Click to view tss1201's profile Pro
tss1201
79 posts since
Aug 26, 2007
3. Oct 10, 2007 8:18 AM in response to: Kevin717
I don't know what your other race experience is, but I am always amazed at how much faster I can run in a race than in training. In my last half marathon, I did a couple of long runs in which I was supposed to run the last several miles at my goal half marathon pace (which was 8:00). These just about killed me, and I was having serious doubts about whether I could sustain that pace for an entire 13.1 miles. But on race day, I managed a pace of 7:34. Must be a combination of the taper and race day adrenaline.

I am also training for my first marathon (in 3 weeks), and I sometimes run the last few miles of long runs at my planned marathon pace. I also did most of a half marathon at my planned marathon pace (with no taper, the day after a 15-mile run -- so my legs were tired). This gives me confidence that I can hold that pace when I'm tired.

Good luck!
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