Marathon Goal Pace Advice (Read 114 times)

Thanks everyone.  Parking in Richmond turned out to be trickier than I thought and I spent a good 20 minutes looking for a place to park.  I ended up in a garage about a 15 minute walk from the start.  Then I accidentally left my sunglasses in the truck and had to go back for them.  That probably cost me another 10 minutes.  My plan was to definitely allow more than 30 minutes but it didn't quite work out.

About the early pacing, the stress of the late start probably did contribute to going a little faster than planned but I don't think it was a disaster.  I did 8:34, 8:26, 8:18, 8:11, 8:09, 8:13.  The first couple miles over 3:40 and the next 4 between 3:35 and 3:40. pace That 8:09 was a little too fast probably.  When I said the 3:45 and 3:50 groups were long gone, I should say that I don't know how far behind them I actually started - just that they were gone.  The fueling strategy for the race was similar to my training runs but not exact.  Based on trial and error in training, I've learned that taking a gel every 3 - 3.5 miles works well for me.  Since I decided not to carry my own water and to rely on the aid stations (every 2 miles), I took gels every 4 miles during the race.  I thought that would be enough after carb loading.  Getting enough water out of those little dixie cups is tough and that could have been a factor for sure.

Next time, I won't overdo it on the water in the 2 days before the race and I'll definitely arrive much earlier than I think I need to.  Also, I think I'll consider carrying a bottle and trying to refill it at the aid stations as needed.  That way I can replicate my fueling strategy from my training runs exactly.

The marathon is such a crap shoot to get everything right (at least for me) - and the distance will expose anything you do wrong.  I just signed up for a late March race so I'll try it again in a few months!