Race Pace

It may seem pretty late in the program to try to determine what my finish time might actually be in a marathon these days, but it's certainly on my mind as Race Day approaches.  I have always found in my best marathons that a steady, even race pace is essential, and if anything it might be good to start a few seconds slower per mile.  (It goes without saying that going out too fast is the main reason so many first-time marathoners blow up.)

I've been training at a 9:30 pace, which would give me just under a 4:10 marathon and qualify me for the Boston Marathon in my new age group.  But I have realized from the beginning that that is very unrealistic, and running a marathon at an unrealistic place - at what I would like to finish it - would be disastrous.  True, I earned a BQ when I turned 60 with a 3:57:22, which is also my PR.  But conditions were optimum that day, and the BQ times have also been tightened up by 5 minutes since then.  Under the standard in effect in 2009 - which, arguably, I might be able to attain if those age group qualifying times are in any way related to the way in which a marathon runner actually ages - I would have only had to run a 4:15 to qualify at the age of 65.  That would mean a race pace of 9:45. 

And that's exactly what I tried out today in 7 steady tempo miles.  The new race pace felt comfortable, more comfortable than those 9:30 miles have been feeling.  But even that might be unrealistic.  A better strategy might be to aim for a 4:20 marathon, unless conditions are again optimum:  overcast skies, cool temperatures, a light breeze, and a perfect taper.  And that would mean a pace of 9:55.  That may not seem like much of a difference to a non-runner, but believe me, even a few seconds per mile matter a great deal in those final miles of a 26.2-mile race.