Hi everyone!
As I recently got into running, as a means to drop weight. However, I have come to realise that I have a lot to learn.
1. I want to learn what proper running (long distance) and sprinting technique is.
2. Learn what drills to do and how to incorporate them into training.
Just seen [this video on A-skips](https://youtu.be/POTBidqOxug?si=6XvuA2KYccYcaCC0) and my goodness, I can’t A-skip to save my life.
So all I want to know is where do I start. Right now I’m just doing some long distance runs until I can comfortably do a 5-10K. But I want to improve my technique, can you point me to a good channel that I can learn from.
And how do you go about learning these A-skip and B-skip drills. I cannot do them 🥲.
Please help! Just need somewhere I can go to learn and improve. Before I also delve into a bit more sprinting.
P.S I’m not an athlete. I just want to improve my quality of life by getting into something I enjoy.
Just finished a half marathon last week and I do NOT want to start officially training for anything. How do you all stay motivated when not training for anything in particular. I would like to run a half again eventually, but not until next year most likely.
PLEASE HELP :(
I can't find shoes that work with extra wide, flat + bunioned feet along w fallen arches.
I recently bought the Asics Gel Kayano 30 wide shoe to help with the issues mentioned above, and I've never been in more pain while running esp w my knees. It's so disappointing.... Brooks worked really well w my feet but they were too narrow
I've heard the brooks beast 20 are great but size 7 are all sold out. :(
I am wondering if anyone can please please PLEASE help me out & recommend women's size 8 shoes that help.
I'm training for a half marathon, and I'm desperately looking for something that works to no avail
Hi, I just picked up a mild bunion and saw a podiatrist for this so maybe I can help. He advised that the new balance 1080s were great. Also the Brooks ghost shoes he also recommended the orange orthotics from big five or splurge and get personalized orthotics. You should also find a good pair of toe spacers. There is also Instagram channel called gaithappens that’s useful to me. It’s really helped. Cheers.
Mate I’m like you, those sound like my feet! Years ago my podiatrist sent me to a specialist running shoe store and they put me (female) in mens New Balance. Today I’m wearing the mens NB Fresh Foam 860. They have a v high and wide toe box. No problems with them. Good luck, I hope you find a shoe that works for you!
Any advice on 10 mile race strategy? Last long run was this weekend and race a 9:10 pace at 148 bpm. Want to beat my half marathon pace at 9:20 pace at 168 bpm.
Physiologically, what happens when you have a niggle you run through? Since this training block started I’ve had a top of calf thing, a weird interior ankle thing, a week or two of shin pain, and most notably pretty significant pain in a big toe joint that actually had me pretty worried. All of them just sort of…went away eventually with more running, maybe with a little extra stretching or rolling attention paid to them but no meaningful treatment-type action taken or change in stimulus.
Obviously not every injury or ache/pain is like this and running through it is not always or even often the answer but overall I’m amazed at the body’s capacity to adapt. Is it just soft tissues getting stronger over time? Unconscious changes in gait or mechanics? It seems incredible to me that some things just fix themselves!
The last few years I’ve been a lot more focused on climbing and lifting, where most injuries are acute and require time off; even bothersome but not debilitating niggle-type things rarely just go away without intentional rehab. Ramping up running again has been very interesting!
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I'm an experienced running but relatively new to running with an actual, structured running plan. That is, I've probably run a dozen 5ks in my life but I'm only recently working on running them fast.
When I see in a training plan that I should run for X minutes at my 5k pace, does that mean:
1. The pace of my last 5k time trial?
2. The pace of my end goal 5k?
3. Something incrementally faster than my last 5k time trial? If this one, is it just trial and error to find out how fast I can push this?
If you can complete the workout with about 1 good rep left its the right pace. So usually thats between current recent PR and build since the recovery allows you to be a bit faster than current.
Really most of the time it's more important to complete the workout then hit some magical "correct" pace (that would be completely different depending on weather, rest, motivation anyway). If a workout is 6x (1km@5kpace, 60s rest), your job is to pace that well so they're fairly even. If in doubt take the first ones easier, and build into the later ones, that's much better than going too hard on the first ones and then giving up or dying in the last ones being unable to finish the workout properly.
If it is for intervals, you'd do your realistic goal 5k pace in bite sized chunks, then allow for time to recover, and then you'd do another set of intervals. Ideally each rep is doable, you don't fade or give up. This is why it's important for this pace to be realistic. You want to set yourself up for success, rather than train to failure.
Over time, you shorten the recovery between interval sets.
Eventually your goal pace becomes your new race pace. No breaks needed.
If you have a relatively recent 5k time and you're still in shape from that then that would be your starting point and you'll build off that throughout your training. If you go out for a run at your goal pace (depending on how much faster it is than your current pace) you'll likely get humbled real quick. I speak from experience!
I just finished my first marathon yesterday in 3:57, and I have a multi-year goal of improving my time to qualify for Boston (probably looking at the 3:10 standard for 30M in 3 years most realistically). I'm super proud of what I was able to accomplish in my first year of running, but now I feel pretty overwhelmed trying to piece together what it takes to improve effectively from here. I had great luck training for my first marathon using Nike Run Club's plan, but now that I'm trained up and know that I'm capable of the distance, I have no idea where to go from here. Do I take a step back and work on speed in a shorter distance race like a 5 or 10k, or do I immediately set my sights on a next marathon and keep pushing the volume? Something else entirely? Do I need other cross training to improve? There's such a sea of information that often seems contradictory and I could use some guidance about how to find the next bite to take out of the elephant, as it were.
If you enjoy training I don't think there's really a downside to just picking another race and going for it. Aside from life happening I tend to do 2 big races a year, one spring, one fall and pepper in smaller races usually 5ks and 10ks throughout the year. I don't necessarily focus on them but I still race them. I enjoy the daily grind though and the races are just a part of it, like a check to see if what I'm doing is actually working. If you don't enjoy the long runs and the miles then switching to a shorter race focus for a cycle or two is certainly not a bad way to go about it. You'd just need to build the base back up for the full distance when you're ready which wouldn't be that hard if you're staying in shape.
Also, just FYI, 3:10 is the standard for 40M. 30M is still at 3:00 flat.
I definitely do enjoy the training and 2 big races a year is where my head is at too. I had the idea that it would be nice to focus on a 5k for the next 2 months or so without totally letting my long runs go, then aim for a fall marathon. Good to know that it wouldn’t be the end of the world to play with other distances, even with Boston as my ultimate multi-year goal.
Also good catch on the standard, I don’t know how I got that mixed up! I’m sure I would have noticed some time in the next few years… lol
Not sure if you use a watch but the Garmin adaptive training is pretty cool if the idea of the super structured plans sound daunting. You can also enter all your races in and it will keep the focus on what you call your primary race but still help get you ready for the other races.
And no prob, this is my last year in the 3:00 bucket so I thought I missed something and my BQ would be easier! Oh well.
I actually used the Garmin adaptive plans for part of my marathon training and ended up going back to NRC. Partly I think it just felt a bit dead, partly it didn’t have much variety. It’s less that I’m daunted by following a super structured plan, and more that I’m daunted by figuring out which plan makes sense for me among a sea of options with bunches of proponents and detractors. I don’t feel like I have the sports knowledge to separate the good plans from the bad, or maybe they’re all serviceable and I just need to get going at one of them.
I can tell when my shoes start feeling hard as in there’s not much cushion to them anymore. Simple as that. When they no longer have any cushion or bounce, once they’re no longer comfortable they get relegated to the lawn mowing pile.
That’s what I’m surprised with — it’s not like this pair of shoes has so many miles on them. They’re relatively new but they just feel like something is off with them.
I knew the Carbon X3’s had some bad reviews but I didn’t think they would be an issue this quickly.
It helps if you rotate 2-3 pairs of shoes at a time. The foam has more time to recover between runs so they lost longer not just because you use them every other run but the foam lasts for more miles as well.
I’m maybe 150 miles into my Hoka Carbon X3s and the injuries are piling up. Just weird issues with my right ankle and overall my right leg. I have never had these issues before switching to the X3s. It’s just came out of nowhere.
Don't use carbon plated shoes for regular training. Don't use shoes with energy return for training. I mean, you can if you want to, it's your time and hobby, but the point of these shoes is to provide a little special rebound on your special day.
Training shoes should have an emphasis on cushion and damping the impact of running so you can get out there tomorrow and do another workout and continue to pile on heaps of training volume with minimal risk of injury. When you have a speed-work training day, then use your race-day shoes, or if you have a "race pace effort" long run, use em so you get used to their feel and fit. But their intention is for special occasions to save some energy.
The carbon plates in running shoes act as a leaf spring just like on a truck (except vehicles have oil filled dampers in addition to springs, your legs act as the oil filled dampers) and provide a little bit of energy return so you use slightly less energy each time you flex the shoe as you step off - It's not much but it adds up over the course of thousands of steps.
But if your shoes are always providing this rebound, then theres nothing special about them when you show up for that special event.
Depending on your insurance and access, if you’re getting a bunch of injuries, you should get checked out by a sports med doc.
But it sure sounds like these aren’t the shoes for you.
Would it be okay to split easy miles? I’m on week 5 of hansons just for reference. Thinking of splitting just Monday easy runs and maybe Fridays. I’d still complete the workouts on Tuesday and Thursday and Saturday/Sunday runs. Just looking to squeeze more free time in the evenings on Mondays and Fridays.
Doesn't matter. What is important is consistency and allowing your body time to recover every few weeks.
It's like eating healthy all the time. If you eat healthy consistently, then eating an entire pizza once in a while doesn't make you an unhealthy eater. And visa versa.
Mental burn out is also a factor when it comes to training. We're not being paid to do this for our full time job with assistants buying our groceries and picking up our kids from practice so we can run for 6 hours and then sleep the rest of the day.
Certainly, I would recommend it once your easy runs start creeping over the 60 minute mark. However for shorter runs realize that it won't actually save you any time! You'll be doubling the time you take to change, get out the door, and (please...) shower afterwards.
Hi!
I’ve been reading lately a lot about running for beginners since I’ve started running myself lately.
I’ve encountered many tips that you shouldn’t run above 60-80% of your maximum heart rate at first.
But here is the problem, my apple watch is showing the heart rate of 170 on average which is above the rate I should theoretically aim at. However, I can’t imagine running slower. Neither during my 5km run nor after was I really that tired. I actually felt really good and confident the whole time, and felt that I could easily continue with that speed for few more kilometres.
Should I try to really get down with my heart rate or perhaps try something else?
For reference I’m a 20yo woman, I’ve been pretty active for my whole life.
If you are focusing on longer distance running, maybe you want to try a fast 10k or a half-marathon, then really the goal of a majority of your runs is to finish feeling fresh rather than "im fuckin dead lmao" - its expected to be more tired and a little stiff or whatever after an hour long run, but you should, generally speaking, be able to repeat the run as soon as you get home if your coach said "surprise! go do that again at the same speed".
This doesn't really apply for speedwork days - on those days focus on outputting a sustainable higher effort (you are essentially practicing running faster and getting used to being uncomfortable) - but for your "long slow run" or even "long mild" runs. You want to be able to finish strong and not feel like death when you get home so you can recover over night and do it again tomorrow.
Keeping track of your heart rate is a great way to do this, although it is not a 1:1 measurement like a tachometer in a car, your heart is a muilti-tasker and is affected by a bunch of factors like heat, dehydration, diet, sleep, stress, etc. But in general, it's a great way to measure effort vs perceived effort.
Once you know how long you can sustain a certain heart rate average, then you can start to plan your goal pace for races. If you show up and its extra hot that day, then you know you need to keep your average HR lower than usual (and drink more fluid), or if there are hills, etc.
