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by Richard Benyo There are essentially three things a runner needs to know about approaching a marathon:
2. There is no such thing as a "bank" into which you can deposit time and miles in the early going that will deliver dividends in the final miles. Actually, the opposite is true: Go too fast too early and you're guaranteed to be bankrupt by the end of the race. 3. The secret to running a successful marathon is summed up in one word: pace. My favorite story about the converse of good pacing comes via Derek Clayton, the fierce Australian who held the world's marathon record for 14 years: 1967 81 (2:09:36, set in Fukuoka on December 3, 1967, and 2:08:34, set in Antwerp on May 30, 1969). It was the early miles of the 1969 Antwerp Marathon, in which Clayton would break his own world's record. He went into the race with the idea of going very fast, and he went out of the blocks that way, but very much under control. As he went through the 10K split in 30:06, there was an unfamiliar Kenyan with him. Clayton turned to the runner as they sped along. "Do you know what your best 10,000 meter time was?" Clayton asked. "Well, that's it," the unfamiliar runner replied. Clayton laughed. "You've got to be in it to win it," the runner said, defending his strategy. "Well," Clayton finishes the story, "he wasn't in it for long, I can tell you." One of the most common laments I hear about pacing, or rather, about the lack of pacing, is this chestnut: "I run like I feel. I've never been able to run an even pace." Of course, that attitude is ridiculous. "Can't" and "won't" are two entirely different concepts. Running an even pace takes self-control and discipline. If you can be disciplined enough to put in the miles needed to race a marathon, you can call upon that discipline to learn even pacing. The concept of even pacing isn't an alien thing. Arthur Lydiard, the father of successful modern distance running, lists proper pacing among the 11 essential factors needed for a runner to reach racing potential. Joe Henderson, currently West Coast Editor of Runner's World and in 1970 (when he said this) editor of that magazine, put it this way: "Generally, it's pace that kills, not distance." "I'm pretty sure one's best race times are achieved as a result of even pacing," Bill Rodgers says. "If I've had any success in racing, this is one of the major reasons why. In my training and in my racing, I've tried to run at a steady, rhythmic pace." "A factor in marathon racing that is of supreme importance is the even pace," says Manfred Steffny, editor of the German running magazine Spiridon. "In no other sport will you gain so much from an ability to apportion your energy carefully. Poor pacing is disastrous; usually it takes the form of going out too fast." Jon Anderson, the 1973 Boston Marathon winner, puts it this way: "If one is to race effectively, he must realize what pace to begin the race at this is the key to being able to finish the race effectively." Even pacing begins months before you arrive at the starting line. Like everything else about running, pacing can be practiced. Since pacing is a matter of running miles in a predetermined time, and since training for a marathon involves running lots of miles, you can practice pacing with every training mile you log. Unless you are running at a track, where the distances are precisely marked, measuring workout courses accurately is essential to determining pace. Most essential is marking the first mile of each course. The focus of this article, however, is not learning pacing so much as applying pacing to the early miles of a marathon so you save yourself for the later miles. The point is, pacing is everything. Period. Let's jog through the first 7 miles of the marathon, beginning with the countdown 30 minutes before the start.
Between 15 and 30 minutes before the marathon start, it is a good idea to gently jog a half-mile at a shuffling pace (three to five minutes per mile slower than your planned race pace). This warm-up will begin to loosen the big muscles of your legs, and it will gradually shift your breathing from anaerobic to aerobic, making the initial miles of the race more comfortable. Between 10 and 15 minutes before the start, shed your outer clothing and either secure it in your car (if it's an out-and-back or loop course) or bag it and stow it on the sweats bus. From 5 to 10 minutes before the start, do half a dozen 40-yard pickups (easy sprints); begin gently, and then, as your legs respond, increase the speed and power; jog 15 to 20 seconds between each pickup. Five minutes before the start, find your place in the starting field. Many marathons have pacing standards on the side of the starting field indicating the pace that segment of the field hopes to maintain throughout the race. At other races, the start announcer will give you directions for lining up in an appropriate place in the field based on your planned pace. Unless you are able to run 26 five-minute miles in a row, do not place yourself near the front of the field. If you are unsure about where to line up, ask one of the other runners. It is usually good advice to line up on one side of the field or the other, where you'll have some space to maneuver and not be trapped in the middle of the field. The ability to get rolling at the start is, naturally, a much bigger problem at megaraces like New York, Marine Corps, Honolulu, or Los Angeles than at the marathons that feature 1,000 runners or fewer. At a big marathon, it will take a while before you even see the starting line, while in a smaller marathon you'll likely cross it in 30 seconds or less. While you are waiting for the starting signal, shake some of the tightness out of your arms and shoulders; gently lift your legs, one at a time, to your chest (this gently stretches the muscles and tendons); blow the air out of your lungs and take a few deep breaths, filling your lungs with fresh oxygen.
