Race Prep 232 - Confirm Paces - Pace Group decision

Some people like to wear a pace band on their arm to help them reach a specific time goal. If this is you, think about printing a pace band in advance for your 'A' and 'B' goals, even if you intend to pick up a pace band at the expo. There may not be any pace bands for your time left by the time you arrive.

Instead of wearing a pace band, I like to write 3 splits on my arm/wrist in permanent marker. I like to write 7 mile, 14 mile, and 21 mile time goals on my arm. I don't like to worry about adjusting the pace to fit the course or anything fancy like that. I simply like raw information during the race to let me know some 'benchmark times'. If I was to run even splits, where would I need to be at 7, 14, and 21 mile splits?

This is what I plan to write on my arm -

A goal - 3:28.......7 miles - 55:32.......14 miles - 1:51:04........21 miles - 2:46:36
3:30:00.....................56:04............................1:52.08.........................2:48:12
B goal - 3:37........7 miles - 57:56.......14 miles - 1:55:52........21 miles - 2:53:48

Also, if your marathon is going to have a pace group, you need to decide whether you want to run with them. You may want to wait and speak to the pace group leaders to hear their strategy for running the race. It may differ from what you want to do. They may bank time instead of running even splits. They may be running a negative split race. Either way, you need to have a plan for yourself so that you do not have to rely on anyone else to get you to the finish line.

I don't intend to run with a pace group. The race start at St.George can be terribly crowded and usually the 3:30-3:40 groups are too far back in the crowd to have a nice even start. They typically have to make up time too quickly for my style. I'm going to start on my own and do my own thing. I also am going to try to ignore any pace group that is near me so that I can run my own race.