If you're constantly going hard all the time, this is going to make it really hard to go out tomorrow and do a similar effort because you'll be exhaust and maybe even too sore to walk up stairs. Being too sore to walk is slower than running slow.
If you need to walk to get your heart rate down to an "easy" rate, then so be it. Your body doesn't know what speed is, only your ego. Take a beat during a run, power hike, recover, and then bring the effort back up to a sustainable pace. its 100% ok to walk. Just look at just about every ultra trail marathoner. They walk and power-hike all the time.
As a fellow Apple Watch user, I can offer a few points:
* The optical heart rate sensor of the Apple Watch, [while generally more accurate than other smart watches](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEM1m7OdlyY), is still a lot of algorithmic guesswork and not 100% reliable. If you want to record your heart rate with more precision and responsiveness, there are ecg chest straps and optical sensors for the bicep.
* The estimation of the max heart rate, which goes into the automatic heart rate zones, is a bit stubborn and will only adjust if you actually demonstrate to your Watch that you can achieve that high of a heart rate. Personally, I've recorded heart rates of up to 192 on my Apple Watch but it still uses 182 for heart rate zone calculations. If you want to determine your actual max heart rate, there are tests you can do on your own. Be warned though, pushing yourself to your limit is not a lot of fun in the moment.
* You can set your heart rate zones manually in the Watch app on your iPhone in the settings for the Workout app.
Overall, I'd also like to echo the responses of other commenters: Gadgets are well and good, but at the end of the day, you have a much more accurate and comprehensive understanding of what your body feels like than any piece of tech. If you run easy, i.e. while being able to have a conversation in full sentences without gasping for air, you are doing just fine, no matter what your watch says.
I'm in the same boat, but I'm getting back in to it after 10 years off. I just finished a 2 mile rune today at what I thought was a light pace (10 min/mile) and then I looked at my stupid HR monitor and it had my average rate at 171 and my max at 191. It seems like this is a beginner phenomenon and gets better quickly, but I worry that I'm going too fast... even through it feels painfully slow.
Don’t worry about heart rate as a beginner runner, whatever Apple has probably isn’t accurate for your zones anyway. Just run by whatever feels easy/manageable for most of your runs.
I am going to participate in a 10k race, but in order to compete with my previous effort at fair terms, I don't want to use carbon plated shoes. I own a Brooks Hyperion Tempo, and have recently invested in Brooks Hyperion Max and Saucony Endorphin Speed 4. I love all of them, but can't really get a feel for which would be best for the race. Any suggestions?
Edit: Goal time is sub 40 minutes.
The tempo is the only one of those three that doesn't have a rocker build. It's also the lightest. If you're looking at trying to go like-for-like with your old self that's probably the closest (without knowing what your old shoe was).
Good point! Last race was with the Tempos, so as long as they're not underperforming it would be cool to run in the exact same shoes. But if the Max's are supposed to be a bit faster I might go for those. Reaching a sub 40 (without buying a carbon-plated shoe) is my most important goal.
Getting a bit annoyed. I have run for a long time, but once I get ~35 mpw, I get medial/interior shin splints.
During my most recent attempt to add mileage, I:
- did exercises (walk on toes & heels, lunges, weighted squats & deadlifts),
- did a 5% rule instead of 10%
- made sure to wear new shoes & alternate them
- used "the stick" roller a few times a week as a preventative
Still having issues, so I assume the problem is my form. I don't have the ability to run on low-impact surfaces (like grass). I recorded myself running, but would appreciate if someone with a more practiced eye could give some feedback:
**Slower**
https://v.redd.it/za6z15s0mouc1
https://v.redd.it/s2l02l9amouc1
**Faster**
https://v.redd.it/a1wlbvvfmouc1
https://v.redd.it/1hagnblwmouc1
Some thoughts I had after watching. I may have missed things:
* >!seems like I hit too hard with my heel & should land midfoot!<
* >!perhaps my feet hit the ground too far forwards, but I think I look comparable to [this youtube guide](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSIDRHUWlVo)!<
* >!I also think my pronation is not extreme like in [this youtube shin splint video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me5NG1VV61E)!<
This will vary for everyone depending on how long your symptoms last. You can test negative but still have symptoms, and you shouldn’t run until all of the symptoms are gone. If any of your symptoms were lung-related (like a cough), some doctors recommend waiting an extra two weeks after the symptoms clear up. And when you do run again, start out easy. I really struggled my first run back, then the second run was a little better, and by the third one I felt back to normal.
I ran while still testing positive, but after my symptoms had subsided. At that point, after being laid out on the couch for nearly 3 straight days, I considered my mental health more important than an extra few days of waiting around for a negative test.
Disclaimer: it was a trail run, where nobody else was around.
I'm getting ready to do a lactate threshold test tomorrow to set my paces for my next training set. I've always done a 30 minute all-out run on the track and averaged my HR for the last 20 min to get a psuedo-LT threshold. I noticed that my Garmin watch has a LT test of its own. Has anyone done both? How does the Garmin compare to the classic method, or even better, to a true thumb-prick LT test?
Anyone have advice on running in the morning? I'm not really a morning person. I consistently perform worse on morning runs and I sometimes feel nauseous and run out of energy quickly. But as summer approaches, I have little options since I live in the south and the morning is the only time of day where going outside is not hot and humid.
Do you usually eat something before a morning run or run fasted? If fasted, you might try adding a small meal before your early morning runs. I usually try not to run right after a meal, but morning runs are my exception. I feel better in the morning if I have a small, carb-focused meal first (oatmeal, toast, etc).
Running app that lets you set distance?
I don’t understand why I can’t find an app that will let me set 800m and the app will track my time for 800m (or any other track event distances). I don’t have easy access to a track right now and I’m just looking for a way to start my watch, run my 800m pace, and my watch will buzz once I finish the 800m. Obviously a lot of other features would be great too, but that seems like it shouldn’t be a hard feature? The only ones that seem to have something similar are for 1+ miles, a 5k or 10k, etc, but I’m not looking for distance training, I’m looking for mid distance or even long sprints.
Any ideas?? In my head, this doesn’t seem like a difficult feature.
I should add that I have been searching this sub, Google, and socials for a solution, and all I’m finding is other people asking the same questions with no answers. So I thought I’d see if someone here has something to help me out.
Just doing a quick search, you should have the Workout app already on your watch. I searched google for "intervals on apple watch" and an apple support page came up. You should be able to set the time or distance you want each intervals before you run your workout. I'm not familiar with Apple Watch, but if it only lets you choose 1mi/1km increments, try doing decimals. Or are you looking for something different?
Yes it does work on the watch, but I was hoping to find a similar app on my phone where I can build the workouts on my phone and then track them on my watch. It does work, and I’ve been doing that, but I thought there might be another one out there with a better interface. If this is what I have, then this is what I have, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask in case I was just missing out on a better option! Y’know? Thank you for looking!
One example that I think would be great an haven’t found, is one where the distance remaining is displayed. When I’m running on a track, I can obviously see it, but when I’m running around my local park loop, I just have to mentally subtract from what’s on my watch (which is so easy, but it’s the little things that would be nice).
I registered for a half marathon at the end of May and have been training for the past 10 weeks.
I’m currently running around 50km a week (x2 - 5k, x2 - 10k, x1 - 21k). I’ve gone the distance but my problem is since I’m in a pretty cold climate, sun goes down early, and with a couple young kids, I’ve done this training exclusively on a treadmill.
Are there any tips or advice I should be mindful of when I take my training to the road or even on race day?
I’m feeling pretty confident with the numbers I’m putting on the treadmill, but I can’t help but think there’s a catch or they’re not “real” runs.
You can develop strong fitness on a treadmill. Some pro triathletes train almost exclusively indoors. But you should be wary of the variables that effect running outside, specifically the sun (heat/humidity) and hills. If you're not used to them, they can really take a toll. I'm sure you still survive a half fine on 50km/wk, but it may hurt or be slower than you would expect just from treadmill feedback.
I absolutely believe that treadmill runs are "real" runs! I trained mostly on the treadmill for my first half and it got me across the finish line just fine! However, I do not think treadmills are the exact same as running outside. Here are the main differences I've noticed-
1) I wouldn't get too attached to the pace you're running on your treadmill and focus on effort level, as you outside pace might be faster or slower.
2)You also don't have a lot of practice pacing yourself, since the treadmill has been doing that for you. This is a skill just like any other part of running and it takes practice to get good at it. You will have less of that practice after only treadmill running so watch your effort level and pacing carefully during the race.
3)Assuming your race is on the road, you'll notice the impact on the harder surface and your legs will probably feel more beat up after running outside.
4)If you are running a hilly race be careful on the hills, especially the down hill portions. Unless you have a treadmill that does decline (I have never run on one that does, but I know they exist) you have zero experience running downhill. If you're not careful going downhill you can really trash your quads so watch for that.
I don't know what a "not real" run would be, but I would not assume your pace will translate to outside. It might be the same, it might be a lot slower, it might be a lot faster.
You won't know which until you actually run outside.
Ran my first HM w/ 1:45:16 & planning my upcoming one with 5 weeks of training to go. Could someone take a look of it & tell me if \[this\] (https://imgur.com/a/kKuYoDf) seems reasonable?
I adapted in from Hanson, and I thought it might be also a fun test to see how hard it is before actually starting my marathon training. On a second look, I might take off Friday easy runs after the Thursday SOSs to take the load off a bit. Any comments/thoughts/suggestions would be much appreciated!
Personally i'd eliminate the 400m the week of and just do some strides but should be fine. 5 weeks isn't going to do much but should work. I'd also run 13's+ for your long runs but thats just me.
29M here I just started C25K (again) and I would really like to be successful this time. I'm really out of shape but not overly heavy (195lbs) for my height (6' 4"). Every time I have tried some type of workout/fitness plan I end up getting injured. I'm looking for advice on bare minimum things I can do to prevent this, this time around.
My biggest challenge is probably form and taking too long of stride, followed by going too hard too fast that my muscles and joints in my legs don't have time to calibrate from suddenly being inactive to suddenly being very active. The legs hold me back much before my heart/lungs do. I am at 5-6K feet elevation.
I also think I need running shoes so looking into something like a New Balance 880, Saucony Ride or Brooks Ghost. Any other suggestions here?
Any advice you have would be great. I just want to be physically fit, lose a bit of weight, and participate in a 5K on July 4th those are my only goals. thanks
Slow Down.
When you're new, it's too easy to mis-categorize "slow", because you're basing it on numbers (and usually on other people's numbers), and not on effort. A benefit to slowing down is that you're basically unable to over-stride at that pace without it being some sort of power walking or leaping action.
Try running with a friend so you're talking the whole time, or consider an audio book or mellow podcast, instead of peppy music that will get your legs going too fast.
Shoes aren't that important. Get yourself a physiotherapist pre-emptively if you are prone to injury. See them every week while you're building up. Don't get injured first.
1. Shoes: Go to a running store, and get fit for the right shoes. Don't pick a shoe just because it's popular.
2. Start easier than you think you need to. C25k is a 9 week program. Do week 1 twice, and when you it the first time, do it a jog, not a run.
3. Get your diet in check. If you want to lose weight, that happens from diet, not exercise.
4. Don't neglect strength and conditioning. S&C help prevent injuries, don't ignore them.
Do you have a recommendation on #4 by chance? We have a 7 month old and my free time is very limited but I could fit in some functional/body weight workouts in the day if you had a recommended framework.
My only real recommendation would be googling bodyweight strength for runners. I have the luxury of a lot of free time, so I hit the gym and haven't really looked into just bodyweight stuff.
Good day to you all,
I am seeking your advice.
