It is so important to go into a race mentally ready to tackle the big event ahead. Part of being mentally prepared is having a pacing plan and knowing exactly what you should be doing to feel good during the race. Today we will be chatting about ways to assess your fitness to develop goals then how to establish a pacing plan for a half marathon and full marathon race.

How can you assess your fitness level?

How many times you have ran the race

What is your history with the races

What are your tendencies as an athlete

What do you feel confident with → over confident vs under confident

Aggressive vs less aggressive factors

Range of goals

Time isn’t the only factor

What is the best distance workout or race to look at when determining marathon race? Half marathon shape?

Should you look at past performances?

Should you have A,B,C goals depending on weather & how you are feeling?

What is a good range between goals? 5, 10, & 20 min?

Is it okay to throw out your race plan and run faster than A race?

Does it matter how many times you have raced this distance? IE setting more aggressive goals if you have done it a lot

What if your goal is just to finish? Should you still have a pacing plan?

What if I always blow up on race day?

Should I try to negative split?

Why do negative splits work?

What is your recommendation to someone who says negative splits dont work for them? Start even slower!

How many seconds per mile slower than goal race pace should you start?

What if you follow the plan but you find the pace is feeling too hard or you slow down?

Should you follow pacers?

Should you use a pacing band?

Should you memorize your pacing plan or is it better to go off effort?