How much buffer do you plan for when aiming for a time goal?
Curious how big of a buffer everyone plans for in their pacing when aiming for a time specific goal in race. I have an upcoming HM that I am hoping to go sub 1:45 in. In theory a 4:58 min/km pace would get me there, but we all know that not running perfect tangents, race course running long, watch not being 100% accurate, etc can all cause chip time to run over quite a bit.
In doing the big workouts leading up to the race (I usually go for a 16-18k long run with 2 x 5k at HMP), how much faster should I aim my HMP for in order to feel confident about accounting for the above mentioned factors?
Would love to hear your experiences on any time goals you’ve trained for and how much you went under the “exact pace” in your race pace training to eventually hit your goal. Or if you didn’t, what factors were the biggest contributors in causing you to roll over.
Thanks!