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Marathon
Pacing
Strategy
Use These Tips
and Tricks to Hit That Marathon Pace Goal
Alright, to set the scene, this page is about marathon pacing.
It assumes you know what your marathon goal is going to be. You have
nailed that down.
Now, it comes down to execution.
There are many areas of marathon preparation where we go wrong. Not
thinking properly about our marathon pacing strategy is
definitely one
of them.
When you are not sure about your marathon goal yet, please check out
the following page which provides you with all the tools and tips you
need to establish that goal: Marathon
Pace Strategy - Use the Ultimate Marathon Pace Guide to Learn What
Marathon Time to Aim For.
Now, on to the marathon pacing tips.
So, how
should you run your marathon?
Marathon Pacing and Splits - Positive, Negative,
Even...
One of the most important concepts in determining race strategy is
splits.
Running positive splits
means running the first part of the race faster than the second part.
Running negative splits
means running the first part of the race slower than the
second part.
Running even splits
means running pretty evenly throughout the race.
What do you
think works best for a good race performance?
I'll get back to that later on this page. You have a think about it in
the mean time!
Marathon Pacing and Breaking Up Your Race in Parts
A marathon is a long, long race. It's not only a physical battle, but
also a mental battle. One of the elements I found that helped
tremendously is breaking
up the race in parts.
And then monitor my speed in those parts, not per kilometer. Running
completely evenly 1 km after the other is pretty much impossible. You
may have to deal with some elevation; you may be stuck behind a few
runners for a little while, etc.
In order to make the race experience more relaxing and to stop myself
from adjusting my speed every 10 seconds, I have found that breaking up
a race in parts is really helpful!
I even do it with half marathons. I take three 7km blocks. That's about
4.3-4.4 miles, but you could use 4 miles, 4 miles and 5.1 miles for
example if you prefer to split the race in mile-blocks. Anyways, for
those 7km blocks I decide how fast I'd like them to be.
And I set up
these 7km blocks in my GPS running watch (also see the GPS
Running Watch Review Page) as well so that my GPS
keeps track of
the speed I am running in these blocks.
Same for the 10k. I focus on the first 5k, then the next 3k and then
the last 2k.
So, how to do
it for the marathon? Well, you probably need to work it
out for yourself what works best for you. I like the 7km splits (6 x
7km), it's long enough to get into a rhytm, yet short enough that you
can make adjustments as you go.
Marathon Pacing and Splits Again - What's Your
Answer?
Now, what do you think you need to do when running a marathon. Run
positive, even or negative splits?
Well, in my opinion, negative
splits is the best marathon pace strategy.
I'll give you a few reasons:
About fat and
glycogen: your
body has unlimited fat reserves, but limited glycogen reserves. When
you run faster, your body uses more glycogen. When you run slower, your
body uses less glycogen.
The horrible feeling people get when they have
to slow down in the last part of a marathon is due to their bodies running out of
glycogen. When you run negative splits, you have got a
good chance that your glycogen storage is just sufficient to finish the
race!
About passing
people: now,
what is
more uplifting than passing people in the second part of a
race? It's an incredibly good feeling, let me tell you
that. Many
people will start their marathon too fast and they'll run out of steam
at some point.
Not you.
When you run negative splits, you'll actually
be speeding up in the second part of the race. The result will be that
you will be passing dozens and dozens of runners, which will lift your
spirits and will help you finish strongly.
About not
having your best day: what
if race day isn't your best day? Running negative splits can serve as a
safety mechanism as well.
Starting off slightly conservatively, you can
assess how you feel at the half-way mark. And trust me, if
you are not feeling well at the half-way mark, you are not going to
feel better during the 2nd half of the race!
When you are running negative splits you can decide not to speed up in
the 2nd part of the race, rather than going out too fast and then
having to cling on for dear life.
About the pain
when running positive splits: running
positive splits guarantees a terrible second half of the race. Believe
me, I have done it many times before.
Overestimating my abilities, I
have had some shocking races in which I'd run too fast in the first
part and would then suffer through the second part of the race.
It's a
painful
feeling when all the power in your legs is gone, you can't
hit
your splits anymore and your months of training are going down the
drain, all because you did not put a race plan together...!
And, as a final remark, did you realize that most world records have
been set by runners doing negative splits? So, let's take the learnings
from the elite runners and apply them to ourselves!
So, how much
of a negative split should you run? Well, have a look at
my marathon calculator page and check out my marathon
pace calculator and marathon pace chart.
"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. |
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"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
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Marathon Pacing and Confidence
Well, I hope the above has been convincing enough to get you to think
about doing negative splits.
Not many people like doing negative splits.
Because the reality is, doing negative
splits takes a bit of bravery and confidence. After all,
you do feel like in that second part of the race you'll need to make up
for a slower performance in the first part. Can you do that? Will you
be strong enough?
So, yes, that does take some confidence. But of course, you can train this!
A good marathon training schedule will contain marathon pace training
runs. Why not do some of those with negative splits so you'll know what
it feels like?
