marathon pace plan

[Rick]

For the twin cities marathon, the course is mostly flat except for a 100 or so foot high hill that extends from mile 21 to 23. The race organizers actually have recommended pace charts for their course. I adapted (simplified) it for my goal, of 3:35:59, by splitting into 3 blocks, of slow start, faster mid part, then slow down at the end for fatigue and hill. Does this look reasonable to folks here?


   Mile Pace    Time Checkpoints
1   0:08:25   
2   0:08:25   
3   0:08:25   
4   0:08:25   
5   0:08:25    0:42:05
6   0:08:01   
7   0:08:01   
8   0:08:01   
9   0:08:01   
10   0:08:01   
11   0:08:01   
12   0:08:01   
13   0:08:01   1:46:13
14   0:08:01   
15   0:08:01   
16   0:08:01   
17   0:08:01   
18   0:08:01   
19   0:08:01   
20   0:08:01   
21   0:08:01   2:50:21
22   0:08:30   
23   0:08:30   
24   0:08:30   3:15:51
25   0:08:45   
26   0:08:45   3:33:21
26.2   0:08:12   3:34:59

[jtshad]

From my experience in 2008, the hill at 21 miles is a tough one that should be respected.  From mile 20 on, consider the course uphill except for the last 0.5 mile or so from the church to the finish.  While the profile looks flat, it has more rolling feel to it but is is manageable.  I hope you have good weather (not too hot like is has been in the past nor the monsoon I ran in).

Here is the link to my race report from 2008:  http://jeff.fastrunningblog.com/blog-10-05-2008.html

Good luck!

[Rick]

Great job on that race! I can't believe you were able to run so fast in that rain. I had friends who ran it that year, and it sounded like a freezing rain. Lucky no sleet.
Last year, the weather was perfect. I'm hoping for a repeat of the temps.
I will leave more time for the final hill. Thanks

From my experience in 2008, the hill at 21 miles is a tough one that should be respected.  From mile 20 on, consider the course uphill except for the last 0.5 mile or so from the church to the finish.  While the profile looks flat, it has more rolling feel to it but is is manageable.  I hope you have good weather (not too hot like is has been in the past nor the monsoon I ran in).

Here is the link to my race report from 2008:  http://jeff.fastrunningblog.com/blog-10-05-2008.html

Good luck!