Ran 1:17 for the Half, what should of pace should I run for my first Full?

2:42 sounds a bit fast i don't care what the calculators say

1st target sub 3

2nd target 2:50

I would hit a pace somewhere between these 2 but you need to feel how you are on the day. Esp a there are hills - they kill you on a longer event. Save a bit of gas for those last 6 miles! My belief is your body tells you what pace to run not your mind you will find the right pace on the day - if you are straining to keep to schedule its too fast

Forget about your training going down a bit that's probably down to the longer runs and worrying about the race you are in good shape and will be at your best in the marathon itself.

Go out in about 1:25. Try to hold that pace through 20. If you feel fresh, crank up the pace and hold on.

I think 2:45 (double your half and add 10 minutes)is reasonable if you run a fairly conservative race and don't blow up.

A few tricks if this is your first marathon:

1) take fluid at least every two miles, starting at the two mile marker whether you feel thirsty or not.

2) try taking a gel packet of some sort about every 30 minutes.

3) be mentally prepared to handle the last 10K of the race when your body may go to hell on you. Talk yourself through it.

Best of luck.

I ran 1:17 last April on a relatively flat course. I ran 2:48 this past fall on a very hilly marathon course. Sample size of 1, but assuming your course isn't too hilly I think 2:45 is doable.

Better to be on the conservative side through halfway maybe 10-15 sec/mile slower. And, try to consciously pick up the pace on the back half. I couldn't run 15-18 mi anywhere near 6:20, more like 7:15 pace, and only did a 1:20 half three months before my 2:36 marathon. And that was off 40-50 miles per week as well. It's kind of normal to be drained during the heavy marathon training so make sure you taper for the race and you'll feel everything come together for the race.

I don't understand how anyone can give you an intelligent reply without knowing how much mileage you're putting in per week. IMHO, total mileage is a bigger factor than long run distance.

I suggest you put your 1:17:08 into the McMillan calculator, and get a 34:40 10k. (Or, use a recent 10k performance if you have one.)

Then, multiply your 10k time by the factor that corresponds with your weekly mileage found here:

http://www.hillrunner.com/jim2/id64.html

30-35mpw: 5.5

40mpw: 5.0-5.3

55 mpw: 4.9

60 mpw: 4.75-4.85

70 mpw: 4.70-4.80

80-100 mpw: 4.55-4.65

Doing the math, and using 34:40 10k, you get:

30-35mpw: 3:11

40mpw: 2:53-3:04

55 mpw: 2:50

60 mpw: 2:45-2:48

70 mpw: 2:43-2:46

80-100 mpw: 2:38-2:41

That link explains how to determine it you're more at the low-end or high-end of each range.

In my experience, most people running 60mpw or less don't want to hear these numbers, and often ignore them, only to crash & burn in the last miles of the race. Then they claim it just wasn't their day.

trust but verify wrote:

I don't understand how anyone can give you an intelligent reply without knowing how much mileage you're putting in per week. IMHO, total mileage is a bigger factor than long run distance.

I suggest you put your 1:17:08 into the McMillan calculator, and get a 34:40 10k. (Or, use a recent 10k performance if you have one.)

Then, multiply your 10k time by the factor that corresponds with your weekly mileage found here:

http://www.hillrunner.com/jim2/id64.html

Damn that's a hell of a calculator. Well I've been doing 80 MPW at my peak, but 50-70 in the past month. I'm a long time runner, and I've done my share of 80+ MPW during my college years for many years. So I'm not relatively new to high mileage.

I'll let you know how that calculator works out. Thanks for the replies.