I am no expert having finished just 4 marathons, but I did pull off a 3:44 last time. My first mile was 8:38 and I was not "even" by splits, but within a close range (except for an early oops! mile of 8:02) of maybe 8:25-8:35 the whole way through the race except for a couple struggling miles near the end which were close to 9:00. I did not focus on each mile split; I compared my overall time to a pace band instead. After the race I studied my splits.<br><br>
Again I'm not an expert, but I've read and heard that trying to keep an even pace or even starting slightly slower the first few miles (not entire first half though) and then holding a slightly faster than goal pace groove as long as you can have a good chance of proving successful for well-prepared runners on a good day.<br><br>
I don't think I would like the stress of holding a "faster" pace late in the race when I'm already tired, but another runner might be motivated by that.<br><br>
The thing that helped me the most was adding quality workouts (interval, tempo, MP finish long runs) and upping weekly mileage to 50-55.
Again I'm not an expert, but I've read and heard that trying to keep an even pace or even starting slightly slower the first few miles (not entire first half though) and then holding a slightly faster than goal pace groove as long as you can have a good chance of proving successful for well-prepared runners on a good day.<br><br>
I don't think I would like the stress of holding a "faster" pace late in the race when I'm already tired, but another runner might be motivated by that.<br><br>
The thing that helped me the most was adding quality workouts (interval, tempo, MP finish long runs) and upping weekly mileage to 50-55.
