9:10 Pace Group

After agonizing over what kind of pace I am going to attempt in the marathon, I have come to a conclusion that I am very happy about. I will begin with the 4-hour pace group, which will be keeping a pace of 9:10/M. Here's why:

• This is one pace group slower than the marathon pace I trained for. This is prudent and will give me confidence.
• I can do my walk/water strategy and still keep up with this group.
• It's not so slow that I can't step things up just a touch at the end of the race if I am able
• It's not so fast that I will blow myself out if I need to back off and go slower at the end
• It is 11 seconds slower than my Crim pace, and that pace felt great for all 10 miles; I felt like I could have kept going for quite a while at that pace.

This allows me to have a plan, but also to have the flexibility to increase or decrease my effort when I need to. It also keeps the hope alive of a sub-4 finish, which would be super cool.