Getting schooled on pacing

Hoo boy, pacing really is where it’s at right now. Probably has been for a long time! Anyway, just after answering the question from Australia on pacing, it turns out that the new wisest man in exercise physiology & its interpretation, my friend Ross Tucker, is in Chicago for the marathon this weekend & they are going to try, instead of the usual 5km by 5km analysis, a 1km by 1km analysis, which would bring into much starker relief the whole issue of what these great runners, like Sammy Wanjiru, current Olympic champion, who ran an impossible 2:06 in the heat of Beijing, actually do out there.
I highly recommend you read this post for Thursday Oct. 8th: http://www.sportsscientists.com/
When you compare this, to what I had to say yesterday it becomes clear that the great modern runners are running closer to even pace & that the mental component is far from resolved – it is clear that we are approaching human limits & that the great breakthroughs in world records will become less & less & that the mind will play an ever more increasing role when it comes to accessing our human limits & determining winners & also rans.
Boy is it ever humbling & a great learning experience to be involved in endurance sports in this modern day & age.
Good luck this weekend to all of you running the Chicago marathon & taking part in the Ironman world championships in Kona, Hawaii.
Bobby McGee