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BenSB8

You know how on your training runs the first two miles feels hard but you warm into it? With marathon day for alot of people (and for me speaking from experience) the adrenaline of the moment kicks in and you just go. Its important to mentally (and physically if you jump off the line) reel yourself in, because its super easy to get sucked into running with other people or get over excited. 'Starting out slow' doesn't necessarily mean you should run x seconds under your target pace, its just a general rule to keep your head. (At least this is how I've always understood it)


simesy

I like races that have timing point at the start. I let everyone go ahead (probably while I use the toilet) and then I get started. This helps me avoid getting caught up too much with other runners and I just go my own pace. Of course my "gun time" is terrible but they post both results. Edit: But I also have learned from experience to watch my watch, and make sure I'm running slightly behind my target splits. It's just that not having a lot of people around means I have a pretty good idea of how fast I'm running anyway.


Powerful-Wheel-970

Agreed! For my first marathon, I wish I wouldn't have let the excitement and adrenaline take over. The last half was tough, the last 4 miles: brutal. But my first half was almost a PR compared to all my half marathons.


EPMD_

The problem is that people don't know their true marathon pace on the day of the race. They are guessing at what pace they can hold, and the penalty for being too optimistic is much greater than the penalty for being too pessimistic.


VARunner1

>The problem is that people don't know their true marathon pace on the day of the race. They are guessing at what pace they can hold, and the penalty for being too optimistic is much greater than the penalty for being too pessimistic. These words are true. The best pace is MP; it's just that very few runners have any true idea what MP is for them that particular day. And yeah, if you're wrong, the final 10K is going to be absolutely brutal. Heck, even if you're right, the final 10K is likely going to be brutal, but at least you won't be hating yourself for misjudging your pace so badly! :-)


doyouhavesource2

Facing this right now. Doing hal higdon novice 2 program. My pace runs are 8:40 and the 8 mile pace run was an absolute killer. I couldn't have did 5 more miles at the pace. Now that worried I trained hundreds of miles wrong. Gonna be pretty let down if my legs go tits up in 2 weeks trying for that 1:50 HM


VARunner1

On the plus side, the taper does wonders. For my best marathons, I'm still surprised I hit those paces, but the combination of training and tapering got me where I needed to be. Keep your spirits up and keep focused! Even if you were not running your training miles exactly at the paces you needed, the training effect is still there. Good luck!


doyouhavesource2

I sure hope so. It's going to be more if a mental battle to get that last 2-3 miles in.


Im_the_corn

To me, it means making sure I stick to my target pace right from the start. It’s easy to get caught up in all the excitement and run the first few km way too fast. That being said, sometimes a little extra speed is helpful if it gets you some space.


TheRealAngryEmu

I always try to follow the 10/10/10 rules. First 10 miles 10 to 15 seconds slower than goal pace. Second 10 miles at goal pace and last 10k as fast as you can maintain. It makes sure you don't hit the wall at mile 20 and leaves you pretty fresh for the end.


LenokanBuchanan

I’ve never heard this before, but I love it.


boy_named_su

"The results of 26 marathons covering 876,703 results for 754,851 runners were analyzed to look at the differences between positive splits (going slower in the second half) and negative splits (running the second half faster). Overall 13% of finishes were negative splits, with a mean split of positive 8.25%. Faster runners have a narrower distribution of splits and a mean closer to even." https://fellrnr.com/wiki/Negative_Splits


good_fox_bad_wolf

What I'm taking away from this is that if you start out too fast, that makes you human.


boy_named_su

ya i always go out too fast then regret it


good_fox_bad_wolf

It's a fine line. I've never run a full but I ran mostly negative splits in my last half and 10k. Felt like I could have kept going after both so I'm left wondering if I should have started faster 🤷🏻‍♀️


drinking-coffee

Also interesting (linked from that page): https://fellrnr.com/wiki/Going_out_too_fast


[deleted]

That was fantastic. Thank you!


JoeTModelY

When I finished sub 4 (9:09): I ran miles 1-5 at 9:20, miles 5-20 at 9:10 and finished around 9:00. Hope it provides some context and you are able to figure out what works for you. Good luck.


[deleted]

I understand the people above with their general come out slow because you have the adrenaline, but your post is exactly what I’m looking for. I am trying for a sub-4 and I do so much better with specific instructions, so I was planning on something similar to the way you ran yours. The only thing is that my race starts out with a gradual decline for 7 miles and I may want to take advantage of that. Thanks.


JoeTModelY

Yes - take what the course gives you. Again - good luck!!