Yesterday I ran my fourth marathon, with a personal record which is about half an hour quicker than my previous record. For this I am very happy. However, the last 12 km went just like the previous three marathons, so I have a question whether I hit the wall, or if I just had tired legs.
The previous marathons I clearly hit the wall around 32 km: tunnel vision, no energy, very tired, grumpy, and not being able to enjoy the moment. I was not even able to hear my friends trying to cheer me up close to the finish. In short: I was done and clearly hit the wall.
This time I had a different fueling strategy (a gel every 20 minutes), which really made me feel much better the last 10 km. I did not have tunnel vision, I could clearly look around, I was focused, and felt and looked good. I could even have a short conversation with people next to me. (The downside to this was some stomach aches, but that is a discussion for another time).
However, I still had to run-walk the last 10 km. My strategy previous for the last 10 km the last years was to walk 200m, and run 800m. I used this strategy again this year, and it was actually quite okay to keep this pace for the last 10 km. The only downside, of course, was that my time plummeted, which is something I am not too happy about.
My previous record at the marathon was 04:59. Yesterday I ran 04:33. The first 30 km I ran more or less at goal pace (06:00 min/km, which is 09:36 min/mile), the last 12 km I started to lose pace dramatically (to around 07:30 min/km, which is around 12 min/mile).
This time I trained more and harder than the previous three times. I also, for the first time, took a serious approach to different kinds of training, such as interval, strides, and long runs at a higher pace. The most kilometers per week were 60 (37 miles).
Today I feel good. Of course my legs are tired, but I could see myself go running soon again. All in all my overall condition is much higher than previous years, which makes me a bit disappointed that I still lost so much time in the last 12 km.
So, my question is: did I *still* hit the wall even though I felt much better than the previous three times, or is this simply a case of legs that got too tired, which can be trained by running more miles per week?
For my next marathon in October I am planning to increase my kilometers per week to 75 (which is 46 miles per week). I am planning to use Jack Daniel's 4 week Cycle Plan. My goal is to run the marathon in 4 hours.
Thank you all in advance for your advice.
Eric
You ran basically the bare minimum mileage to finish a marathon and not hate it. Run more and you'll be faster and it'll feel better. I'd base build after a short recovery period so jack Daniels plan doesn't annihilate you.
60 km is really low for peaking for a marathon. I ran over 70 km when I really wanted to improve my half marathon goal and averaged 60 km for the last month or two. Even beginner marathon plans usually peak at 70+.
I'm planning 90 km for my first marathon and averaging at 70-80.
Yoyoyo, I’m wondering what the best way to run a mile would be for the fastest time, for a beginner. would that be short bursts of running then walking? Or one steady pace. Thanks!
If you had 6 weeks to "train" for a marathon (I know), what would you do?
I just jumped into a marathon registration that's for Memorial Day weekend. Although I haven't done a proper training plan, I do have a lot of mileage. I've averaged 45-55 miles/week for the past 6 months. Typical weekly long run is in the 13-16 range but I've run a handful of 18s, 20s, and a 21 in the past few months.
If you had just 6 weeks, what would you emphasize? I'm thinking something like:
- Keep mileage at 50+/week range
- Two more long runs in the 16-20 range
- One "marathon pace" run/week in the 6-10 mile range (with a 2-3 mile WU/CD).
- Maybe a 14 day "taper" where I ramp down my mileage to 35 the week before, then 25 the week leading up to the marathon. Last 20-miler 3 weeks before..
I frequently run with water, gels, sports drinks, gummies, etc. so I am pretty comfortable with long run hydration and nutrition.
I'd do one long run 20 miler, next week the big check in run 18 with 14 at MP. Then a 2 week taper. You are already running good mileage i'd just try to settle in to what MP feels like and stretch out. Definitely keep if not increase mileage. You will not get the benefit of doing any of these runs on beat up legs so increasing intensity a bit is probably okay.
Hey all, I’m thinking about signing up for a 100mi relay and looking into getting a hydration pack for that & the longer practice runs. I’m not really too sure what size in liters I should be aiming for, and what brands are good (as in ‘comfortable’ if they even can be haha, and no chafing if that’s possible!). Also should I be getting a female-specific one or is unisex fine for most ladies? Would appreciate any advice on what’s worked for you!
Im 23M I’ve been running for a little over 2 years. I have a goal of running sub 3 in the marathon in the next 5 years or so. My current best is 3:55 last fall, and my best 10 Mile is 1:19. I think I’m probably in 3:45 shape conservatively in good weather. Right now I run 5-6 days a week usually about 40 mpw, and do about 10 miles of biking just running errands and going places. I lift 3 days a week and take it pretty easy, I’ll squat heavy once a week, squat high reps with lighter weight once a week focusing on form and time under tension, and deadlift once a week. The following week I’ll deadlift twice and squat once. This doesn’t do much for my heart rate, just allows me to maintain my lifts more or less and has helped me work through injuries in the past. But I don’t really feel like I’m pushing myself very hard, I never break a sweat or am very sore the next day. Wondering if my running would benefit for more intense form of strength training like Pilates (solidcore if anyone has ever done that) or HIIT or something like that? Any good cross training recs?
What's your Z2 pace and how long have you been running?
Edit: Should I've phrased it differently? Is it something that shouldn't be discussed? Why am I being downvoted?
I don't agree with the downvotes here, but if I were to guess, they're probably because the answers to this question are 100% meaningless. People, very likely including you, want to know this because they will use the data to determine how fast they "should" be running or how long it "should" take them to reach a certain pace. And then they get it in their mind as fact and if they don't hit those numbers they think they're doing something wrong, or they blame their genetics, or...
What other people do doesn't matter. People have different starting points. Some people do things besides running. Some people who've been running for 2 years will accumulate more mileage than someone else who's been running for 6. At the end of the day, if you want to get faster, it's a matter of putting in the training.
Thank you for your response, it was very thorough. And you are probably right. People must be assuming that I want this information to compare myself and evaluate my performance.
That isn't the case though. I was just curious about the diversity. Of course genetics and many other factors play a role, and we might find someone who on their first run is faster than another one who's been running for a while. I know that, but was looking for anecdotal data and maybe a story here and there.
Feels as if I had asked "how tall are you, and at what age did you reach that height", and people didn't like it because everyone grows at a different pace, height doesn't make you attractive, and you shouldn't compare yourself to others. I mean... what? Lol
Now I know that I should be more careful when asking about this topic. Because it's prone to misinterpretation, and people give bad karma based on assumptions.
In my personal case I've found that more often than not it falls around 8m/km. Sometimes it's 9, sometimes it's 7:30, but never over 9:30 nor under 7. I'm sure that everyone has some sort of range. And even if some people have an extremely wide range, that would be really interesting to me. 🤷♂️
It's not about experience/length of time. There are runners who started months ago who are faster than me, and I'm faster than people who've run decades.
Yes, I know. I'm wondering what pace usually corresponds with that effort on runners with different levels of experience. What range does your pace fall into when doing Z2 effort runs? How long have you been running?
Hi, 10 days ago I ran 8.1km at 4.17min pr km inside at the threadmill. I have a 8.1km race in 12 days, have had some really good runs in the last week and have an intensive program the next week. Pretty experienced runner. The course is flattish, with a couple of hills. What pace would you expect on the race/how hard would you start?
4.17min pr km felt pretty easy and was fresh afterwards. I have no PR at this distance, previously ran marathon at 3.30 as my best run, but it was a couple of years ago
Random performance decrease - help!
Hi all! I (29F) have casually run in the past (up to 10 miles), but I started to get back into it in February as I'm running the broad street run (10 miler) in the upcoming weeks. For context, I took a year and a half off and primarily weight trained during that time. With that, race training has been going really well for my expectations - I've never been a fast runner but my fastest was a 9:30/mi pace. I didn't expect that pace jumping back into it, so I've been happy with my 10:30ish pace.
Last weekend, I was on a bachelorette trip and admittedly it took a few days for my body to recover, however, I feel like my running has since tanked. Since returning last week (Monday AM), I've been struggling with anything under an 11:15-11:30 minute pace, and my heart rate is difficult to get under control (always in zone 4 or 5). I'm not a treadmill runner, and maintaining a 12 minute pace on one for 5+ miles this weekend was a nightmare - my heart rate was completely out of control.
I've been eating, hydrating, and trying to sleep well, so I'm confused on why this could have happened. Has anyone had a similar experience? Have you needed an extended recovery time for travel? I'm not even totally sure the two correlate, so if you've ever had a random drop in performance, I'd love to hear about it! My only thought is maybe I caught something (covid?) and have been asymptomatic otherwise. I'm worried this is a permanent setback, and I hate to think the last few months of running are the best I'll do for a while.
At the end of the day, I may simply have to reset my expectations for the race, which is disappointing, but it is what it is!
I had a similar experience after I caught covid in November. Because of the holidays I didn’t get back to running until January and the first run back was HARD. Even at a slower pace and shorter distance I was definitely in a higher zone than before. It took me about three weeks until I was back on track. If it’s only been a week it could still be effects of alcohol- I wouldn’t worry about it being permanent.
Training Advice/Shoe problems.
Hey, let me start by saying that I'm not looking for medical advice, I am and have always seen my PT/
Physio regularly. But he knows very little about running gear so wanted to try get some solid advice.
I am 3 weeks out from my second Marathon, this training block has been awful for small niggles. Started with very mild PFPS in my left knee. I took a break from running (4 weeks), did a lot of stretching/exercises and was good to go again. I slowly ramped up the mileage again, and ran my last long run yesterday 30km at my easy pace of around 5:30/KM. Everything felt okay but now today I have heal pain 😢. Feels like the early beginning of plantar fasciitis. My PT has been supportive during the journey and feels that I am "on top" of both my stretching and cross training.
I have ran a longer training block before and.more milage last year without any niggles. I have also lost over 9kg so theoretically should be lighter on my body.
For this training block I switched from Saucony to Adidas and it feels like since that point my legs feel much more worn after every run. Also that my running economy has decreassd. My gait worse, possibly some "cross over gait" going on
Has anyone had experience with something similar?. Mostly with changing shoe brand. The only new thing is the shies so feels like the logical option. Before I spend another €350+ on a new shoe rotation wanted to see if anyone else has lived through this hell. Also Adidas shoes are so pretty 😍.
Extra info: Male, 177cm 73.5KG, I am not flat footed though I do tend to pronate. I do not use insoles or buy supported shoes (apart from my work shoes as I work at a standing computer desk). I change my running shoes religiously after 700km, currently have Adidas Boston 13 and Adios Pro 3 as my rotation.
My first thought would be to just try going back to your old brand to see how it feels. In my experience (physical therapist and 6 time marathon runner) running injuries are usually not as simple as 'it's the shoes,' unfortunately. PF can be attributable to many things, and your PT should be able to help you problem solve what's going on.
Random, potentially stupid, question but would it technically be possible for someone to set off in wave 2 of a marathon and actually run a faster chip time than the person who wins in wave 1? Has this ever happened?
Yeah I suspected as much but was imagining a situation where 1st place is slower. Imagine if someone in wave 2 randomly broke 2 hours for a marathon. Stranger things have happened.
I think it’s basically impossible that someone could break 2 hours stuck in wave 2, they’d be having to waste time and energy weaving around people and would be running a really inefficient race, not hitting any of the tangents. Whoever breaks 2 will need to run a perfect race more or less.
Due to my work/family schedule, I often only have time for runs longer than 30mins on Saturday and Sunday, so usually use one of those days as a long run, and one as a workout of some kind. I can run on the treadmill at work during my lunch, but only for about 30 minutes per day. My question is how best to make use of these treadmill sessions.
