Just posted this on the Bridge, but perhaps it should really be on here .....
Well that was different ...... 11 days to the Great South Run, and my last run before tapering was supposed to be 12k at race pace (5'30"/k), with an emphasis on not letting myself go too fast early on this time, as I've been fading towards the end of all my recent longer runs. And it worked fine for 11k 
, with all the splits falling between 5'22" and 5'30", resulting in me being 51 secs ahead of schedule, averaging 5'25" (sorry, but I do love a good stat or two). K11 was one of the quicker ones at 5'23", and I was trying to work out the implications for how I should approach the race itself - and 150m later I hit the wall 
. Just 10 paces, from running free of any problems to knowing I couldn't run another step, and sinking onto the concrete bench that (luckily) runs along the length of the prom at that point.
The same thing happened to me just once before, training for the GSR a couple of years ago. Then I had to walk home. This time, I was able to get up less than a couple of minutes later and run a final k in 5'30", presumably trying to make a point to myself. Couldn't have maintained it, though.
So the implications for the race - amend "race pace" to 5'35"/k and glue myself to the 1 hr 30 pacer until I can smell the finish!
Onwards and upwards!!
Roscommon Half Marathon
Training at race pace or racing at training pace
