Spurred on (yet again) by @Poet giving me a target, I went out this morning for some MP work.
Conditions were lovely which helped.
Off a bit fast as usual but felt comfortable until it wasn’t
Made the choice to hang on for 10 miles above MP then to shift down for the last 3
Not gonna lie, did feel tough towards the end which again reinforces that I cannot afford to go off too fast as I will die, probably around the 20 mile mark.
Good run though for 6:10am and straight out the door
Good work 
Is the elevation right, I’m sure you’d have less climbing in a race? So less effort?
Great pacing though, and you’ll be fresher on the day compared to your current training load.
I can guarantee that is wrong.
Ockendon is pancake flat.
That’s a good effort @funkster and best to work out those pacing issues in training rather than in a race. It’s well documented that you are certainly a high performing diesel athlete, so for you it’s finding that perfect pace that will allow you to fly along, without dipping into the red at all. Sub 3 certainly seems within grasp, as i think if you pace it right, you’ll see a much smaller positive split/drop off than most owing to your physical adaptations. So you could probably sail it closer to the wind, whereas most other people would probably want to ‘bank’ in the first half.
Yeah that’s what I’m trying to avoid.
I think if I try and go for 6:30s then I might just go over the edge a bit too much, but if I try and sit just at 6:50 it “should” be ok.
Sunday’s 15 miles at MP (albeit with some hinderance from the wind) were mostly mid to high 6:40s and my HR was 7 beats lower
Today’s first 10 were all low to mid 6:30s and was ok until it suddenly wasn’t
MK is a two lapper, so that helps to some degree as any wind will be somewhat negated, as well as knowing which miles might be slower/difficult
At the minute I think it’s 60:40 for a sub 3
My experience from my sub3 was building into it on raceday. Start comfortably fast, and then reassess at 10k. Having a mental cap on my pace for the first 10k really helped avoid that urge to “bank time” when feeling fresh, and that never ends well. I almost used it to burn off the freshness, and then I could properly reassess as to how I was truly feeling.
Mine was only a subtle shift. I ended up going from about 4:00/km pace to roughly 3:52/3. But that 8s or so per km is over 5 and a half minutes in total race time. It’s massive. So it’s not surprising to me that you are finding such a noticeable difference between 6:50/mi pace, and 6:40 and 6:30.
I then drifted back to 4:00’s at about 28k, kept it there for about another 10, and then hung on. I think it’s also mentally helpful to have built the pace mid run. That way, when the inevitable fatigue starts to accumulate, any reduction in pace feels like you’re just back at where you started. That doesnt feel demoralising at all. Starting out at an optimal pace can only go one direction, and when that starts to slip, even by only a few seconds per km/mile, I’ve found it’s really hard to arrest the slide.
I like that @stenard 
Needs a disciplined mind though.
@stenard that all makes sense.
Much as it pains me, I may switch to km pace to get more of a regular idea of how I’m doing
4:10 - 4:15 pace looks like a nice range
Embrace it Luke!
Welcome to the 70’s, it’s the way forward 
4:16 is 3 hrs and 2 seconds (so sprint the finish chute!)
4:15 is 2:59
4:13 is 2:58 (this is probably what I’d set my pace as)
4:09 is 2:55
So 4:09 is decent, as you then get that “buffer”, and it’s the pace you did this morning
2:55 might be a bit too spicy
One of my best marathon runs came from running on HR alone. I knew from experience what I could hold (145bpm) and targeted just that. After the first 2 miles I managed the whole rest of the marathon +/-2bpm of target slowing on hills etc. Set a PB of 3:09:XX. And not a single person overtook me after mile 6.
If you know your HR backwards, which I think you do, you could attempt this. Hardest part was not looking at time until I was into the last mile.
Could you do what you did this morning back to back?
With a taper?
And proper sleep?
And pre-race nutrition?
And more special-er shoes?
I reckon you could 
Meh.
Race starts at 7:00, so gotta be up earlier 
Had the Alphas on, so unless box fresh ones are faster
Oh 
That’s a ridiculous start time!
Bloody Covid 
😮💨
I’m using some Next% with 207km on them.
Legs feel good a few hours later.
Alphas, 4% or Next% in the morning???
(By morning, I mean like 10am )
Think it might be the time of year as well.
A 9am start in late June might get a bit too warm??
I’m going to use the new Alphas I got this week on race day.
Got some UCAN gels for race day
You need some Tailwind
Summer has suddenly arrived around these parts, it’s already 14°C at 09:00 tomorrow.