Just an idea... :)
Marathon Pacing - The Start of a Marathon
I have been in big races with thousands and thousands of people
running. That first kilometer can be terrible. People everywhere. You
feel like you are losing time, etc.
Now, here's a thought. Just stay calm. Don't worry about losing 15-20
seconds in your first kilometre.
The really big mistakes you can make here are:
Run
unnecessary mileage by swerving from left to right to left
to right in order to pass others. Of course, some of that may be
necessary. Just keep in mind that the field will thin out quickly and
that there is a whole long way to go!
Try
to make up for a small loss of time (15-20 seconds) in the
first kilometre by making the second kilometre way faster.
Don't do it. You will pay in mile 23-26!
Just try to set into
your marathon pace and gain back your lost time slowly over the space
of 5-15km. You have got time to get back those few seconds. Hours!
Marathon Pacing - Some Other Considerations
Now,
just on to some other tips and tricks in this marathon pacing
guide to round off the selection!
What
is the course like?
It will be
crazy to try to stay on a certain pace, because a calculator said so,
when you are facing a steep hill.
Likewise, going downhill?
Then it
will be easy to run faster without tiring.
So, keep in mind what
the
course will be like.
Pretty much every marathon has got a
course map on their website. And if it is relevant they'll provide an
elevation map as well.
Check out running forums and look up how people describe their race
experiences for your specific marathon. Ask questions on what to
expect, what to look out for, etc.
Of course, here the use of the marathon pacing tip I gave you earlier
will help a lot, i.e. break
up your race in larger parts. Stop focusing on that
1km-split or 1 mile-split! Just look at the pace over 7km bands (or
something likewise in miles).
What if you are in a group and the
group is running too slow or too fast?
This is a really hard one. It depends.... Probably not the answer you
were after.
Group is faster than you? When it is still early in the race
(first 15k), don’t
try to stick with a group that is faster, even if it is only ten
seconds per mile, you’ll pay for it in the second half!
Group is slower than you? Well, when they are much too slow, then
you'll just have to break free from the group. However, if the weather is bad (windy
especially) there are benefits to running in a group.
So, when the group is only a little slower than what you want to run
(e.g. five seconds per mile) then sticking
with the group might be good for a little while.
It is just easier to run in a group, and especially
when there is wind for example, running in a group will help you safe
some energy for later in the race.
Of course, at some point, if you
keep on feeling good and your PB is in jeopardy, break free from the
group and start chasing down the next group!
Build
in the half-way checkpoint
The half-way checkpoint is an important one. Half-way in you should be
feeling reasonably good. Sure, you have just covered 21.1k (13.1 miles)
so you are not as fresh as you were at the start of the race. But, you
shouldn't be feeling spent.
Especially when you have been doing negative splits, because you'll be
expected to speed up a bit during the second part of the race!
So, feel bad half-way in?
Then reduce your speed somewhat and see how you feel at the 32k mark
(20 miles). You can re-assess your plans at that point and see how you
feel.
As I say quite a few times on this website, learn to listen to your body.
It will tell you whether it is a good idea to push for your PB or not.
The
last 10k / six miles
The last part will most likely be painful. It is for most of us. Even
if you have run negative
splits, you will have gotten tired by now. Your mind starts playing
tricks on you. One thing
that may make you feel better is having a look
at how other people are suffering.
You are not the only one in pain,
you will get through. Focus on maintaining your pace. If that is too
hard focus on reeling in
runners.
Just focus on the next person up and
try to overtake them (not by doing crazy sprints of course, just by
running your pace).
Some of us find that it helps to just count the
people you are passing from the 20 mile mark. A friend of mine had a
lot of success with that.
As he went from mile to mile he tried to keep
the score per mile and tried to improve upon his score every mile. He
nailed those last six miles. Despite the pain he had something very
short-term to focus on and it helped him a lot.
When running your first
marathon, it is very likely that the last
10k will be
painful. There is nothing quite like it. Very new to running and not a
lot of race experience? I can’t quite prepare you for that
feeling.
In your training you will have experienced it a few times during your
long runs. It's that emptiness, that feeling you can't go on and just
want to cut your run short by quite a few miles. The thing that keeps
you going, usually, is that you need to get back home!
Just keep on putting one foot in front of the other, focus on reeling
in runners, or staying with a group, and keep in mind that everybody
else around you feels exactly the same!
Post-race
evaluation
After your marathon, not in the first hour after, but in the first few
days after, do a post-race evaluation.
Work out what
went well. Work out what went wrong (if anything). You
may have been running with a GPS heart rate monitor, so have a look at
your splits.
Ask yourself a few questions:
Did you go out too fast? Or too slow?
What happened at the start of the race? Were
you able to settle into your marathon pace fairly easily or not?
Did you falter during the last ten kilometres
(six miles) or could you maintain your pace?
You can ask yourself way more questions than that. When you had a bad
experience, try to work out what you'd have to do differently next
time.
Look back at your training and see how you can improve for
next time!
"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
|
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