Fear is a Liar
To me this is an amazing post - you should bottle it up and sell it!
In all of my 11 marathons, I have never felt that I was running too slowly. Ever. I have gone out too fast, ran some insane miles at 10k pace and finished in 3:32 with a 12 minute positive split and yes, that was crazy. But I have never left anything on the course, or left it to a guessing game of what I can do. Training should give you a good idea of what you can accomplish, within 5 minutes of your actual finish time, as LTH says. You can run your half-marathon by feel, if you want, but you should still have an idea of what your finish time will be. Use your best tempo run to determine that (I run my tempo at 15k to HM pace). Most of my marathons have started at what felt right/comfortable, but never "easy". Then, after about 10-13 miles, it becomes an effort that requires some concentration, but it still feels right. Past the 21-22nd mile, I am focusing hard on my pace and trying to hang on to it until the end. That's what works for me and I've always finished within about 5 minutes of what McMillan predicts for my marathon time. For a half-marathon, I start at goal pace, and it feels hard, but that's because I never do a warm-up (just my habit). Then, after 3-4 miles, I feel in control, but I'm still aware I'm working hard. From mile 9 to 13.1, I have to focus a lot, I feel tired, but the mental picture of a clock with a certain finish time keeps me going. Oh and... no smiling ever. That's just wasted energy. Running is SERIOUS business.
In all of my 11 marathons, I have never felt that I was running too slowly. Ever. I have gone out too fast, ran some insane miles at 10k pace and finished in 3:32 with a 12 minute positive split and yes, that was crazy. But I have never left anything on the course, or left it to a guessing game of what I can do. Training should give you a good idea of what you can accomplish, within 5 minutes of your actual finish time, as LTH says. You can run your half-marathon by feel, if you want, but you should still have an idea of what your finish time will be. Use your best tempo run to determine that (I run my tempo at 15k to HM pace). Most of my marathons have started at what felt right/comfortable, but never "easy". Then, after about 10-13 miles, it becomes an effort that requires some concentration, but it still feels right. Past the 21-22nd mile, I am focusing hard on my pace and trying to hang on to it until the end. That's what works for me and I've always finished within about 5 minutes of what McMillan predicts for my marathon time. For a half-marathon, I start at goal pace, and it feels hard, but that's because I never do a warm-up (just my habit). Then, after 3-4 miles, I feel in control, but I'm still aware I'm working hard. From mile 9 to 13.1, I have to focus a lot, I feel tired, but the mental picture of a clock with a certain finish time keeps me going.
Oh and... no smiling ever. That's just wasted energy. Running is SERIOUS business.
I'm so vegetarian I don't even eat animal crackers!
Why was I not included with most people in this? My second attempt was not only not 30 minutes faster, it was 22 minutes slower.
10 minutes faster here. I think I would need to be nearly superhuman to get it down to 30 minutes faster than my first is just a pipedream.
This is nothing new, but I found some of these tips to be nice reminders:
http://runningmagazine.ca/sections/training/pacing-8-steps-for-perfect-race-day-pacing/
1) Practice makes perfect. “I’m always shocked when I talk to runners who seem to think that their performance on race day will be dramatically different from what they’ve been doing in training,” Mackinnon says. “There should be no surprises at a race – you should have a pretty good idea of what you’re capable of as you toe the line, based on the training you’ve done. If you’ve been able to average 4:30-kilometres for your steady-paced long training runs, then a three-hour marathon is quite realistic. If you’ve been holding 5-minute kilometres for those runs, three hours isn’t realistic at all. Your body simply isn’t trained for the effort required.”
Photo: Chris Brown.
2) Go out easy.” In a big race with a lot of people, this sometimes takes care of itself, thanks to the big crowd that seems to take forever to get across the line. Don’t try to push the pace too early – use the first few crowded kilometres as a warmup, then get into the pace that you’ve trained for. The first few kilometres will likely feel incredibly slow. Don’t worry, though – things will get harder by the end, I promise.”
3) Aim for a negative split. “Whatever the distance you’re running, try to run the second half faster than the first. Aim to get to the halfway point of the race feeling good – not stretched to the limit. At that point evaluate how you’re feeling and either pick up the pace (if feeling good), maintain the same pace (if feeling OK, but not great) or slow down if you’ve let the excitement of the day get to you.”
4) Avoid surges. “Sure, the elite runners at the front of the pack will play games with each other and try to run away from their competition, but if you’re after a good time, you’re best to try and stay on the same pace for the duration of the race. Be careful when you come to areas of the racecourse with a lot of spectators (especially if family and friends are there to cheer you on) because you’ll likely find yourself picking up the pace when you hear all the cheering.”
5) Stay focused. “It’s easy to find your mind wandering during a race, especially if you’ll be running for an hour or longer. I’ve been shocked to find that I slowed down by 15 or 20 seconds over a 1K stretch for no other reason than I lost my focus. Your mind is going to wander, even during a race – just make sure you don’t get distracted for too long and get back to your race focus.”
6) Key words. “To help maintain that focus, I like to use a few key words and images while I’m racing to help me stay on track. “Strong, smooth and quick legs” were my key words, which helped me stay relaxed while focusing quick leg turnover.”
7) Make sure you drink. “This is especially important in a marathon. No matter how well you’ve paced yourself, if you start to suffer the effects of dehydration, you’re going to have a very tough time maintaining your running speed.”8) Get some help.
8) Get some help. Many races provide pace bunnies who will run for a specific finish time. Many of the people who take on this task are outstanding at what they do, often coming within seconds of the goal time they set. Or if you have a training partner who is aiming for a similar time, you can work together to both hit your goal time.
Edit to add this comment: I have no idea what this has to do with the question, and I'm surprised that the pic copied and pasted right in.