Like this site:
[ ?] Subscribe To This Site



|
|
Marathon Pace
Strategy - Use the Ultimate Marathon
Pace Guide to Learn What Marathon Time to Aim For
Marathon pace
strategy is a crucial element of your marathon race
preparations.
We all train so hard for our marathons. Months and months of work.
So, you don't want to be one of those people who throw it all away on
race day.
In this marathon pacing guide I will try to give you all the info you
need to work out what
marathon time to aim for. And on the marathon
pacing page I'll provide you
with all the marathon pacing tips in order to explain to you how to achieve that time.
Sounds alright? Then let's get right into it!
Oh, before we do that... let's see if you can
answer "yes" to the questions in this video... If so, then I'd be
comfortable you have done the hard yards and are well prepared to go
for that sharp time goal.
Can't answer "yes" to all of the questions? Then you may need to
revisit how fast you run that race... When things start hurting, it's a
long way to the finish line!
Marathon Pace Strategy Part 1: Do You Have a Goal?
So, why are
you running this marathon? Do you just want to finish? Have you run one
before and you now want to improve upon your previous time? Do you have
a firm idea of
what that improved time should look like?
Aiming for that attractive "sub-4",
sub-3:30"
or "sub-3"
personal best?

Wondering
about
your marathon goal?
|
It is great to have a goal.
In
fact, everybody starting their marathon
should have one.
Even if it is your first and you just want to finish
it.
It would be great if you had a good idea about which time you are
going to go for.
However, make
sure you back up this goal with the right data.
In the following paragraphs I'll try to cover off on that. It is going
to hurt massively if your goal is not aligned with how fast you can
run. So, let's make sure your goal is a good one.
Marathon Pace Strategy Part 2: Do You Have
Multiple Goals?
For marathons especially, but for any race it is good to have multiple
goals. One goal is your "this
is what I can realistically do"-goal.
However,
when you feel halfway during the race that things aren't going your
way, then you should have a back-up goal. This is your "tough day in the office"-goal.
And then there is your "this
is the absolute best day of my life"-goal. This is for
when you are at the 20 mile mark, still feeling incredible, and you are
feeling brave enough to speed up.
Marathon Pace Strategy Part 3: Can You Pass the
"I Have Done My Marathon Training"-Honesty Test?
Has your training really been sufficient for the marathon pace goal you
have in mind?
Now this is where the "I
Have Done My Marathon Training"-honesty test comes in.
Can you answer all of the below questions affirmatively:
1)
Have you been running four or more times per week for the last six
months without much interruption (losing one week of training somewhere
can happen, losing more time can start to affect performance)?
2)
Did your marathon training program consist of plenty of quality
workouts (i.e. intervals, tempo runs etc, anything that isn't easy
pace)?
3) Have you hit 20 miles multiple times in training? Ideally you would
have hit it four to six tmes. And did you finish those runs without
fading too much in the final miles?
4) Have you done 90+ minute runs every week for the last three
months, preferrably twice a week (or more)?
5) Have you done marathon pace runs including a marathon pace run of
about 16 miles / 25k in length?
Can you answer five out of five affirmatively?

Think about
it: have you done your training?
If so, well done, the basis
is there to hit your marathon goal. It is more than likely that your
marathon training program is serving you well to hit that marathon pace
goal.
There are no guarantees
in the marathon, but a great
marathon training program which consists of consistency, plenty of
quality workouts, sufficient 20+ mile runs, many 90+ min runs and
marathon pace runs will serve you well.
Not getting
five out of five?
Then be mindful that your
marathon pace goal could be unrealistic. We'll get into
some ways to determining your marathon pace goal in a minute. Just be
prepared that your training and previous race experiences may not
provide you with the right race goals.
E.g. your previous races and your running training may predict a 3:40
marathon. However, without
the proper marathon running training this goal is most likely too
aggressive. It would be better to shoot for 3:50 or so
instead.
"I Love This Marathon Guide. It's Really Good. I Don't Get It. You Are Giving This Away for Free??? I Should Have Had This Years Ago. It's Never Been So Easy!"
Grab "Marathon Training Secrets" NOW. Run Your Marathon With Confidence. |
|
|
"Thank you for these emails! As a beginner runner I am really getting a lot of valuable help from your knowledge!"
Joe
"Loving the tips! Loving them all. Keep it up …"
Kursti
|
Marathon Pace Strategy Part 4: Determining
Marathon Pacing Based on Your Training Paces
When you are doing regular running training, you most likely see
improvements over time in your long run pace, tempo run pace and
interval running pace.
The great thing is, your running training paces can give you an
indication of what your marathon time could look like.
All you need is the marathon pace calculator on the marathon
calculator page.
Now,
a little note of caution when using this marathon pacing
calculator.

