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Longest pace run before a race? (Read 520 times)

    Anyone have any thoughts on how long to do a pace run? I'm planning on running 18 miles along the marathon race this weekend and I'll be 2 weeks out from my marathon. I'm debating whether or not to run at race pace. Is this a bad idea? The other option I'm considering is maybe running the first half easy and the second half at race pace. Any advice?


    #2867

      The other option I'm considering is maybe running the first half easy and the second half at race pace. Any advice?
      I'm a big fan of negative splitting my long runs. I'm an even bigger fan of negative splitting my races. I think that's a great move if you are going to do an 18 miler. You don't need to be killing yourself, but getting a little pace work in won't hurt.

      Run to Win
      25 Marathons, 17 Ultras, 16 States (Full List)

        I agree. 18 at marathon pace is a really big workout to be doing two weeks out. Better off doing 18 with 9 easy and 9 at MP...or even mostly easy with the last 4-5 miles at MP.

        Runners run

          Thanks Blaine and Mike! I ran 12 this morning and I think I've peaked because my legs are feeling worn out. I like the idea of starting out slower then picking it up to MP later. Plus, I was chatting with my running friends and they reminded me that the Tucson Marathon has a very fast start (lots of downhill early on) and it's easy to get sucked into pushing the pace early. This will be good practice for me to hold back early and pick it up later. Thanks again for your advice!!! Smile
          muse_runner


          keep running.

            Rrousch good idea.
            running until I hit 1900 miles for the year. whether fast or slow I will just run.
              Oops. I couldn't help myself! I started out my run with a friend whose goal marathon time is 3:45 (my BQ goal time is 3:40). We both decided that we would start out slow and finish fast. I don't know if we were just too excited to be out there yesterday, if it was the downhill course, or if we have just done a good job with training but we both really were running fast and well earlier than we planned. We were talking a bit for the first 6-9 miles so I feel like if we could talk and still run at that pace that we must have been doing ok. My marathon goal pace is 8:23 per mile. Our first mile was 8:48 but our next 9 miles ranged from 7:46 to 8:23. We had some slowing for the 4 miles after that because there is an out and back along the course that is rolling hills. But once we got back out on the main downhill course, our times picked up again. Our last 5 miles ranged from 7:38 to 8:10 pace. Technically, I guess it wasn't a negative split since our slower rolling hills miles were in the latter half of the run. But I felt like we really finished strong. We added on 2 more easy miles at the end so my friend could get in one more 20 miler before our race. I was fine right after the run but got a bit car sick during our carpool back to our cars. So...only question I have now is if I can duplicate this run + another 6.2 miles without getting sick to my stomach. I'm hoping it was my 18th mile at 7:38 pace that caused me to feel bad. I don't plan on having any miles that fast in my race unless I'm pressed for time at the end and actually have energy left. Thanks for the advice! I really intended on taking it slow but I'm glad now that it is over that I did so well and felt so good during the run!