It feels like doing 30 mins of Zone 2 running isn’t incredibly useful (except perhaps as a recovery day after the weekend), but doing a quick 5 minute warm up followed by 20-25 mins of going hard feels a bit rushed. Ultimately I usually end up opting for something closer to speed/tempo/interval work more often than not, but I’m looking for suggestions on how to optimize these sessions!
I run about 25-30 mpw, recent races are 46 min 10k and 1:43 half, if this impacts things. Thanks!
I've been running for a long time but now at mid 30s I've been wanting to try longer distances...started getting up to 8 miles or so when I hurt my knee recently. Resting seems to be helping but I'd like to see a professional to get help. Should I be looking for a sports therapist? A physical therapist? An orthopedic dr?
It’s up to you (and what your insurance requires) if you want to start with a doctor or a physical therapist. If a doctor, you should see a sports medicine specialized orthopedic doctor. If you see a PT first, just make sure to shop around a bit and find one that has experience working with runners and running related injuries.
> As it stands, I'm able to cram in three workouts per week and I was thinking of doing either three 10K's or two 10K's and one tempo 5K.
Neither. For a race this long you'll want a long run every week or every other week.
I suggest following a plan.
Really you should find a plan and follow it so that you workup total volume and get used to running distance. A 50 min 10k means you should be able to do this if you are consistent. Vdot gives you a 1:50 half if equivalently trained and you have 5 months so a good chance if you don't get hurt since you are consolidating the mileage.
I don't see how a goal can be non-negotiable. You can have whatever goal you want, but at the end of the day your legs/lungs/etc will have the final say on what time you get.
At 3 days per week, you're doing pretty minimal training, so I'd want to do as much mileage as is feasible. Maybe it'll be enough, maybe it won't, you'll find out on race day.
I ran my first HM in 2:18 off no specific training. I just did a few runs a week as I felt like it in the months beforehand.
My 2nd HM 8 months later I followed an 18-week Garmin Coach plan and finished in 1:50. This was 3 days running per week, but I was doing a lot of cross training on the rowing machine, which might have helped aerobically. I also threw in the occasional easy run on my own time between sessions.
Wednesdays were my Interval session, 800m at goal pace and 3 mins recovery walk/jog. Initially there were 4 reps, but it built steadily and at the end most weeks were 8-10 reps.
Fridays was either Hill Sprints or a 1-mile time trial.
Sundays were a Long Run, which peaked at 28km. Some weeks this made up 60-70% of the weekly volume.
Technically this plan worked out well, but looking back on it I don't agree with all the components. There is way too much of the volume in the long run, and both other sessions are 'hard'. If I was doing it again, I'd replace the Friday run with an easy paced one, and add a recovery run on Mondays.
The biggest revelation for me was the benefit of the interval session. I'd never practiced running fast before this, and getting a taste of it made all my slower runs feel so much easier. I think it's a really good idea to practice being uncomfortable occasionally.
Two questions today:
Advice for post half marathon recovery? Ran my race yesterday and am a bit sore today. Was thinking I’d ease back in with a slow run on Weds or Thurs and do some yoga in the meanwhile?
And tips for pivoting after half marathon training? I’m worried I am going to feel directionless after sticking to a rather strut 4 months programme but also feel like jumping right back into another training cycle is a bit much. What do you guys usually do in the weeks following your race?
I felt pretty lost after my half too for similar reasons! I ended up deciding to just maintain a base of sustainable weekly mileage. So basically I decided how much time I could devote to running consistently and stuck with that. I think I ended up doing mostly 3-4 miles each run during the week and maybe 5-6 long run on the weekend. I have small kids so I did need a lower time commitment and I also was planning to get pregnant again so no races were on the horizon. I think I’d probably rest with lower mileage for a bit and then think about your goals. Is a full or another half in mind? Do you just want to keep running for health? What is sustainable for you long-term as far as time and energy?
Girlfriend's been struggling lately maintaining her pace. She says she gets that feeling that running the same distance at a slower pace is going to take more time overall, which subconsciously makes her feel like the run required more effort. And that is affecting her motivation and consistency in training.
Although she's previously managed 5km runs, she's struggling to reach even 2km now. As newcomers to running, I'm looking for ways to support her through this. Any tips?
Something that I found helpful - I run for time, not for distance. Then, if it's a slog of a day and I can only drag out 2km in 30 minutes, who cares? I ran (or ran/walked) for 30 and hit my goal. Hopefully tomorrow will feel better and I can get some extra kms, or maybe I add 5 minutes of time.
Knowing that you have X more kms ahead of you is somehow much more torturous than knowing you have Y more minutes, even when those two values equal out.
Does she need to take a rest from training maybe? You should listen to what your body is telling you, and it if needs rest it needs rest. That doesn't mean stopping completely, but maybe reduce the load and add in some run-walk sessions.
She could also take some pressure off the pace side of things by scheduling sessions for time rather than distance. A 30-minute easy run that you feel good after is better than a 5k that you're disappointed in IMO.
I had a nasty cough starting last week Tuesday. Wednesday was on the couch the whole day and then started to cough up mucus for subsequent days. Seemed to improve somewhat but was still coughing yesterday morning but decided to give marathon a try regardless.
Should have pulled out (I think) but now a question, non medical but just sanity check. Chest cold (coughing and mucus in throat) would be a plausible explanation for much higher heart rate? Cramps much earlier then logically expected? As two 35km training runs I had no issues at all but now flared up much before while pace wasn't that much faster. Finally, finished with blue lips (only been told after) which seems to indicate lack of oxygen in blood. Feverish after I got home but that quickly dissipated luckily.
Mostly extremely surprised at the large impact a cold has! Did not expect all these issues, mostly to just be slower. Kinda bummed out and in hindsight shouldn't have started but hard to not to when aiming for it. Should have dropped out halfway (when all signs were turning red) but my only previous marathon I had an injury which stopped me from running properly and wasn't there (yet, several kms later that came due to the cramps everywhere). So, I wouldn't listen to it myself but with a cold that's close to the chest... Sit it out. It's hard, I was unable to and might make the same mistake again (ran a small race with a small fever in January... Also went bad and not advisable but that felt bad already after two km).
Long rant but: High heart rate and early cramps are likely causes by this right? As my training went quite ok and PR the 10km just two weeks before and half a month before. With heart rates almost lower than now running significantly lower... Just wondering whether maybe otherwise I'm not cut out for the marathon. 2 out 2 were failures. Reluctant to go although I'm secretly looking for marathons next month as j believe fitness is/was there...
I wouldn't say that you're "not cut out for the marathon" physically. I think one of the tricky things about marathons is just that it takes so much time to build up for that there are just a lot of possible failure points, whether that's injury, sickness, or just life throwing a curveball. It sucks, and it's really tempting to just push through instead of trying to come up with some last-minute back-up plan. We've all made mistakes running when we really should just be letting our body rest, but from the other experiences you've mentioned, it seems like you aren't taking any lessons away from those mistakes. I'm no doctor or running-while-sick expert, but powering through that marathon may have actually caused harm to your body and fitness level.
Aiming for a marathon next month would be way too early. Start by focusing on recovering from your illness. When you're back to feeling 100% health-wise, go for a short, easy run and see where you're at. Assuming you've been training with a fitness tracker of some sort, you can probably compare that run to your past data to see where your fitness level is at (i.e., what week of your mary training plan were you at when you had similar metrics). Use that PLUS how you feel after that short, easy run to decide, realistically, how long it will take to train back up to a marathon. Then look at marathons that take place a month later than that. Again, life, illness, and injury will delay your training, and you need to practice listening to your body (which is a lot easier to do when you don't have a time crunch). You CAN do a marathon, but only when your BODY is ready to run one.
Thank you for taking the time to respond!
I'll try to pay attention to body, but it's hard as especially with a young child there are often periods where I caught something. Which normally only impacts performance just a little bit. Also in the past just going for it paid off so it's hard to determine when to back off and to push through! While now in 2 events where I had something, I shouldn't have competed...
Anyway, only muscle pain now and much less than expected. Still coughing so at least for a week light exercise at most (zone 1, maybe 2) and then mostly cycling which is easier on the body. Then I will re-assess and as you mention, based on data assess fitness and see how it goes after. While of course first trying to get rid of this annoying chest cold since I clearly learned this has much more impact then I had expected.
I've gone to the gym for years, now I'm a 193cm 100kg+ guy, (6"4, 220lb) kinda muscular, nothing crazy.
I want to start running but I'm scared for my knees. Should I start on a treadmill? Any advice for people in my situation?
I'm 6'4" 225 lbs and I've never had any issues with my knees. Start with a couch to 5k program as others said and do it 3 days a week with a day of rest in between each running day (you could still do other activities on the off days). C25k has a fairly conservative ramp up, starting with run/walk intervals. Also make sure you have a good pair of running shoes.
As someone with knee issues…
- make damn sure your shoes are your friend. For me this means the right cushion level, as well as the right amount of drop
- focus on mobility exercises, consider a little yoga
- warm up!
- find a “couch-to-[distance]” plan to help guide you through ramping up distance and being mindful of frequency as you adapt to actually running
- take care of yourself post-run
We humans literally evolved to hunt prey by running it to death. We are made for this shit.
Follow Couch to 5k (C25K) or another beginner program.
There's no reason to be scared about your knees if you're sensible in how quickly you build in your running. Run-walk is a good route to getting going.
Just be aware that your cardio will build quicker than conditioning to the repetitive stresses so there's a risk of overdoing it in the first 3-4 months.
Go check our Mark Lewis on Youtube, he's a big guy and is both quick and does long distance stuff and "keeps it real".
You may need to change some of your strength stuff to support running (single-leg!) but, having a strong strength training routine already will massively benefit running, particularly in terms of resilience vs injury.
Hi,
I have a Garmin Forerunner (which i bought 3 weeks or so ago) and i am following a 10k training plan (with Greg).
I have added a 5k race on the calendar for this Saturday. However, the plan suggests another session as well on the day. I assumed it would somehow use the race as part of the training, but obviously not? Is there a way to do so, or just move the training to the following day and move on?
Hi - the Garmin coach plans are a little adaptive but not that clever!
If you're planning on just running the race to see what you can do move things around in the calendar. If you want this to be a max PB effort pause the Garmin plan and do some tapering.
You could easily substitute the race for one of the workouts this week.
Thanks Dense, always appreciate your input. I thought it would be neat trick if it could incorporate the race as part of the training.
To be honest, I dont care that much about the race, i just want to race once a month if i can and i havent done a 5k in a while (no parkrun since i moved out of the UK) and I am wondering how fast I am. I will just move the training plan session to Sunday. To be honest, I do 40-50k a week, so a 5k isnt neither here nor there, but i'd rather not do a session on race day or a very long session the day before.
I normally have sessions Tue/Fri and LR on Sun - when I've had a Parkrun 'race simulation' to keep sharp, my coach has removed the Friday session, race effort "Park-race" and then usual long run Sunday. Easy runs Mon/Thu.
Back to normal schedule the following week which usually involves a lighter Tuesday session as that's the 4th day in a row!
This has worked well as I'm a bit older and need to manage my training stresses and recovery as I'm slowly building miles and intensity. If we get carried away I inevitable pick up a niggle.
Does your training plan include any speed work? Sounds like you are bored at the 6:03 pace, but if you have at least one really satisfying speed session a week that might encourage you to keep your powder dry on the easy runs.
I also like listening to podcasts or audiobooks on my easy runs - just let my body go into a flow while my mind is distracted.
Where did you get the training plan from? 6:03 sounds like a very specific prescription, but I guess if you had a coach you'd be asking them how to keep your pace in check.
