Nail Your Perfect Pace

Reading another article in Runners's World, Pace Yourself by Christie Aschwanden. I have been thinking about pace because I have this upcoming race where I will be on my own running. I make it sound like I will be alone, but I guess around 4,000 other people will be joining me.
I have been thinking about the excitement of a large group, and how that could cause me to run too fast at the beginning of the race. I have done that before, not in running, but in a triathlon I tend to swim too fast, faster than the pace I practiced. So I want to be conscious of my starting pace Saturday. Since I won't have my friends running by my side I will be using my virtual partner to keep me on course - thanks to Cyndie for getting it set up.
I will be setting a personal record this day because I need to run 16 miles for my marathon training- and I've never run 16 miles in a row before. I will be running 2min/1min. After race check-in on Friday I will be looking for a route to continue running.... I know I'm leaving the party I earned but I hope to be right back and enjoy the fun.