At the end of my last blog post, I asked for tips on focusing during the tough times of a race. Laura responded by saying that she breaks down the course into sections and focused on each part during the race to get her through. I really took this advice to heart, and decided to implement it for my tough long run today. I was a bit nervous going into this run because it was an 18 mile run with 14 miles at 10-20 seconds slower than marathon goal pace. That’s not an easy pace to hold, especially at the tail end of a 54 mile week.
My goal marathon pace is somewhere between 8 – 8:10. An 8 min/mile will get me closer to a 3:30 marathon and a 8:10 will get me just under 3:35. My goal going into this run was to run each mile during the 14 mile segment somewhere between 8:10-8:30. I figured I’d probably end up on the slower end of that spectrum but I wanted to keep the range open. Mentally I knew this would be a tough run, so I implemented Laura’s advice and wrote down my strategy for tackling each of the 18 miles in advance.
- 2 mile warm-up: keep it super easy, don’t care about pace at all
- Miles 2-4: Start easing into the goal-pace section, maintain around 8:30 min/miles
- Miles 5-9: Pick it up a notch, focus on getting to the first water fountain and/or turn-around point
- Miles 9-14: Maintain steady effort. The pace will probably start to feel harder, but focus on getting to mile 14.
- Mile 14-16: Final 2 miles of goal-pace section. Turn on the after burners and push it.
- Miles 17 & 18: Easy recovery, don’t focus on pace at all

I woke up feeling really good this morning. I got 9 hours of sleep for the 2nd night in a row (plus a 1.5 hour nap yesterday) and I had used Saturday as my only rest day of the week since we had a wedding Friday night and we stayed with family overnight. As soon as we started running (Mike and I ran the warm-up together then split off), I could tell my legs felt good. I was somewhat surprised since I had had a pretty high intensity and high volume week, but I figured the sleep must have done me some good.
As soon as I started the race pace segment of the run, I knew it was going to be a good day. My breathing was easy and my legs felt light. I felt great. I was trying to hold back a little on those first couple of miles but I kept finding myself running faster. Before I knew it, the first section was over. I didn’t focus at all on the fact that I still had 12 miles left to run hard, instead I just focused on the next section. I was feeling so good I didn’t want to stop for anything and didn’t end up making any breaks for water until mile 9.5. Somewhere around mile 4 I started to feel really, really good, and at times let my pace dip into the high 7s and very low 8s.
I kept my mind busy by setting goals for each mile and every time I achieved the goal it was a boost. This was a route with a lot of rolling hills (1,200 feet of climbing in total) so I didn’t get down on myself for some of the slower miles – I knew I’d make up for it on the net decline miles. Mentally, this was a ย very successful run for me – I stayed present in the moment and never felt overwhelmed with the task ahead.
The final 3 miles of the race-pace portion got hard, especially the final mile which started with a big hill, but I simply focused on getting over it and then picked up the pace to make up the time I lost. By the end, I was running in the low 7s. The cool-down might have been the hardest part of the run since my legs lost all the momentum and I had less to think about while I was trudging down the street on those last 2 miles home.

Needless to say, this run was a big confidence booster. When I uploaded my Garmin data and calculated that I ran a 8:15 average for 14 miles, I was ecstatic. With 6 weeks left to go until CIM, I know I still have time to make even more gains, but this run in particular really made me feel ready for the race. Not only that, I think I learned a valuable lesson about how to keep my mind working in the right direction during challenging runs. I am definitely a person who is motivated by achieving goals, so by setting mini-goals for myself throughout the race I think I will be able to maintain a better pace overall while also keeping my mind where it needs to be- thinking about the current mile, not mile 24 or 26.

ย If you knew you were going to die that day, would you go for a run!?ย
I read in Runner’s World to “run the mile you’re in.” I used that to focus on my 16 miles this weekend. It really helped. Great article!
Great advice!
AWESOME run, Nicole!! You crushed it! Man- 18 miles sounds so intense, especially with the goal pace for 14 of those. Glad you didn’t let any negativity in!
I remember for Ironman Canada in 2012 when it was really hot during the marathon I repeated Matt Good’s lyrics, one foot in front of the other. It’s all you can do and forces you to focus on the now, regardless whether you’re feeling good or poor!
Thanks Abby! And I think that is great advice as well!
I like the idea of splitting it up into segments. That’s my goal for NYC this weekend too and I’ve ready some good guidance on how to break the course down. Your 18 miler was awesome!
Thanks! Can’t wait to hear how it goes – good luck!!
Running is so funny because sometimes I do need to get totally focused to dial in and other times it seems like if I just let go and think about anything else I can push harder.
I know what you mean ! Some days the data is overwhelming.
Breaking a long run or race into sections is a great strategy! I often used that strategy during runs over the summer and even included it in my race day plan for my marathon. Although my knee ended up not cooperating, I think the smaller sections is really the way to go to make the miles go by faster and to keep the focus on the mile you’re in instead of looking ahead too far and getting overwhelmed.
You’re doing great with your training and are going to rock CIM! ๐
Great run!! What a mentally and physically big confidence boost!! Amazing!! You still have lots of time to make gains but it will go fast!! ๐
I am going to write my race plan out for NYC tonight. I am just going to take it section by section. Mile to mile and see if i can pull out a PR! ๐
Tough question: if i knew i was going to die today–I might go for a run depending on what else i had planned!! ๐
Thanks! Good luck at NYC!!