Marathon Handbook Podcast

How To Find Your True Training And Race Pace (Without Guessing)

9 snips
May 15, 2025
They unpack six common pacing traps runners fall into and why round-number goals and legacy PRs can mislead. Practical tools like time trials, VDOT and McMillan calculators get explained. Tips cover using recent race data, adjusting paces through the season, and combining RPE, heart rate, and watch data to find realistic training and race targets.
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ANECDOTE

Alex Blew Up Chasing A Round Goal

  • Alex chased a sub-30 10K prematurely and went out too hard in races, burning out early.
  • He recalls a 10K where he ran the first 3K extremely fast and 'blew up' for the rest of the race.
INSIGHT

Round Goals Often Lack Reality

  • Many runners pick arbitrary round goals without fitness to back them up, which causes race failure.
  • Honest assessment and tools prevent wasting months of training on unrealistic targets.
ANECDOTE

Getting Hurt Trying To Keep Up

  • Alex trained with a slightly faster group to 'grow into' their pace and got injured after three weeks.
  • The push to match others' paces turned workouts into VO2 efforts and led to overreach.
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