At most marathons, a countdown from the starting area is chanted by the assembled runners, so you will have a good sense of when the race is about to begin. Be prepared to punch your chronograph at the signal of the start, even though you will not immediately move. Your finish time is based upon the time elapsed from the starting signal. In some large, sophisticated marathons where runners are corralled by qualifying times, adjustments are fed into the computer to reflect more accurately the time the specific groups of runners crossed the starting line. And, of course, with the introduction of the ChampionChip, accurate times are pretty much assured for each runner, although the chips are not yet used at many marathons because of the extra expense. If it takes you more than three minutes to reach the starting line, reset your chronograph to zero and restart it when you cross the starting line. In a large field you'll hardly move at all at first. Then a shuffling begins with some forward movement and periodic stops as the front of the pack moves down the course, opening space for runners coming up from behind to fill in. Don't panic. Move as the opportunity permits. Shuffle forward smoothly. Even when you begin to move somewhat regularly, try to walk fast initially, saving your running muscles. Once the field moves forward enough to allow you to roll into a shuffling jog, do so, but don't push too hard. If you see an opening in front of you, flow into it. If an opening is ahead and to one side, check to see if anyone else is coming up to fill it. If no one is, move gently into the opening. Take pains to make all moves smoothly and well planned so you don't run into or trip other runners, or be stepped on yourself. The first mile of any marathon can be rather confusing and also somewhat frustrating; you don't want to waste all your pent-up energy by immediately trying to get into a running rhythm. In reality, the close quarters during the first mile tend to "save" more marathons for runners than ruin them. The tightly packed field makes it difficult for you to get pulled out too quickly. If you are shuffling along on the side of the field, and it is clear for 20 yards ahead, roll into the opening, but don't sprint into it. Conserve, don't waste energy. Gradually, as the runners in front move farther ahead, there will be more and more space for you to maneuver. Gradually you'll be able to increase your pace. Do not attempt to make up within the first mile the time you may have lost at the start!
When you reach the first mile, check your time. If you are several minutes slower than you had hoped to be, don't panic, and don't attempt to make up the difference over the next mile. The idea is to get back on your pace over the first 5 miles if the field is not too congested, or over the first 10 miles if it is. Readjust your time goals if it took you an unreasonable amount of time to reach the starting line. If you had planned to run at an 8-minute pace, and you reach the 1-mile mark in 10 minutes, plan to run between 7:45 and 7:50 for the next 9 miles. This will put you back on an 8-minute pace by mile 10. If the field is small and you got out smoothly, immediately try to get into an easy rhythm. During the first mile it's better to err on the slow side than to go faster than planned. Considering the tremendous physical conditioning you are in at this point, the first mile may very well seem incredibly pedestrian, but don't give in to the urge to pick up the pace. At 20 miles, your 8-minute pace will not seem so pedestrian, and it may even be a struggle to hold it. If you reach the first mile a bit on the fast side, immediately slow yourself to what you feel is the proper pace. Don't slow down below your planned pace to average out your first two miles so they equal your planned pace. Just put the few extra seconds away and forget about them. If you ran a 7:45 first mile, for instance, and you planned to run 8:00, plan to reach mile 2 at 15:45. If you took more than three minutes to get to the starting line and you reset your chronograph to zero as you crossed the starting line, run the race according to your chronograph and not according to the official time. Your first goal, after all, is to complete the marathon safely. If you had set a specific time goal that now seems impossible because it took you so long to reach the starting line, you have two options. Accept that you cannot regain the lost time and run on your own chronograph, ignoring the official clock. Then you can still strive to achieve your time goal. Although the published results won't reflect it, you'll know what you did. The second option is to try, if you are feeling good when you reach the final 10K, to regain some of the lost time. It's not worth jeopardizing your entire race by attempting to make up more than three minutes within the first 10 miles. This inability to get to the starting line quickly in a megamarathon is a prime drawback for the first-time marathoner.