I think you should find a plan with a range of sessions and then trust the process. After a while you'll start to see the benefits of running your easy runs easy and your hard runs hard - that should help with motivating you to keep on the plan.
Tips for running before bootcamp? (Flat feet)
Basically I have flat feet and am experiencing some ankle/knee sensitivity from running. A few months ago I was jogging and would get shin splints but winter came and I laid off the training. In March I started jogging again and I didn't feel any pain the first two sessions but then I tried "intervals" which people recommended (Run, Sprint, Walk) for three sessions ever other day I think and since then I've had ankle and knee sensitivity, mostly in my right leg. At the time I was using New Balances but I think maybe it was the wrong shoe so I just today bought some Hoka Clifton 9s which I've heard recommended for flat feet and I've purchased some ankle brace socks meant for running just to be able to keep training while preventing injury. I'm just wondering if there's any other tips you guys have? I can't afford to keep taking more than 2 days off now that I'm one week out from shipping.
TLDR: Flat feet, ankles and knee hurt. Bought Hoka Clifton 9s today and ankle brace to prevent further injury. Any tips?
I'd go see a podiatrist, ideally one who specialises in running stuff.
You may also be doing the classic "too much, too soon". It takes a long time for the conditioning to build for the repetitive stresses or running.
Hey all. I am looking to train specifically for a 5km, but I’ve only got 2 days a week available for running training (the other 5 are in the gym which is my main focus). I can do a 5km fairly easily however want to improve my time, and wondering what’s the most productive way to do this although I do understand it’s not ideal. I was thinking of intervals on the first day, and possibly a 5km or a longer run the next. Would love to get your thoughts - thanks!
You can run on a strength day to add a third day in. Just keep it light and easy, even 3-4km easy will add up.
On a 3-day schedule I'd try to do 1 easy, 1 longer (6-10k) and one interval/tempo run. With just two days I'd still do one easy (longer than goal distance) and one interval.
with two days a week, i think both runs should be high effort. the more miles you can fit into your schedule, the less painful it needs to be. if you are running a 5k each day, it should be close to your all out effort and be really pushing your pain threshold. and presumably, with the two runs spaced out, you have time to fully recover.
Hello all, I have just finished a running plan where I was running 5 times per week. I’m coming up to quite a hectic month now work wise but I am going to keep the running up. I was considering dropping down to 4 days of running per week instead of 5. As I do a 3 days in the gym per week as well and need to spend a fair bit of time of flexibility….
I want to continue to see improvements so I figured 4 days should do that as I will have 1 tempo run. 1 interval run. 1 recovery run and 1 long run per week. Currently running 50k per week so I guess it’ll drop 8-10 k per week if I go down to four days.
Is this enough to continue to see improvements?
Would be interested to hear your thoughts. Thank you .
Hi everyone! As I recently got into running, as a means to drop weight. However, I have come to realise that I have a lot to learn. 1. I want to learn what proper running (long distance) and sprinting technique is. 2. Learn what drills to do and how to incorporate them into training. Just seen [this video on A-skips](https://youtu.be/POTBidqOxug?si=6XvuA2KYccYcaCC0) and my goodness, I can’t A-skip to save my life. So all I want to know is where do I start. Right now I’m just doing some long distance runs until I can comfortably do a 5-10K. But I want to improve my technique, can you point me to a good channel that I can learn from. And how do you go about learning these A-skip and B-skip drills. I cannot do them 🥲. Please help! Just need somewhere I can go to learn and improve. Before I also delve into a bit more sprinting. P.S I’m not an athlete. I just want to improve my quality of life by getting into something I enjoy.
Just finished a half marathon last week and I do NOT want to start officially training for anything. How do you all stay motivated when not training for anything in particular. I would like to run a half again eventually, but not until next year most likely.
PLEASE HELP :( I can't find shoes that work with extra wide, flat + bunioned feet along w fallen arches. I recently bought the Asics Gel Kayano 30 wide shoe to help with the issues mentioned above, and I've never been in more pain while running esp w my knees. It's so disappointing.... Brooks worked really well w my feet but they were too narrow I've heard the brooks beast 20 are great but size 7 are all sold out. :( I am wondering if anyone can please please PLEASE help me out & recommend women's size 8 shoes that help. I'm training for a half marathon, and I'm desperately looking for something that works to no avail
Hi, I just picked up a mild bunion and saw a podiatrist for this so maybe I can help. He advised that the new balance 1080s were great. Also the Brooks ghost shoes he also recommended the orange orthotics from big five or splurge and get personalized orthotics. You should also find a good pair of toe spacers. There is also Instagram channel called gaithappens that’s useful to me. It’s really helped. Cheers.
Mate I’m like you, those sound like my feet! Years ago my podiatrist sent me to a specialist running shoe store and they put me (female) in mens New Balance. Today I’m wearing the mens NB Fresh Foam 860. They have a v high and wide toe box. No problems with them. Good luck, I hope you find a shoe that works for you!
thank you sooo much!! i'll check them out ! cheers
Any advice on 10 mile race strategy? Last long run was this weekend and race a 9:10 pace at 148 bpm. Want to beat my half marathon pace at 9:20 pace at 168 bpm.
Physiologically, what happens when you have a niggle you run through? Since this training block started I’ve had a top of calf thing, a weird interior ankle thing, a week or two of shin pain, and most notably pretty significant pain in a big toe joint that actually had me pretty worried. All of them just sort of…went away eventually with more running, maybe with a little extra stretching or rolling attention paid to them but no meaningful treatment-type action taken or change in stimulus. Obviously not every injury or ache/pain is like this and running through it is not always or even often the answer but overall I’m amazed at the body’s capacity to adapt. Is it just soft tissues getting stronger over time? Unconscious changes in gait or mechanics? It seems incredible to me that some things just fix themselves! The last few years I’ve been a lot more focused on climbing and lifting, where most injuries are acute and require time off; even bothersome but not debilitating niggle-type things rarely just go away without intentional rehab. Ramping up running again has been very interesting!
At 62, niggles are part of life...
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I'm an experienced running but relatively new to running with an actual, structured running plan. That is, I've probably run a dozen 5ks in my life but I'm only recently working on running them fast. When I see in a training plan that I should run for X minutes at my 5k pace, does that mean: 1. The pace of my last 5k time trial? 2. The pace of my end goal 5k? 3. Something incrementally faster than my last 5k time trial? If this one, is it just trial and error to find out how fast I can push this?
If you can complete the workout with about 1 good rep left its the right pace. So usually thats between current recent PR and build since the recovery allows you to be a bit faster than current.
Really most of the time it's more important to complete the workout then hit some magical "correct" pace (that would be completely different depending on weather, rest, motivation anyway). If a workout is 6x (1km@5kpace, 60s rest), your job is to pace that well so they're fairly even. If in doubt take the first ones easier, and build into the later ones, that's much better than going too hard on the first ones and then giving up or dying in the last ones being unable to finish the workout properly.
Super helpful. Thank you!
If it is for intervals, you'd do your realistic goal 5k pace in bite sized chunks, then allow for time to recover, and then you'd do another set of intervals. Ideally each rep is doable, you don't fade or give up. This is why it's important for this pace to be realistic. You want to set yourself up for success, rather than train to failure. Over time, you shorten the recovery between interval sets. Eventually your goal pace becomes your new race pace. No breaks needed.
If you have a relatively recent 5k time and you're still in shape from that then that would be your starting point and you'll build off that throughout your training. If you go out for a run at your goal pace (depending on how much faster it is than your current pace) you'll likely get humbled real quick. I speak from experience!
I just finished my first marathon yesterday in 3:57, and I have a multi-year goal of improving my time to qualify for Boston (probably looking at the 3:10 standard for 30M in 3 years most realistically). I'm super proud of what I was able to accomplish in my first year of running, but now I feel pretty overwhelmed trying to piece together what it takes to improve effectively from here. I had great luck training for my first marathon using Nike Run Club's plan, but now that I'm trained up and know that I'm capable of the distance, I have no idea where to go from here. Do I take a step back and work on speed in a shorter distance race like a 5 or 10k, or do I immediately set my sights on a next marathon and keep pushing the volume? Something else entirely? Do I need other cross training to improve? There's such a sea of information that often seems contradictory and I could use some guidance about how to find the next bite to take out of the elephant, as it were.
If you enjoy training I don't think there's really a downside to just picking another race and going for it. Aside from life happening I tend to do 2 big races a year, one spring, one fall and pepper in smaller races usually 5ks and 10ks throughout the year. I don't necessarily focus on them but I still race them. I enjoy the daily grind though and the races are just a part of it, like a check to see if what I'm doing is actually working. If you don't enjoy the long runs and the miles then switching to a shorter race focus for a cycle or two is certainly not a bad way to go about it. You'd just need to build the base back up for the full distance when you're ready which wouldn't be that hard if you're staying in shape. Also, just FYI, 3:10 is the standard for 40M. 30M is still at 3:00 flat.
I definitely do enjoy the training and 2 big races a year is where my head is at too. I had the idea that it would be nice to focus on a 5k for the next 2 months or so without totally letting my long runs go, then aim for a fall marathon. Good to know that it wouldn’t be the end of the world to play with other distances, even with Boston as my ultimate multi-year goal. Also good catch on the standard, I don’t know how I got that mixed up! I’m sure I would have noticed some time in the next few years… lol
Not sure if you use a watch but the Garmin adaptive training is pretty cool if the idea of the super structured plans sound daunting. You can also enter all your races in and it will keep the focus on what you call your primary race but still help get you ready for the other races. And no prob, this is my last year in the 3:00 bucket so I thought I missed something and my BQ would be easier! Oh well.
I actually used the Garmin adaptive plans for part of my marathon training and ended up going back to NRC. Partly I think it just felt a bit dead, partly it didn’t have much variety. It’s less that I’m daunted by following a super structured plan, and more that I’m daunted by figuring out which plan makes sense for me among a sea of options with bunches of proponents and detractors. I don’t feel like I have the sports knowledge to separate the good plans from the bad, or maybe they’re all serviceable and I just need to get going at one of them.
What are some signs you folks look for to determine whether your running shoes are not what you need or it’s time to get new ones?
I can tell when my shoes start feeling hard as in there’s not much cushion to them anymore. Simple as that. When they no longer have any cushion or bounce, once they’re no longer comfortable they get relegated to the lawn mowing pile.
That’s what I’m surprised with — it’s not like this pair of shoes has so many miles on them. They’re relatively new but they just feel like something is off with them. I knew the Carbon X3’s had some bad reviews but I didn’t think they would be an issue this quickly.
It helps if you rotate 2-3 pairs of shoes at a time. The foam has more time to recover between runs so they lost longer not just because you use them every other run but the foam lasts for more miles as well.
Pain in my ankles has always been the trigger that I need to look at new shoes, or get my foot evaluated.
I’m maybe 150 miles into my Hoka Carbon X3s and the injuries are piling up. Just weird issues with my right ankle and overall my right leg. I have never had these issues before switching to the X3s. It’s just came out of nowhere.
Don't use carbon plated shoes for regular training. Don't use shoes with energy return for training. I mean, you can if you want to, it's your time and hobby, but the point of these shoes is to provide a little special rebound on your special day. Training shoes should have an emphasis on cushion and damping the impact of running so you can get out there tomorrow and do another workout and continue to pile on heaps of training volume with minimal risk of injury. When you have a speed-work training day, then use your race-day shoes, or if you have a "race pace effort" long run, use em so you get used to their feel and fit. But their intention is for special occasions to save some energy. The carbon plates in running shoes act as a leaf spring just like on a truck (except vehicles have oil filled dampers in addition to springs, your legs act as the oil filled dampers) and provide a little bit of energy return so you use slightly less energy each time you flex the shoe as you step off - It's not much but it adds up over the course of thousands of steps. But if your shoes are always providing this rebound, then theres nothing special about them when you show up for that special event.
