Start out slow", "don't go out too fast", "The energy of the crowd is going to make you want to go fast at the start, don't do it" - Most consistent advice I received about the marathon. This is all I was thinking for the first 3 miles. The first mile was 10:51, which in hindsight I think might have been too slow. The next few miles were about 10:30-10:40. It was tough to break out of the pace once it got started. It's so hard for me to believe that I am capable of running a 8:45 pace for a half marathon because I have been running so slow the last few months. My first 5K split was 33:43, which again, was a bit slower than I needed, but followed the rule "don't go out too fast" so I was cool with that.