Use the marathon
calculators
to
work out your marathon pace
|
You
need to
keep in mind that it is your training that will help determine your
goal time, not the other way around.
So, don't think that you can plug in a 2:59 marathon in the calculator
above.
And then start doing your running training based on the
calculated training paces.
It does not
work like that.
In fact, it is a path straight to
disaster.
First of all, you will not get the optimal benefit out of
your long run when it has become a tempo run.
Same with your tempo run
when it has become an interval session!
Second, you can imagine that this is just way too exhausting. And
pushing yourself over the brink will only lead to injury. So, don't do
it.
Do your consistent training and your running training paces will
improve over time. Then
use your training as a marathon pacing guide.
Marathon Pace Strategy Part 5: Determining
Marathon Pacing Based on Your Previous Races
Have you done
tune-up races?
It can be incredibly helpful to do a half marathon (or 10k/15k) within
the
last month before the race. In addition to your training
pace
information it can help you get the right expectations for your
marathon pace.
All you need is the marathon race conversion calculator on the marathon
calculator page to
establish
how your race performance relates to your possible marathon performance.
Keep in mind: this is
only a marathon pace indicator. It's just another tool.
you can’t
rely on this tool alone.
You need to have put in the right
amount of training and you can't rely on very short races to calculate
your marathon time.
Marathon Pace Strategy Part 5: A Quirky Tool -
The Yasso 800
The Yasso 800 workout
is a workout created by Runner's World editor Bart Yasso. The idea
behind it is that the time you run in minutes and seconds in your 800m
repeats is the time you'll run in hours and minutes in the marathon.
E.g. suppose you do 800m repeats at 3 min 45 seconds, then your
predicted marathon time is 3 hrs and 45 minutes.
It is a quirky little tool. Use it with care though, I have seen many,
many reports from people who are slower
than their predicted marathon time by 10 - 15 minutes.
It's a good third help though.
Check out the following link to learn more about the Yasso
800.
Marathon Pace Strategy Part 6: The Ultimate Test
- Marathon Pace Training
Have you done marathon
pace training? Pretty much the ultimate test of whether
you'll be able to hit your marathon goal is to run at marathon pace and
see how it feels for you.
Whenever you look at elite running training programs, they feature a
whole lot of tempo
running and a whole lot of marathon pace long runs
(usually alternated with traditional somewhat slower long runs).
Marathon pace runs can
leave you
thoroughly
exhausted
|
The ultimate test is if you are able to build up to a 25k / 16 miles
marathon pace run.
With all your other training in check
(see the above "honesty test" under part 3) and a marathon taper which
will help you get all rested, it is believed that you can do the full
marathon at that pace.
Follow the link to learn more about all the essential marathon
taper tips and tricks.
Using all the
info above, we should now have a decent idea of what kind
of marathon time we are capable of.
Always use multiple inputs!
Establish your predicted time based on
your training and tune-up races. Then test this doing a Yasso 800
workout. Do your marathon pace long runs and see if you are able to
hold that pace for the whole 25k / 16 miles.
Now, these
are all just tools. But they should all
point in the same general direction. It would be very rare
to have one prediction tool tell you you'll do a 3 hr marathon
and the other one to tell you you'll run a 4 hr marathon.
Of course, it
will be very rare
that these are all perfectly aligned.
The Yasso 800 may point to a 3 hr 30 min marathon. Your recent 10k race
might point to a 3 hr 25 min marathon and your recent training may
point towards a 3 hr 35 min marathon.
When you are well-trained and
your training is reasonably balanced than the results will not be far
off. They should give you a good idea about which time to
shoot for.
Always err at
the side of caution.
In the above example, please don't assume that 3 hr 25 is the goal to
go for, just because it is the prediction you like the best. The 3 hr
35 goal is probably most realistic. Test
it out with your marathon pace
long run!
Now, that we have established your marathon pace, let's continue to the
marathon
pacing
page to find out how you should run your marathon!
Click the pics below for the marathon pacing page or some other useful
pages:
"I Love This Marathon Guide. It's Really Good. I Don't Get It. You Are Giving This Away for Free??? I Should Have Had This Years Ago. It's Never Been So Easy!"
Grab "Marathon Training Secrets" NOW. Run Your Marathon With Confidence. |
|
|
"Thank you for these emails! As a beginner runner I am really getting a lot of valuable help from your knowledge!"
Joe
"Loving the tips! Loving them all. Keep it up …"
Kursti
|
Like this page:
|
|
|
|
New! Comments
Have your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment in the box below.