Late in the race, it becomes almost impossible for many marathoners to do even the most simple math. This is not the case during the initial 10 miles, so take advantage of the segment by settling in, finding your breathing and running rhythm, and do the necessary math and pace adjustments you need to get into your planned pace. You'll find yourself running the same pace as many of the runners around you. If you are shooting for a popular time goal (3:00 or 3:30 or 4:00), there will be whole clumps of runners rolling along together. They are attempting to feed off one another and to stay on pace to reach their goals. If during the first 7 miles you want to join such a group mirroring your target pace, that's fine. If you do join them, run at the edge of the group. Its leaders will typically change periodically. If you are a new marathoner, don't lead and don't get absorbed to the point where you feel hemmed in or where you become lulled by the group mind. If you are sensitive to it, and if the group you are with is an experienced one, you can feel the energy coursing back and forth. It is always easier to run the initial 7 to 10 miles with one or more other runners than it is alone, especially if headwinds prevail. However, there is a tendency when running in a group to allow the group to dictate your pace, seemingly relieving you of the responsibility of staying on top of your planned race. But you need to continue to monitor your own pace at each mile marker. If the group begins dropping behind or getting ahead of your planned pace, gradually leave them and get into your own groove. Some groups converse as they roll along. Don't join in. Save your breath for later in the race. If someone addresses a question specifically to you, answer as simply and precisely as possible. If it's your first marathon, it's fine to add, "This is my first marathon so I want to listen and learn," but don't become engaged in a conversation. You want to stay on top of all of your body systems, so monitor your physical condition from head to foot at least once a mile: How's my breathing? Can I hear my footsteps, or are they silent? Am I drinking enough? Could I urinate right now if I wanted to? Am I too hot or too cold? Should I remove a layer of clothing now that I'm warmed up so I don't overheat? Am I using my arms as I practiced at the track? Is that a passing twinge I feel on the outside of my left knee or have I experienced it before? If I move to the other side of the road, will the different slant of the road alleviate the twinge? Begin taking fluids from the very first aid station onward. When you approach aid stations, slow down, take your fluids, and walk briskly through the station area as you drink. Do not attempt to drink on the run; fluid splashed on your T-shirt won't do you any good. Walking gives your running muscles a temporary break, and, more importantly, you remain hydrated. Drink, and then flow out the other side of the aid station and roll back into a run. Eventually you'll catch back up with your group or get back onto your pace. (If you are running in a group, make sure that you're not hemmed in as you approach an aid station you don't want to miss your chance to grab a cup.) If it's a cold day, drink one cup of water at the first aid station. If it's a hot day, drink two cups at the first aid station. You want to begin taking fluid as early as possible, since it takes about 45 minutes even for plain water to be emptied from the stomach and properly processed through the body where it will do some good. Even if it's cool, your working muscles are using a tremendous amount of fluid to cool themselves. Don't be lulled into dehydration just because you are enjoying cool weather. You are still perspiring. You need fluid during a marathon no matter what the temperature. Don't use electrolyte replacement fluids during the first 10 miles take only water. You don't need other fluids yet, and if you take electrolytes too early, the sugar in them could interfere with your body's attempt to switch to using a greater proportion of fatty acids from the bloodstream. Once you get beyond 10 miles, your body will begin lusting after sugar in as simple-to-process a form as possible, both to fuel the working muscles and to keep the brain, which requires tremendous amounts of simple sugars to function properly, stable. Here, between 7 and 10 miles, is the place to begin taking electrolyte drinks. You can drink it alone or, if the drink is too concentrated, drink a cup of water to dilute it. By the time you reach 7 miles, your muscles should be warmed through and through, even to the middle of your dense thigh and calf muscles. Within the next dozen miles, you should experience some of the smoothest, most effortless running of your life. During this period, however, you must be careful not to succumb to the urge to run the way you feel, which usually means running too fast because you feel so good. In real estate, it's location, location, location; in marathoning, it's pace, pace, pace.
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