For those of you that don't know, pace groups are something that have become quite common in marathons. Pace groups comprise a group of pacers who will run a certain finish time for the marathon race. Generally, they will run even splits the entire way. The Geico Pace Group paces at both the Frederick and Baltimore Marathons and it is one of the best organized and executed groups out there.
I ran with a pace group in my third marathon, the 2009 Frederick Marathon. They were the reason why I managed to run a sub-3:30, and I absolutely loved running with them. In the 2009 Baltimore Marathon, a race I ran just because I signed up (but was not ready to BQ), I joined the 3:40 group for most of the way. After that race, I decided that I wanted to get involved with this pacing group.
So I waited, and waited, and waited for the Baltimore Marathon site to give up some kind of information about signing up to be a pacer. I checked that damn website so many times. Finally, in February, actually while I was traveling to the New Orleans R&R Marathon, there was a window to sign up. From the sound of it, I was really lucky to get in. 7 new pacers were added, including me (even though I did not know any of the other pacers and had no recommendation). My only saving grace I imagine was my speed. Faster pacers are hard to come by.
My first big decision was deciding what pace to run. I eventually settled on 3:30 or 8:01 minutes/mile. In May of 2009, that would have been a PR attempt. Now, 1.5 years later, 3:30 is a pace that I know I can maintain no matter what; good weather, bad weather, good running day, bad day. Furthermore, I knew I could do that pace without looking "spent" at the end. I decided I owed that to whomever followed me and other pacers while running. If the pacer struggles...it's only going to stress out the people following.
So after a pre-run meeting and dinner, I met the 4 other pacers in my group, and got a whole bunch of free stuff, including the official uniform. I must say, I felt quite professional in the shirt, hat, and pace band. Each pace group is designed to have a leader, ultimately responsible for the pace, a back up person in case the leader runs into trouble, and then rank-and-file pacers that help keep people together, and distract them.
Being a first time pacer, my orders were simple: stay behind the leader and don't push on ahead. I had no responsibility for actually keeping pace, which was a relief. I was literally just along for the ride. To summarize the race...we went out a bit too quick and had about 2 minutes of banked time before hitting the hills (2nd half of the course). By about mile 20 we were closer to pace, though the mile markers were all screwed up in that area. Sometime after that, our lead pacer had to drop out. Our back up leader took over, but unfortunately, picked the pace up just a tad too much and we ended up coming in at 3:28:44. Generally, we are supposed to target +/-59 seconds of our target pace. I don't know what that means for the leaders, but they tried the best they could. Given the wind, their struggles, and lack of accurate mile markers on the second half, I hope they are forgiven
I was a bit disappointed that we did not hit the pace we were supposed to. However, many people that ran with us were grateful for our help. I certainly had fun the whole way, talking to people and pointing out other races the course runs over (such as the Baltimore 10 Miler).
On a selfish note, I was very, very happy with how I felt. There was never a point in the race where I thought I would not hold the pace. In fact, the only time my breathing rate really increased above baseline was on the very first few miles (which are mostly uphill). For the rest of the race, if you just listened to my breathing, you probably wouldn't guess I was running. Furthermore, my legs felt somewhat sore during the race, but not nearly as bad as they should for a marathon. I did have a full bladder most of the race, but that was only a minor annoyance.
In summary, I had an awesome time pacing, and would love to do it again. Furthermore, a pace that only 1.5 years ago was an all out effort is now, quite literally, a Saturday morning jog. I know I'm capable of pacing 3:20 and maybe even 3:10...especially if I PR in my goal marathon. There were only 5 pacers total between 3:10 and 3:20, so my skills are clearly in demand for those distances. I also think I would be a much more natural 3:20 or 3:10 pacer. I can consciously run those paces without having to make sure to "hold myself back." In fact, 3:20 feels the most natural. If I just go and run without thinking about it and hold steady, it will usually come out to a 3:20 pace.
So...maybe I can do this again at Frederick.
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