I plan to run my 1st marathon the last week of May. I've got 2 more 20-22 milers planned between now and then. Today's 20 mile run went like this:
I planned on running 10 easy / 10 harder (at MP or so)
Miles 1-10 were 7:30, 35, 31, 33, 31, 31, 30, 29, 28, 30
Miles 11-20 were 7:08, 05, 04, 01, 02, 6:51, 6:51, 6:42, 6:41, 6:25
The overall pace was 7:12. I finished strong, and it felt fairly easy.
The first 20 mile run I did 2 weeks ago was @ 7:34 pace w/ even splits, and also felt fairly relaxed.
My 5K PR is from last week @ 17:49, my 10K PR is from 3 weeks ago @ 37:41 on a very hilly course. I've only been running for a couple years, so this marathon buildup has helped me gain speed at 5/10K... My HM PR is 1:28, but I feel like I'm in better shape than that now. That was about 8 months ago.
I have averaged 50-55 MPW over the last 12 weeks and plan on peaking around 60-65 over the next 4 weeks before tapering for a 5/25 race.
My question is what should I shoot for as a marathon pace. I planned on doing a 16 mile MP effort next weekend, then throwing in some MP miles over then next few weeks to sharpen up for my first marathon, but I'm not sure what my MP should be.
Any advice?