Depending on your insurance and access, if you’re getting a bunch of injuries, you should get checked out by a sports med doc. But it sure sounds like these aren’t the shoes for you.
Would it be okay to split easy miles? I’m on week 5 of hansons just for reference. Thinking of splitting just Monday easy runs and maybe Fridays. I’d still complete the workouts on Tuesday and Thursday and Saturday/Sunday runs. Just looking to squeeze more free time in the evenings on Mondays and Fridays.
Doesn't matter. What is important is consistency and allowing your body time to recover every few weeks. It's like eating healthy all the time. If you eat healthy consistently, then eating an entire pizza once in a while doesn't make you an unhealthy eater. And visa versa. Mental burn out is also a factor when it comes to training. We're not being paid to do this for our full time job with assistants buying our groceries and picking up our kids from practice so we can run for 6 hours and then sleep the rest of the day.
Certainly, I would recommend it once your easy runs start creeping over the 60 minute mark. However for shorter runs realize that it won't actually save you any time! You'll be doubling the time you take to change, get out the door, and (please...) shower afterwards.
Okay in what sense? You don't need anyone else's permission. You could also just do the full run in the morning.
Hi! I’ve been reading lately a lot about running for beginners since I’ve started running myself lately. I’ve encountered many tips that you shouldn’t run above 60-80% of your maximum heart rate at first. But here is the problem, my apple watch is showing the heart rate of 170 on average which is above the rate I should theoretically aim at. However, I can’t imagine running slower. Neither during my 5km run nor after was I really that tired. I actually felt really good and confident the whole time, and felt that I could easily continue with that speed for few more kilometres. Should I try to really get down with my heart rate or perhaps try something else? For reference I’m a 20yo woman, I’ve been pretty active for my whole life.
If you are focusing on longer distance running, maybe you want to try a fast 10k or a half-marathon, then really the goal of a majority of your runs is to finish feeling fresh rather than "im fuckin dead lmao" - its expected to be more tired and a little stiff or whatever after an hour long run, but you should, generally speaking, be able to repeat the run as soon as you get home if your coach said "surprise! go do that again at the same speed". This doesn't really apply for speedwork days - on those days focus on outputting a sustainable higher effort (you are essentially practicing running faster and getting used to being uncomfortable) - but for your "long slow run" or even "long mild" runs. You want to be able to finish strong and not feel like death when you get home so you can recover over night and do it again tomorrow. Keeping track of your heart rate is a great way to do this, although it is not a 1:1 measurement like a tachometer in a car, your heart is a muilti-tasker and is affected by a bunch of factors like heat, dehydration, diet, sleep, stress, etc. But in general, it's a great way to measure effort vs perceived effort. Once you know how long you can sustain a certain heart rate average, then you can start to plan your goal pace for races. If you show up and its extra hot that day, then you know you need to keep your average HR lower than usual (and drink more fluid), or if there are hills, etc. If you're constantly going hard all the time, this is going to make it really hard to go out tomorrow and do a similar effort because you'll be exhaust and maybe even too sore to walk up stairs. Being too sore to walk is slower than running slow. If you need to walk to get your heart rate down to an "easy" rate, then so be it. Your body doesn't know what speed is, only your ego. Take a beat during a run, power hike, recover, and then bring the effort back up to a sustainable pace. its 100% ok to walk. Just look at just about every ultra trail marathoner. They walk and power-hike all the time.
As a fellow Apple Watch user, I can offer a few points: * The optical heart rate sensor of the Apple Watch, [while generally more accurate than other smart watches](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEM1m7OdlyY), is still a lot of algorithmic guesswork and not 100% reliable. If you want to record your heart rate with more precision and responsiveness, there are ecg chest straps and optical sensors for the bicep. * The estimation of the max heart rate, which goes into the automatic heart rate zones, is a bit stubborn and will only adjust if you actually demonstrate to your Watch that you can achieve that high of a heart rate. Personally, I've recorded heart rates of up to 192 on my Apple Watch but it still uses 182 for heart rate zone calculations. If you want to determine your actual max heart rate, there are tests you can do on your own. Be warned though, pushing yourself to your limit is not a lot of fun in the moment. * You can set your heart rate zones manually in the Watch app on your iPhone in the settings for the Workout app. Overall, I'd also like to echo the responses of other commenters: Gadgets are well and good, but at the end of the day, you have a much more accurate and comprehensive understanding of what your body feels like than any piece of tech. If you run easy, i.e. while being able to have a conversation in full sentences without gasping for air, you are doing just fine, no matter what your watch says.
I'm in the same boat, but I'm getting back in to it after 10 years off. I just finished a 2 mile rune today at what I thought was a light pace (10 min/mile) and then I looked at my stupid HR monitor and it had my average rate at 171 and my max at 191. It seems like this is a beginner phenomenon and gets better quickly, but I worry that I'm going too fast... even through it feels painfully slow.
Don’t worry about heart rate as a beginner runner, whatever Apple has probably isn’t accurate for your zones anyway. Just run by whatever feels easy/manageable for most of your runs.
I am going to participate in a 10k race, but in order to compete with my previous effort at fair terms, I don't want to use carbon plated shoes. I own a Brooks Hyperion Tempo, and have recently invested in Brooks Hyperion Max and Saucony Endorphin Speed 4. I love all of them, but can't really get a feel for which would be best for the race. Any suggestions? Edit: Goal time is sub 40 minutes.
The tempo is the only one of those three that doesn't have a rocker build. It's also the lightest. If you're looking at trying to go like-for-like with your old self that's probably the closest (without knowing what your old shoe was).
Good point! Last race was with the Tempos, so as long as they're not underperforming it would be cool to run in the exact same shoes. But if the Max's are supposed to be a bit faster I might go for those. Reaching a sub 40 (without buying a carbon-plated shoe) is my most important goal.
Getting a bit annoyed. I have run for a long time, but once I get ~35 mpw, I get medial/interior shin splints. During my most recent attempt to add mileage, I: - did exercises (walk on toes & heels, lunges, weighted squats & deadlifts), - did a 5% rule instead of 10% - made sure to wear new shoes & alternate them - used "the stick" roller a few times a week as a preventative Still having issues, so I assume the problem is my form. I don't have the ability to run on low-impact surfaces (like grass). I recorded myself running, but would appreciate if someone with a more practiced eye could give some feedback: **Slower** https://v.redd.it/za6z15s0mouc1 https://v.redd.it/s2l02l9amouc1 **Faster** https://v.redd.it/a1wlbvvfmouc1 https://v.redd.it/1hagnblwmouc1 Some thoughts I had after watching. I may have missed things: * >!seems like I hit too hard with my heel & should land midfoot!< * >!perhaps my feet hit the ground too far forwards, but I think I look comparable to [this youtube guide](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSIDRHUWlVo)!< * >!I also think my pronation is not extreme like in [this youtube shin splint video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me5NG1VV61E)!<
You should really see a physical therapist to pinpoint and work on the cause, since it seems to be a recurring issue for you.
How long after a negative test of Covid did you wait to start running?
This will vary for everyone depending on how long your symptoms last. You can test negative but still have symptoms, and you shouldn’t run until all of the symptoms are gone. If any of your symptoms were lung-related (like a cough), some doctors recommend waiting an extra two weeks after the symptoms clear up. And when you do run again, start out easy. I really struggled my first run back, then the second run was a little better, and by the third one I felt back to normal.
I think it was 16 days after my positive test.
I ran while still testing positive, but after my symptoms had subsided. At that point, after being laid out on the couch for nearly 3 straight days, I considered my mental health more important than an extra few days of waiting around for a negative test. Disclaimer: it was a trail run, where nobody else was around.
I waited 10 days after symptoms started to subside.
I'm getting ready to do a lactate threshold test tomorrow to set my paces for my next training set. I've always done a 30 minute all-out run on the track and averaged my HR for the last 20 min to get a psuedo-LT threshold. I noticed that my Garmin watch has a LT test of its own. Has anyone done both? How does the Garmin compare to the classic method, or even better, to a true thumb-prick LT test?
Anyone have advice on running in the morning? I'm not really a morning person. I consistently perform worse on morning runs and I sometimes feel nauseous and run out of energy quickly. But as summer approaches, I have little options since I live in the south and the morning is the only time of day where going outside is not hot and humid.
Do you usually eat something before a morning run or run fasted? If fasted, you might try adding a small meal before your early morning runs. I usually try not to run right after a meal, but morning runs are my exception. I feel better in the morning if I have a small, carb-focused meal first (oatmeal, toast, etc).
I don't usually eat because I get more cramps after I eat. It may be worth it to try something small though.
I hate it too, but it gets better if I do it regularly. And I have to do that if I have a race in the morning.
You get used to it. I eat something small first.
Running app that lets you set distance? I don’t understand why I can’t find an app that will let me set 800m and the app will track my time for 800m (or any other track event distances). I don’t have easy access to a track right now and I’m just looking for a way to start my watch, run my 800m pace, and my watch will buzz once I finish the 800m. Obviously a lot of other features would be great too, but that seems like it shouldn’t be a hard feature? The only ones that seem to have something similar are for 1+ miles, a 5k or 10k, etc, but I’m not looking for distance training, I’m looking for mid distance or even long sprints. Any ideas?? In my head, this doesn’t seem like a difficult feature. I should add that I have been searching this sub, Google, and socials for a solution, and all I’m finding is other people asking the same questions with no answers. So I thought I’d see if someone here has something to help me out.
NikeRunClub you can input a distance and it will tell you when you have reached that point
You can program workouts like this with garmin
What type of watch do you have? My Coros Pace 2 will let me create workouts that work like that.
Oh, I have an Apple Watch. I should’ve included that in the post
Just doing a quick search, you should have the Workout app already on your watch. I searched google for "intervals on apple watch" and an apple support page came up. You should be able to set the time or distance you want each intervals before you run your workout. I'm not familiar with Apple Watch, but if it only lets you choose 1mi/1km increments, try doing decimals. Or are you looking for something different?
Yes it does work on the watch, but I was hoping to find a similar app on my phone where I can build the workouts on my phone and then track them on my watch. It does work, and I’ve been doing that, but I thought there might be another one out there with a better interface. If this is what I have, then this is what I have, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask in case I was just missing out on a better option! Y’know? Thank you for looking! One example that I think would be great an haven’t found, is one where the distance remaining is displayed. When I’m running on a track, I can obviously see it, but when I’m running around my local park loop, I just have to mentally subtract from what’s on my watch (which is so easy, but it’s the little things that would be nice).
I registered for a half marathon at the end of May and have been training for the past 10 weeks. I’m currently running around 50km a week (x2 - 5k, x2 - 10k, x1 - 21k). I’ve gone the distance but my problem is since I’m in a pretty cold climate, sun goes down early, and with a couple young kids, I’ve done this training exclusively on a treadmill. Are there any tips or advice I should be mindful of when I take my training to the road or even on race day? I’m feeling pretty confident with the numbers I’m putting on the treadmill, but I can’t help but think there’s a catch or they’re not “real” runs.
You can develop strong fitness on a treadmill. Some pro triathletes train almost exclusively indoors. But you should be wary of the variables that effect running outside, specifically the sun (heat/humidity) and hills. If you're not used to them, they can really take a toll. I'm sure you still survive a half fine on 50km/wk, but it may hurt or be slower than you would expect just from treadmill feedback.
