Forums >Racing>How do you gauge pace days in marathon training?
I've set my goal for November at 8:20 per mile. I ran an 8:26 average in my last one (3rd time I've run one, best time for me yet) so I don't think 8:20 is too crazy a goal.
In my 6-mile pace run today, I managed to stay under 8:20 in all but mile 4, when I ran 8:24. Also, I felt pretty spent at the end of it. My instinct tells me that I should be able to do my pace goal on these pace days comfortably, because if I can't do 6 at this pace, how am I going to do 26?
Should I lower my goals a bit? Or is this normal?
What's the weather like now versus when you plan on running a marathon? If you are somewhere hot & miserable, that type of run will feel way harder in the sumemr than fall. I find I overheat after about 45 minutes if I am doing something other than easy pace.
Hard to say if you should change your goal. What are some recent race times and how many MPW are you running? When is your race?
For me a 6 mile run at MP in the middle of the week is a hard workout. (Is probably do 1-2 miles easy first). I don’t think not feeling like you could continue for another 20 miles, or even 10 miles, means you are going too fast. If it feels like a 10K race then that is too hard.
#RunEveryDay
I'm not sure anyone should gauge their race pace off one run. Too many factors can affect one run --- wind, heat, hydration, a bad night of sleep, etc. You will build up mileage. You've got 2.5 months or more to train yet. Trust your training and keep going!
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Problem Child
When was your last one where you ran 8:26 and what race was it?
What is your weekly mileage?
Do you do any other training/exercise?
What is the weather supposed to be like on race day, during your last race, and when you tried to run 8:20 pace?
I don't think running 6 seconds faster would be a big difference BUT there are A LOT of factors that come in when you're not able to finish a hard run. I would think the heat, or fueling, was an issue when you felt pretty spent after a, (assumed) 8 mile run. Just because you're not in race day shape today (three months ahead of your goal) doesn't me you can't get there. This was recently explained to me. You don't want to be in race day shape today. You want to be in race day shape on race day.
Many of us aren't sure what the hell point you are trying to make and no matter how we guess, it always seems to be something else. Which usually means a person is doing it on purpose.
VDOT 53.37
5k18:xx | Marathon 2:55:22
When was your last one where you ran 8:26 and what race was it? - last November, NYC
weekly mileage? - was around 20 before I started this training schedule, last week I logged 33 as I've ramped up for the last 5 weeks.
any other training/exercise? - not really
weather - Yes, it was warmer when I tried to run the 8:20 for six miles than it will be for the race in November.
I generally do a half-mile warmup and cooldown before and after these pace days. Do you recommend a full mile?
When was your last one where you ran 8:26 and what race was it? What is your weekly mileage? Do you do any other training/exercise? What is the weather supposed to be like on race day, during your last race, and when you tried to run 8:20 pace
What is the weather supposed to be like on race day, during your last race, and when you tried to run 8:20 pace
Pace Prophet
I run 2 miles warm-up before any hard efforts.
Have you run any shorter races - half marathons or other, recently? What is your weekly mpw? 8:20 may be an aggressive goal, or it may be a conservative goal. November is a long way off.