Many of us watched Mo’s world 2 mile record at the weekend. Did you notice his half way split though? He went through 1 mile in 4.04 which had he maintained this he would have run 8.08 which would have been 4 seconds outside of the world record. OK so Mo has a blistering last 400m when racing but had he gone through 1 mile in 4.01-4.02 would he have maintained this?
When competing in a race where you are trying to get a fast time or personal best then aiming for a negative split is often the best way forward. Starting out too fast and hanging on rarely works but building through really does.
It is very easy sometimes to get caught up in the moment at the beginning when you are feeling good. All too often in a distance race though you get past half way and the wheels start to come off and you just gradually get slower and slower and that pb time just disappears. I’ve been there myself many, many times and paid the price!
It is so important in longer races like a half or full marathon that you run within yourself to half way then build through. It takes some belief to accept you may not be on target at half way but know that you can come through with a faster second half. For me personally I have found my best times have always come from starting steadier then racing the second half of the race. Running like this you will also find that you are picking off other runners (who have started off too fast) and this is a great feeling and pushes you on even quicker!
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