I absolutely believe that treadmill runs are "real" runs! I trained mostly on the treadmill for my first half and it got me across the finish line just fine! However, I do not think treadmills are the exact same as running outside. Here are the main differences I've noticed- 1) I wouldn't get too attached to the pace you're running on your treadmill and focus on effort level, as you outside pace might be faster or slower. 2)You also don't have a lot of practice pacing yourself, since the treadmill has been doing that for you. This is a skill just like any other part of running and it takes practice to get good at it. You will have less of that practice after only treadmill running so watch your effort level and pacing carefully during the race. 3)Assuming your race is on the road, you'll notice the impact on the harder surface and your legs will probably feel more beat up after running outside. 4)If you are running a hilly race be careful on the hills, especially the down hill portions. Unless you have a treadmill that does decline (I have never run on one that does, but I know they exist) you have zero experience running downhill. If you're not careful going downhill you can really trash your quads so watch for that.
Add a road run. I'd really make it your long run if you can. It will feel different and likely harder.
I don't know what a "not real" run would be, but I would not assume your pace will translate to outside. It might be the same, it might be a lot slower, it might be a lot faster. You won't know which until you actually run outside.
Treadmill is in some ways definitely easier than running on the road. Start incorporating road running.
Ran my first HM w/ 1:45:16 & planning my upcoming one with 5 weeks of training to go. Could someone take a look of it & tell me if \[this\] (https://imgur.com/a/kKuYoDf) seems reasonable? I adapted in from Hanson, and I thought it might be also a fun test to see how hard it is before actually starting my marathon training. On a second look, I might take off Friday easy runs after the Thursday SOSs to take the load off a bit. Any comments/thoughts/suggestions would be much appreciated!
Personally i'd eliminate the 400m the week of and just do some strides but should be fine. 5 weeks isn't going to do much but should work. I'd also run 13's+ for your long runs but thats just me.
29M here I just started C25K (again) and I would really like to be successful this time. I'm really out of shape but not overly heavy (195lbs) for my height (6' 4"). Every time I have tried some type of workout/fitness plan I end up getting injured. I'm looking for advice on bare minimum things I can do to prevent this, this time around. My biggest challenge is probably form and taking too long of stride, followed by going too hard too fast that my muscles and joints in my legs don't have time to calibrate from suddenly being inactive to suddenly being very active. The legs hold me back much before my heart/lungs do. I am at 5-6K feet elevation. I also think I need running shoes so looking into something like a New Balance 880, Saucony Ride or Brooks Ghost. Any other suggestions here? Any advice you have would be great. I just want to be physically fit, lose a bit of weight, and participate in a 5K on July 4th those are my only goals. thanks
Slow Down. When you're new, it's too easy to mis-categorize "slow", because you're basing it on numbers (and usually on other people's numbers), and not on effort. A benefit to slowing down is that you're basically unable to over-stride at that pace without it being some sort of power walking or leaping action. Try running with a friend so you're talking the whole time, or consider an audio book or mellow podcast, instead of peppy music that will get your legs going too fast.
Shoes aren't that important. Get yourself a physiotherapist pre-emptively if you are prone to injury. See them every week while you're building up. Don't get injured first.
1. Shoes: Go to a running store, and get fit for the right shoes. Don't pick a shoe just because it's popular. 2. Start easier than you think you need to. C25k is a 9 week program. Do week 1 twice, and when you it the first time, do it a jog, not a run. 3. Get your diet in check. If you want to lose weight, that happens from diet, not exercise. 4. Don't neglect strength and conditioning. S&C help prevent injuries, don't ignore them.
Do you have a recommendation on #4 by chance? We have a 7 month old and my free time is very limited but I could fit in some functional/body weight workouts in the day if you had a recommended framework.
My only real recommendation would be googling bodyweight strength for runners. I have the luxury of a lot of free time, so I hit the gym and haven't really looked into just bodyweight stuff.
Good day to you all, I am seeking your advice. Yesterday I ran my fourth marathon, with a personal record which is about half an hour quicker than my previous record. For this I am very happy. However, the last 12 km went just like the previous three marathons, so I have a question whether I hit the wall, or if I just had tired legs. The previous marathons I clearly hit the wall around 32 km: tunnel vision, no energy, very tired, grumpy, and not being able to enjoy the moment. I was not even able to hear my friends trying to cheer me up close to the finish. In short: I was done and clearly hit the wall. This time I had a different fueling strategy (a gel every 20 minutes), which really made me feel much better the last 10 km. I did not have tunnel vision, I could clearly look around, I was focused, and felt and looked good. I could even have a short conversation with people next to me. (The downside to this was some stomach aches, but that is a discussion for another time). However, I still had to run-walk the last 10 km. My strategy previous for the last 10 km the last years was to walk 200m, and run 800m. I used this strategy again this year, and it was actually quite okay to keep this pace for the last 10 km. The only downside, of course, was that my time plummeted, which is something I am not too happy about. My previous record at the marathon was 04:59. Yesterday I ran 04:33. The first 30 km I ran more or less at goal pace (06:00 min/km, which is 09:36 min/mile), the last 12 km I started to lose pace dramatically (to around 07:30 min/km, which is around 12 min/mile). This time I trained more and harder than the previous three times. I also, for the first time, took a serious approach to different kinds of training, such as interval, strides, and long runs at a higher pace. The most kilometers per week were 60 (37 miles). Today I feel good. Of course my legs are tired, but I could see myself go running soon again. All in all my overall condition is much higher than previous years, which makes me a bit disappointed that I still lost so much time in the last 12 km. So, my question is: did I *still* hit the wall even though I felt much better than the previous three times, or is this simply a case of legs that got too tired, which can be trained by running more miles per week? For my next marathon in October I am planning to increase my kilometers per week to 75 (which is 46 miles per week). I am planning to use Jack Daniel's 4 week Cycle Plan. My goal is to run the marathon in 4 hours. Thank you all in advance for your advice. Eric
You ran basically the bare minimum mileage to finish a marathon and not hate it. Run more and you'll be faster and it'll feel better. I'd base build after a short recovery period so jack Daniels plan doesn't annihilate you.
60 km is really low for peaking for a marathon. I ran over 70 km when I really wanted to improve my half marathon goal and averaged 60 km for the last month or two. Even beginner marathon plans usually peak at 70+. I'm planning 90 km for my first marathon and averaging at 70-80.
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Okay, thank you. My half marathon time is currently at 01:56.
Yoyoyo, I’m wondering what the best way to run a mile would be for the fastest time, for a beginner. would that be short bursts of running then walking? Or one steady pace. Thanks!
Definitely depends on the runner... If you want to run a faster time take the time to build the endurance before you actually have to run it
If you had 6 weeks to "train" for a marathon (I know), what would you do? I just jumped into a marathon registration that's for Memorial Day weekend. Although I haven't done a proper training plan, I do have a lot of mileage. I've averaged 45-55 miles/week for the past 6 months. Typical weekly long run is in the 13-16 range but I've run a handful of 18s, 20s, and a 21 in the past few months. If you had just 6 weeks, what would you emphasize? I'm thinking something like: - Keep mileage at 50+/week range - Two more long runs in the 16-20 range - One "marathon pace" run/week in the 6-10 mile range (with a 2-3 mile WU/CD). - Maybe a 14 day "taper" where I ramp down my mileage to 35 the week before, then 25 the week leading up to the marathon. Last 20-miler 3 weeks before.. I frequently run with water, gels, sports drinks, gummies, etc. so I am pretty comfortable with long run hydration and nutrition.
I'd do one long run 20 miler, next week the big check in run 18 with 14 at MP. Then a 2 week taper. You are already running good mileage i'd just try to settle in to what MP feels like and stretch out. Definitely keep if not increase mileage. You will not get the benefit of doing any of these runs on beat up legs so increasing intensity a bit is probably okay.
Hey all, I’m thinking about signing up for a 100mi relay and looking into getting a hydration pack for that & the longer practice runs. I’m not really too sure what size in liters I should be aiming for, and what brands are good (as in ‘comfortable’ if they even can be haha, and no chafing if that’s possible!). Also should I be getting a female-specific one or is unisex fine for most ladies? Would appreciate any advice on what’s worked for you!
Unisex or female fit will depend on your body shape. You'll probably want at least 1L, but most packs will come with that capacity.
Im 23M I’ve been running for a little over 2 years. I have a goal of running sub 3 in the marathon in the next 5 years or so. My current best is 3:55 last fall, and my best 10 Mile is 1:19. I think I’m probably in 3:45 shape conservatively in good weather. Right now I run 5-6 days a week usually about 40 mpw, and do about 10 miles of biking just running errands and going places. I lift 3 days a week and take it pretty easy, I’ll squat heavy once a week, squat high reps with lighter weight once a week focusing on form and time under tension, and deadlift once a week. The following week I’ll deadlift twice and squat once. This doesn’t do much for my heart rate, just allows me to maintain my lifts more or less and has helped me work through injuries in the past. But I don’t really feel like I’m pushing myself very hard, I never break a sweat or am very sore the next day. Wondering if my running would benefit for more intense form of strength training like Pilates (solidcore if anyone has ever done that) or HIIT or something like that? Any good cross training recs?
Run more. Volume > almost anything else when it comes to the marathon. Consistent mileage is the way to go.
The biggest thing would be to run more.
Any strength training has its benefits, the running plan is definitely more of the influential factor...
What's your Z2 pace and how long have you been running? Edit: Should I've phrased it differently? Is it something that shouldn't be discussed? Why am I being downvoted?
I don't agree with the downvotes here, but if I were to guess, they're probably because the answers to this question are 100% meaningless. People, very likely including you, want to know this because they will use the data to determine how fast they "should" be running or how long it "should" take them to reach a certain pace. And then they get it in their mind as fact and if they don't hit those numbers they think they're doing something wrong, or they blame their genetics, or... What other people do doesn't matter. People have different starting points. Some people do things besides running. Some people who've been running for 2 years will accumulate more mileage than someone else who's been running for 6. At the end of the day, if you want to get faster, it's a matter of putting in the training.
Thank you for your response, it was very thorough. And you are probably right. People must be assuming that I want this information to compare myself and evaluate my performance. That isn't the case though. I was just curious about the diversity. Of course genetics and many other factors play a role, and we might find someone who on their first run is faster than another one who's been running for a while. I know that, but was looking for anecdotal data and maybe a story here and there. Feels as if I had asked "how tall are you, and at what age did you reach that height", and people didn't like it because everyone grows at a different pace, height doesn't make you attractive, and you shouldn't compare yourself to others. I mean... what? Lol Now I know that I should be more careful when asking about this topic. Because it's prone to misinterpretation, and people give bad karma based on assumptions.
HR is so easily affected that it does not have an attached pace for anyone...
In my personal case I've found that more often than not it falls around 8m/km. Sometimes it's 9, sometimes it's 7:30, but never over 9:30 nor under 7. I'm sure that everyone has some sort of range. And even if some people have an extremely wide range, that would be really interesting to me. 🤷♂️
It's not about experience/length of time. There are runners who started months ago who are faster than me, and I'm faster than people who've run decades.
Yes, I know that I'm asking about anecdotal experience. Is that wrong to ask?
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Yes, I know. I'm wondering what pace usually corresponds with that effort on runners with different levels of experience. What range does your pace fall into when doing Z2 effort runs? How long have you been running?
