The graph of splits was interesting; I am impressed that even 12-14% of finishers have a negative split. I like the idea of splitting the marathon into two parts of equal effort: a 20-miler and "the assertive strain" of a 10K.
Thanks, based on my training runs so far, I like that, too. I've done one 20 mile run and have 22 miles on the agenda for tomorrow. I really agree with not psyching oneself out, too. On that 20 mile run, I started to feel wiped about mile 9, much earlier than other runs. It was my first time going up one hill I knew was there but hadn't run. The entire rest of the run was a struggle. I ran it a week later (hill again at mile 9, 13.5 mile total run) and felt a million times better. The first time, I wasn't prepared mentally and when I got to it convinced myself it would be horrible. The second, I just took it slow. I'm already worried about my mental math on race day, knowing I'll hit 3-4 miles and still have a run longer than my longest training run ahead of me. I'm already good at ignoring my watch (except for heart rate alarms; it's set so high that if it goes off, I need to back off asap). I hope I can ignore myself. I can run 20 miles. I can run a 10K.