Marathon Race Simulations

Divide and Conquer - this is a very familiar and very sensible strategy for victory. How do you conquer a full marathon? Dividing the marathon distance in half makes it easier to achieve. Run the first half and focus on finishing it. Then face the second half.

Running the first half (Time1) faster than the second half (Time2) comes naturally. You start with fresh legs and the adrenaline rushes in your veins. Then come second half, you already feel tired and your lungs suddenly tells your brain to slow down and try to recover. If you subtract the faster Time1 from the slower Time2, you get a positive difference (Note: 1minute is faster and smaller in number than 2 minutes right? 2 - 1 = +1). That is why in running, they call this difference a POSITIVE SPLIT.

I do this a lot. I start out at my best and just try to finish the race as strong as I possibly can. I think that to finish fast, I need to run my best. And I cannot do that under fatigue. So to compensate, my often strategy is to start fast and finish strong. It worked on my 5Km races (19-minute PR) up to my Half Marathon races (1:33-hour PR).

On marathons, this strategy has left me wanting for more. The fast start leads me to a desperate finish.

Image from esthervilledailynews.com

The alternative strategy is the opposite of the POSITIVE SPLIT.

NEGATIVE SPLIT happens when your Time1 is slower than your Time2. When you subtract Time1 from Time2, you get a negative difference since Time2 is smaller (Note: 2minutes is slower than 1 minute right? 1 - 2 = -1). To accomplish this strategy, you run the first half conserving your energy and then run the second half faster and stronger.

I used to think of this strategy as truly opposite to my personality. I am not that patient to conserve energy on a race. On Long runs and Easy runs, I can do this split. Not on a race when I feel like I want to smash my personal bests. Not when I challenge myself to stay with fast runners as long as I possibly could.

Then again, my marathon results are lacking. They are not up to my projected finish times based on my marathon training.

This article seemed to convince me to revisit my stubborn marathon strategy: Don't Blow Up! How to Pace Yourself in a Race

Marathon Race Simulations

For the Milo Finals, I dream of improving my 3:43-hour qualifying time to about 3:25 hours. To do that, I must pace myself below 5:00 minutes per kilometer for the entire marathon distance. I can do that for 21 kilometers. BUT I struggle to do that for 42 kilometers.

During my last Tempo Run, I ran 8Km straight at about 4:35 pace, rested and rehydrated, then ran 5Km straight at about 4:50 pace. The faster pace really tired my lungs and legs causing me to slow down for the last 5Km even though I felt I have rested long enough.

I think it's time to really change strategies and try to start a bit slower at 4:45pace and then finish it at about 4:40 to 4:45 pace (an EVEN SPLIT if Time1 = Time2). I can relax more by not starting out too fast.

Image from esthervilledailynews.com

And I will not be crashing to the finish line on a desperate attempt to meet the qualifying time despite the fatigue and zero energy.

Would it be more satisfying to be trying to finish a marathon with capable strong legs? I think so now.

With about 7 more training weeks, I will be simulating this NEGATIVE or EVEN SPLIT on my Tempo Training runs. I have finished the 8K-5K Tempo last Thursday, 8K-5K again this Thursday.. Then 8K-7K on the next two Thursdays followed by a 10K-7K Tempo runs leading to the Milo marathon.

[ 8K-5K Tempo: Warm up run, then run 8K close to target marathon pace, drink to rehydrate, run 5K again at Tempo pace, Cool down jog ]