#i probably should have run the cape cod marathon instead but oh well

[bsaka7]

only 4more weeks of this posting godbless but anyway this marathon DOES have pace groups which i didn't realize but they're for 3:50 and 4:05....idek if that's normal but neither of those times are THAT useful for me

last race i ran a 4:04 (4:03:51) splitting like 2:05/1:59 for the halves...this course has a much more downhill second half (final 9mi almost all downhill). it's not a SUPER hilly course - 989ft total of elevation but that's not nothing. my GOAL is sub-4, my secondary time goal if i had one is probably sub-3:55. my sense is that going out with the 3:50 group would be a little too fast for me -- in training, i've been operating as if my MP is 9 flat and dropping to 8:45 to run with the 3:50 just seems like there's too much possibility for error. that being said my training has gone fucking amazing so far. and i have done one 20-miler where i split 8:51/8:57/8:54/8:52/8:43/8:41/8:37 for the last seven miles and i did not check my watch once it was just by feel and i was feeling awesome

i do no intentional running at MP and all my speedwork is with my track club. so maybe like. with the taper...that WOULD be there? but i also don't want to fuck up my race plan and hit the wall. my general strategy is the same as it is for every race which is like, first third hold back, second third maintain, last third push. at the same time i like. really don't know if i'm going to have the speedwork opportunities that i did this summer for like, a while (ever?), and i feel like i'm in amazing condition so i really do want to run my fastest possible race and feel like i don't have anything left in the tank (my first marathon which was a 4:34:51 jfjfjff i was like yeah i still have juice. the last one i had SOME but not a ton). this speed worry would be SLIGHTLY alleviated if i had raced a half (or any distance) during this build (my half pr is 1:53:27 from a race in spring 2023 but i've only run...4 halfs? and that was the only road half. i was in decent shape but nothing crazy). so anyway i don't really know what i'm capable of there either

my plan will probably just be to run my own race and aim for around a 2:00 first half of the race and then hope to reverse split again by a minute or two (i've reverse split every training long run so far + there will be that downhill so not too worried about that). and if it's a bit faster awesome! tbf during my last marathon i was like oh i'll run with the 4:30 pace group and then ditched them after like 1 mile but that race had 19k runners in it lmao so there were always people to chase. this one has about 1000. my first one had uh. 300. and you know. it's not like this is going to be my last marathon. already have my eye on one for next year! (and a trail half and depending on where I'm living I'd love to run a trail marathon. etc. and you know. maybe someday. a 50k. i got years baby! )

Edit: my dad's advice (i learned he has run 3 marathons - I thought he ran more!)