Road to My First Marathon | Changing My Goal Pace

This week’s long run turned into one of the biggest learning moments of my marathon training so far. The workout was 1 mile easy, 10 miles at marathon pace +20 seconds, and 1 mile easy. Going into it, I expected to reinforce my current goal pace, but instead, I came away questioning whether I’ve been selling myself short. Based on how controlled the effort felt and what my heart rate was telling me, I’m seriously considering adjusting my marathon pace target from 9:09 to somewhere around 8:30–8:45 per mile. It’s still early in the training cycle, so I’m not locking anything in just yet, but it’s definitely something I’ll be evaluating over the next several weeks. That’s one of the biggest advantages of following a full 20-week marathon plan. You have the time to learn, adapt, and make adjustments as your fitness improves instead of forcing yourself to stick to a goal that no longer reflects where you are. Every workout is giving me more confidence, more data, and a better understanding of what I’m capable of. This journey is all about trusting the process, making smart adjustments when they’re needed, and showing up ready on race day. Thanks for following along on the road to my first marathon. We’re just getting started. #MarathonTraining #RoadToMyFirstMarathon #FirstMarathon #Running #Marathon #Sub4Marathon #DistanceRunning #LongRun #RunWithMe #RunningJourney