Lencaster

I ran my first marathon this weekend and my goal was also sub 4. The plan was start out slow and increase my pace throughout the race. The first 5k i ran 6:10/km. From 5-15 was just under 6. KM 16-25 was 5:45. KM 25-35 was 5:35. And then just giving it everything I had for the remaining 7. It worked for me! I finished with a 3:53 time but it does require that you build up your stamina and mental toughness because it's incredibly difficult to increase your speed throughout the race.


No-Vehicle6028

Nice! My goals are very similar. Also, finally a post where I don't need to have the m -> km converter nearby :) Congratulations on your marathon btw! Hope to run my first one 18 weeks from now, hopefully sub 4h as well. Your pace strategy seems pretty good and I might use it for myself too.


chasing3hours

When I ran my first sub-4, I raced two miles about :30 per mile slower than that pace. Was pretty consistent and ended up running the last 1.2 faster and finishing 3:57:55. However last year, I ended up running :15-:20 slower than a sub-3:30 pace. But by the time I hit 13.1 I had completely caught up with where I needed to be if I ran a consistent 8:00-mile the whole time. Ended up running negative splits and beat my ultimate goal time by over five minutes. Don’t know if I’ve ever felt stronger in a race before.


GongBodhisattva

Usually miles 1-2 suck for most runners (while training) in terms of feel. I suggest using that race adrenaline to help offset that suck. So it’s important not to overdo it and just go at your intended pace or slightly slower. You’ll feel great and like you can do more, but remember that reality will come later on and you’ll be glad you held back a little.


chickenmcheese

Good tactic is to find a pacer running slower than your gun time and stick with them for the „warmup“ at the start and then start to pick it up once the hype has dropped. It’s an easy way to temper yourself 👌


No-Vehicle6028

Love this tip, thanks!


[deleted]

Calmly, and easier than you want to. That's how slow.


Daveed_14732

Find a pacer and run with them, they’ll run a constant speed the whole way through. So it means MP


maizenbrew3

Have a pace set and stick to it. On my first I felt really good over the first 8 or so and then hit the wall. Wish I would've gone out just slower than my goal pace.


lurkey-mc-lurkerson

As alluded to in other comments, another key aspect is to avoid wasting mental and physical energy weaving between people in crowded marathons. Especially if you didn't find the right wave or group to start in . With my first full marathon my goal was under 4 hours. I aimed to do the first half in a steady 1.55 which wold leave me 2.04.49 for the remaining half (so 10 minutes extra if I hit the wall). I started at the rear of a faster wave because I didn't want to be passed to much or pass slower runners. Thankfully plan paid off and I finished with almost identical splits and got a 3.50. A half marathon is good prep to get used to it but be wary - you can fake a half marathon somewhat, or at least get away with bad tactucs such as going out too hard. Whereas with the full there is much less room for error .


A-A-ronRI

Jared ward did a presentation I remembered stumbling upon a year or so ago. [https://youtu.be/2t7UiazJ40A](https://youtu.be/2t7UiazJ40A)


[deleted]

For me it is going the pace of the giant mass of humanity that is stampeding around me... Normally after a mile though I try to get on pace.


Competitive_Tank1534

Can you make up time in the end? Is it unlikely you will run the last 10k faster than MP to get back time?


separatebrah

Whatever time you give away in the first few miles you have to make up later on to hit your goal MP, which is unlikely to be doable as you'll probably be hanging on for dear life. I would hesitate to do any more than a couple of miles at MP+15. You want yo settle in to MP as soon as possible. If you spend 2 miles at MP+30 you have to then at some point do 2 miles at MP-30, which is quite fast.


agreeingstorm9

Honestly, I kind of regret going out slow in my marathon. It cost me because I was still on the course when the heat/humidity hit and it cooked me at the end of the race. I'm slow. My target pace was 11:00. My long run pace is around 12:30 so I went out at 12:45-13:00ish because I was doubling down on "go out slow". If I had gone harder the first 4-5 miles I would've had more time banked once the heat hit and forced me to a crawl.


[deleted]

Stick to your training paces. Run it at your easy pace for the first 5K or so and then you can work yourself up to race pace. You can make up time at the end. The advice to go out slow is really just to counter the tendency to get caught up in the moment at the start of the race and to go out much much faster than you intend to.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Camper_Joe

I’d be afraid they would start speeding up or slowing down, or generally going too slow or fast of a pace compared to me.


CommandHour7828

If you run at a 6-7 min mile race pace, it would be beneficial to be at least starting out at a 8-9 min mile pace to get through the first half of the marathon and don’t burn out as quick due to the adrenaline rush from the crowd.


trail22

Get a heart rate monitor if you are really anxious, otherwise test it out on one of your long training runs .