The last lap decides races because it’s where most people start negotiating with themselves.

Near the end, the argument for easing off becomes very persuasive, and it arrives dressed as reasonableness rather than as quitting. Everyone feels it at roughly the same point, which means the gap that opens there is less about fitness than about who keeps the conversation short. The decision is made before you get tired, or it gets made for you.

Settle in advance what you will do when the negotiation starts. One phrase, one instruction, something simple enough to hold when thinking is hard. Practice finishing hard in training so the ending is familiar.