I recently completed my first marathon in London. I followed the run walk and paced myself somewhere between my training pace and your predicted race pace. I completed the 26.1 miles in 4:28 and absolutely loved every minute. I was hoping your theory worked but until I tried it I just didn't know. I saw a huge difference in pace of the other runners when we reached the half mile point, as the majority began to slow. My mother saw me at mile 15 and 20 and said the other runners appeared so much more tired the second time around. But, I was running strong, smiling, 5 fiving, and I also stopped for a quick hug with her.
The last 4 miles were a blur. I never once checked the distance to see how far I had to go, I was just loving running. I had dedicated each mile to someone special and expected towards the end to really use this to keep me focused. I have to confess I forgot I was supposed to be thinking of others to get me through the tough bit. I was having too much fun. The wall? What wall?
I wanted to share this little statistic which I already knew as I'd witnessed it.
Thank you for transforming my running and making me enjoy it once more. I achieved something I thought I would never do. My aim was complete the distance and ENJOY. I did just that and more. In fact I found running a marathon easier and much more fun than my first 10k 5 years ago. How is that possible? – Melissa T.