Trouble holding marathon pace alone, but easy with others

Maybe that's not really your marathon pace then. Have you actually raced a marathon at 6:55 pace?

I'm in high school and haven't done a marathon but I'm training for track right now and based on my vdot my marathon pace is 6:55

I wouldn't worry too much about the actual pace right now. Go by effort. M pace should be a nice steady, rhythmic effort where you kind of get in a zone. There should be no strain at all. Try warming up a bit longer and just let your pace naturally progress down to M effort.

don't run solo

Just keep practicing it, and the mental toughness will come.

Train with Jesus and you will always have an imaginary friend at your side.

Running effort level always feels easier with a group. What you are experiencing is not unique. It just shows the benefits of being in a training group.

suckatMpace wrote:

Whenever I try to run my Marathon pace on runs (~6:55) [...]

It usually is easy aerobically at first but I start breathing hard, etc. later into the run.

I don't care what your VDOT suggests - if you're breathing hard later in a run at MP (and I'm assuming these runs are substantially shorter than 26.2), then 6:55 is not your MP.

You're in high school. I'm thinking you don't have a long-term, solid aerobic base. Wheat's your longest run? Have you ever finished a long run strongly?

suckatMpace wrote:

Whenever I try to run my Marathon pace on runs (~6:55) I usually have some difficulty keeping the pace there and tend to accidentally slow down to around 7:30 pace.

However, when I run 6:55 pace with a group it is much easier because all I have to do is stay with the group. It makes it easier mentally to hold the pace because I am just trying to not get dropped. It usually is easy aerobically at first but I start breathing hard, etc. later into the run. When I start hurting I can push myself to just stay with the group.

How can I apply the "don't get dropped" mentality to Marathon paced runs when I am running solo?

Dont feel alone. Ive never run a marathon myself and my vDot has me at a 7:04 for my M pace as well, sadly this is even 5 seconds faster than my last half marathon pace (granted I wasn't feel great that day either) what Ive done about the M pace confusion is to use my HM pace + 20/30 secs. The M paced runs have felt much more less taxing (which is kind of the idea!!!!) and I feel more ready to go by my next speed session. The M pace runs are not T runs (tempo) and you should be feel like your running steady hard. Not to the point where you're struggling to keep pace after the first 4 miles. I think of the M pace runs as the junk mile zone(i know i will get burned for that statement), too fast to be easy and not fast enough to be considered hard. The M pace is to build some confidence and barely tap LT. Also any M pace run Ive ever seen was in a run greater than a total of 10 miles. Any run at a M pace shorter than that kinda seems counter productive. Usually by the end of my M pace runs my legs are beginning to show early signs of lactic build up and my breathing becomes more labored towards the last 2 or 3 miles of it. The M pace has a place in training but for those who never run the Marathon we always question its importance. I run my vDot one spot below my current 5k PR.

Break up your MP runs with 2 minute jog recoveries. Increase the time running MP and before you know it, you'll be running it straight through with no recovery needed. If it's truly MP, you shouldn't need a ton of mental toughness to hold the pace.

suckatMpace wrote:

How can I apply the "don't get dropped" mentality to Marathon paced runs when I am running solo?

Run even pace, and check your splits every mile.

When I was training for the marathon, I did 2 or 3 two hour runs at base pace each week, and could nail 7 minute pace within a second or two every mile. This is important to be able to do, and you know you're in good shape when you can do it.

suckatMpace wrote:

Whenever I try to run my Marathon pace on runs (~6:55) I usually have some difficulty keeping the pace there and tend to accidentally slow down to around 7:30 pace.

Marathon pace is fast, and you shouldn't be trying to run it all the time, in fact not more than once in 3 weeks over distance, i.e. 17 miles or longer. Other than this, I wouldn't go more than 10 to 13 miles at marathon pace any more often than once in a week or two. Besides this, run 4 to 6 mile tempo runs at marathon pace twice a week, plus your long interval sessions, and lots of mileage at easier paces.

suckatMpace wrote:

Whenever I try to run my Marathon pace on runs (~6:55) I usually have some difficulty keeping the pace there and tend to accidentally slow down to around 7:30 pace.

Since your marathon pace is ~6:55, your usual base training should be a lot slower than that, in the range of 8 to 10 minutes a mile and slower. The most important part of this is first building the distance. Consider that Cam Levins at his peak was running his base miles at a pace more than double his time for one time.

easy weeks wrote:

suckatMpace wrote:

Whenever I try to run my Marathon pace on runs (~6:55) [...]

It usually is easy aerobically at first but I start breathing hard, etc. later into the run.

I don't care what your VDOT suggests - if you're breathing hard later in a run at MP (and I'm assuming these runs are substantially shorter than 26.2), then 6:55 is not your MP.

You're in high school. I'm thinking you don't have a long-term, solid aerobic base. Wheat's your longest run? Have you ever finished a long run strongly?

This. You can use a hybrid in VDOT calculations. Eg use a short race to calculate your R pace and a longer race to calculate your estimated M pace.