I am still trying to dial in my optimum pace for this year's CIM. Based on my most recent half marathon, Greg McMillan's calculator suggests a pace of 6:24 per mile. But that's even faster than my most optimistic goal, which is to break 2:50 (my bottom line goal is to break 3 hours for the first time). A 2:50 marathon means a pace of 6:29. And most days, even that seems fast to me. After last weekend's long run, I was toying with the idea of backing off and aiming for, say, a 2:55. Or at least doing the first half at that pace and then trying to negative split the race if I felt good.
But one of my training partners who I thought was in the same ballpark threw me a curve on Tuesday. He told me his goal pace was 6:15. What? We had been training and racing at compatible paces for months and suddenly he is going to run a sub 2:45 marathon? This news really had me confused. Yes, he runs twice the weekly mileage I do, but still.
We were planning to do a marathon pace run (10 miles at pace) Tuesday and there was no way I was going to go that fast. Unless I could do it and consider it a tempo pace run instead.
As it happened, after a 2.5 mile warm up, we did the first five and while he ran at 6:15 I trailed behind him at about 6:20. This was too slow for tempo and still too fast for a marathon. After a brief break, we did another five, and this time my partner slowed to the low 6:20s, and I led the way back by repeating my 6:20 pace from the first half of the run. In the end, he concluded that his plan for a 6:15 pace was unrealistic, and I became more convinced than ever that 6:29 is the absolute fastest I am going to run at CIM. Those ten miles at 6:20 were doable but I could not imagine running another 16 at that pace. My heart rate peaked in the low 160s, which is where it should be for a marathon, but it got there too soon and would no doubt go higher if I were running farther at that pace.
Both of us plan to run Clarksburg Sunday at marathon pace (me: 6:29, him: ???) and then figure it out from there.
But one of my training partners who I thought was in the same ballpark threw me a curve on Tuesday. He told me his goal pace was 6:15. What? We had been training and racing at compatible paces for months and suddenly he is going to run a sub 2:45 marathon? This news really had me confused. Yes, he runs twice the weekly mileage I do, but still.
We were planning to do a marathon pace run (10 miles at pace) Tuesday and there was no way I was going to go that fast. Unless I could do it and consider it a tempo pace run instead.
As it happened, after a 2.5 mile warm up, we did the first five and while he ran at 6:15 I trailed behind him at about 6:20. This was too slow for tempo and still too fast for a marathon. After a brief break, we did another five, and this time my partner slowed to the low 6:20s, and I led the way back by repeating my 6:20 pace from the first half of the run. In the end, he concluded that his plan for a 6:15 pace was unrealistic, and I became more convinced than ever that 6:29 is the absolute fastest I am going to run at CIM. Those ten miles at 6:20 were doable but I could not imagine running another 16 at that pace. My heart rate peaked in the low 160s, which is where it should be for a marathon, but it got there too soon and would no doubt go higher if I were running farther at that pace.
Both of us plan to run Clarksburg Sunday at marathon pace (me: 6:29, him: ???) and then figure it out from there.
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