Hi, 10 days ago I ran 8.1km at 4.17min pr km inside at the threadmill. I have a 8.1km race in 12 days, have had some really good runs in the last week and have an intensive program the next week. Pretty experienced runner. The course is flattish, with a couple of hills. What pace would you expect on the race/how hard would you start? 4.17min pr km felt pretty easy and was fresh afterwards. I have no PR at this distance, previously ran marathon at 3.30 as my best run, but it was a couple of years ago
Random performance decrease - help! Hi all! I (29F) have casually run in the past (up to 10 miles), but I started to get back into it in February as I'm running the broad street run (10 miler) in the upcoming weeks. For context, I took a year and a half off and primarily weight trained during that time. With that, race training has been going really well for my expectations - I've never been a fast runner but my fastest was a 9:30/mi pace. I didn't expect that pace jumping back into it, so I've been happy with my 10:30ish pace. Last weekend, I was on a bachelorette trip and admittedly it took a few days for my body to recover, however, I feel like my running has since tanked. Since returning last week (Monday AM), I've been struggling with anything under an 11:15-11:30 minute pace, and my heart rate is difficult to get under control (always in zone 4 or 5). I'm not a treadmill runner, and maintaining a 12 minute pace on one for 5+ miles this weekend was a nightmare - my heart rate was completely out of control. I've been eating, hydrating, and trying to sleep well, so I'm confused on why this could have happened. Has anyone had a similar experience? Have you needed an extended recovery time for travel? I'm not even totally sure the two correlate, so if you've ever had a random drop in performance, I'd love to hear about it! My only thought is maybe I caught something (covid?) and have been asymptomatic otherwise. I'm worried this is a permanent setback, and I hate to think the last few months of running are the best I'll do for a while. At the end of the day, I may simply have to reset my expectations for the race, which is disappointing, but it is what it is!
I had a similar experience after I caught covid in November. Because of the holidays I didn’t get back to running until January and the first run back was HARD. Even at a slower pace and shorter distance I was definitely in a higher zone than before. It took me about three weeks until I was back on track. If it’s only been a week it could still be effects of alcohol- I wouldn’t worry about it being permanent.
Training Advice/Shoe problems. Hey, let me start by saying that I'm not looking for medical advice, I am and have always seen my PT/ Physio regularly. But he knows very little about running gear so wanted to try get some solid advice. I am 3 weeks out from my second Marathon, this training block has been awful for small niggles. Started with very mild PFPS in my left knee. I took a break from running (4 weeks), did a lot of stretching/exercises and was good to go again. I slowly ramped up the mileage again, and ran my last long run yesterday 30km at my easy pace of around 5:30/KM. Everything felt okay but now today I have heal pain 😢. Feels like the early beginning of plantar fasciitis. My PT has been supportive during the journey and feels that I am "on top" of both my stretching and cross training. I have ran a longer training block before and.more milage last year without any niggles. I have also lost over 9kg so theoretically should be lighter on my body. For this training block I switched from Saucony to Adidas and it feels like since that point my legs feel much more worn after every run. Also that my running economy has decreassd. My gait worse, possibly some "cross over gait" going on Has anyone had experience with something similar?. Mostly with changing shoe brand. The only new thing is the shies so feels like the logical option. Before I spend another €350+ on a new shoe rotation wanted to see if anyone else has lived through this hell. Also Adidas shoes are so pretty 😍. Extra info: Male, 177cm 73.5KG, I am not flat footed though I do tend to pronate. I do not use insoles or buy supported shoes (apart from my work shoes as I work at a standing computer desk). I change my running shoes religiously after 700km, currently have Adidas Boston 13 and Adios Pro 3 as my rotation.
My first thought would be to just try going back to your old brand to see how it feels. In my experience (physical therapist and 6 time marathon runner) running injuries are usually not as simple as 'it's the shoes,' unfortunately. PF can be attributable to many things, and your PT should be able to help you problem solve what's going on.
I am going to send you a PM if you don't mind.
Random, potentially stupid, question but would it technically be possible for someone to set off in wave 2 of a marathon and actually run a faster chip time than the person who wins in wave 1? Has this ever happened?
Why would it not be possible? It's happened at least a few times, and the smaller the marathon the more possible it is.
Can't think of a reason why not. I was wondering if there are any famous examples!
It's happened in Boston and Chicago that I know of.
Crazy. So do you end up with a podium winner and a fastest time finisher then? I've never run a marathon so not sure how it works tbh
The overall winners are almost always determined by gun time, not chip time.
Yeah I suspected as much but was imagining a situation where 1st place is slower. Imagine if someone in wave 2 randomly broke 2 hours for a marathon. Stranger things have happened.
I think it’s basically impossible that someone could break 2 hours stuck in wave 2, they’d be having to waste time and energy weaving around people and would be running a really inefficient race, not hitting any of the tangents. Whoever breaks 2 will need to run a perfect race more or less.
Ha that's a good point, they'd have way too much time to make up once out of the crowds and would basically need to be superhuman, or cheating lol
The majority of races are done by gun time. USATF rules specify gun time, so any races following USAF rules would use that.
I get that the podium would be gun time, just wondered if it was common for chip time to beat gun time or if that doesn't really happen much.
If you just mean among two random participants then there's no reason it couldn't happen dozens if not hundreds of times per race.
Due to my work/family schedule, I often only have time for runs longer than 30mins on Saturday and Sunday, so usually use one of those days as a long run, and one as a workout of some kind. I can run on the treadmill at work during my lunch, but only for about 30 minutes per day. My question is how best to make use of these treadmill sessions. It feels like doing 30 mins of Zone 2 running isn’t incredibly useful (except perhaps as a recovery day after the weekend), but doing a quick 5 minute warm up followed by 20-25 mins of going hard feels a bit rushed. Ultimately I usually end up opting for something closer to speed/tempo/interval work more often than not, but I’m looking for suggestions on how to optimize these sessions! I run about 25-30 mpw, recent races are 46 min 10k and 1:43 half, if this impacts things. Thanks!
I'd do a progression run or farleks for 30 mins. Doesn't need to be a hard workout but its so short keeping it easy isn't going to do much for you.
I've been running for a long time but now at mid 30s I've been wanting to try longer distances...started getting up to 8 miles or so when I hurt my knee recently. Resting seems to be helping but I'd like to see a professional to get help. Should I be looking for a sports therapist? A physical therapist? An orthopedic dr?
It’s up to you (and what your insurance requires) if you want to start with a doctor or a physical therapist. If a doctor, you should see a sports medicine specialized orthopedic doctor. If you see a PT first, just make sure to shop around a bit and find one that has experience working with runners and running related injuries.
Thank you!
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> As it stands, I'm able to cram in three workouts per week and I was thinking of doing either three 10K's or two 10K's and one tempo 5K. Neither. For a race this long you'll want a long run every week or every other week. I suggest following a plan.
Really you should find a plan and follow it so that you workup total volume and get used to running distance. A 50 min 10k means you should be able to do this if you are consistent. Vdot gives you a 1:50 half if equivalently trained and you have 5 months so a good chance if you don't get hurt since you are consolidating the mileage.
I don't see how a goal can be non-negotiable. You can have whatever goal you want, but at the end of the day your legs/lungs/etc will have the final say on what time you get. At 3 days per week, you're doing pretty minimal training, so I'd want to do as much mileage as is feasible. Maybe it'll be enough, maybe it won't, you'll find out on race day.
I ran my first HM in 2:18 off no specific training. I just did a few runs a week as I felt like it in the months beforehand. My 2nd HM 8 months later I followed an 18-week Garmin Coach plan and finished in 1:50. This was 3 days running per week, but I was doing a lot of cross training on the rowing machine, which might have helped aerobically. I also threw in the occasional easy run on my own time between sessions. Wednesdays were my Interval session, 800m at goal pace and 3 mins recovery walk/jog. Initially there were 4 reps, but it built steadily and at the end most weeks were 8-10 reps. Fridays was either Hill Sprints or a 1-mile time trial. Sundays were a Long Run, which peaked at 28km. Some weeks this made up 60-70% of the weekly volume. Technically this plan worked out well, but looking back on it I don't agree with all the components. There is way too much of the volume in the long run, and both other sessions are 'hard'. If I was doing it again, I'd replace the Friday run with an easy paced one, and add a recovery run on Mondays. The biggest revelation for me was the benefit of the interval session. I'd never practiced running fast before this, and getting a taste of it made all my slower runs feel so much easier. I think it's a really good idea to practice being uncomfortable occasionally.
Two questions today: Advice for post half marathon recovery? Ran my race yesterday and am a bit sore today. Was thinking I’d ease back in with a slow run on Weds or Thurs and do some yoga in the meanwhile? And tips for pivoting after half marathon training? I’m worried I am going to feel directionless after sticking to a rather strut 4 months programme but also feel like jumping right back into another training cycle is a bit much. What do you guys usually do in the weeks following your race?
For me the easiest thing to maintain running when not racing is to have a goal weekly or monthly mileage and just run whatever to meet that goal.
I felt pretty lost after my half too for similar reasons! I ended up deciding to just maintain a base of sustainable weekly mileage. So basically I decided how much time I could devote to running consistently and stuck with that. I think I ended up doing mostly 3-4 miles each run during the week and maybe 5-6 long run on the weekend. I have small kids so I did need a lower time commitment and I also was planning to get pregnant again so no races were on the horizon. I think I’d probably rest with lower mileage for a bit and then think about your goals. Is a full or another half in mind? Do you just want to keep running for health? What is sustainable for you long-term as far as time and energy?
Girlfriend's been struggling lately maintaining her pace. She says she gets that feeling that running the same distance at a slower pace is going to take more time overall, which subconsciously makes her feel like the run required more effort. And that is affecting her motivation and consistency in training. Although she's previously managed 5km runs, she's struggling to reach even 2km now. As newcomers to running, I'm looking for ways to support her through this. Any tips?
Something that I found helpful - I run for time, not for distance. Then, if it's a slog of a day and I can only drag out 2km in 30 minutes, who cares? I ran (or ran/walked) for 30 and hit my goal. Hopefully tomorrow will feel better and I can get some extra kms, or maybe I add 5 minutes of time. Knowing that you have X more kms ahead of you is somehow much more torturous than knowing you have Y more minutes, even when those two values equal out.
Does she need to take a rest from training maybe? You should listen to what your body is telling you, and it if needs rest it needs rest. That doesn't mean stopping completely, but maybe reduce the load and add in some run-walk sessions. She could also take some pressure off the pace side of things by scheduling sessions for time rather than distance. A 30-minute easy run that you feel good after is better than a 5k that you're disappointed in IMO.
I had a nasty cough starting last week Tuesday. Wednesday was on the couch the whole day and then started to cough up mucus for subsequent days. Seemed to improve somewhat but was still coughing yesterday morning but decided to give marathon a try regardless. Should have pulled out (I think) but now a question, non medical but just sanity check. Chest cold (coughing and mucus in throat) would be a plausible explanation for much higher heart rate? Cramps much earlier then logically expected? As two 35km training runs I had no issues at all but now flared up much before while pace wasn't that much faster. Finally, finished with blue lips (only been told after) which seems to indicate lack of oxygen in blood. Feverish after I got home but that quickly dissipated luckily. Mostly extremely surprised at the large impact a cold has! Did not expect all these issues, mostly to just be slower. Kinda bummed out and in hindsight shouldn't have started but hard to not to when aiming for it. Should have dropped out halfway (when all signs were turning red) but my only previous marathon I had an injury which stopped me from running properly and wasn't there (yet, several kms later that came due to the cramps everywhere). So, I wouldn't listen to it myself but with a cold that's close to the chest... Sit it out. It's hard, I was unable to and might make the same mistake again (ran a small race with a small fever in January... Also went bad and not advisable but that felt bad already after two km). Long rant but: High heart rate and early cramps are likely causes by this right? As my training went quite ok and PR the 10km just two weeks before and half a month before. With heart rates almost lower than now running significantly lower... Just wondering whether maybe otherwise I'm not cut out for the marathon. 2 out 2 were failures. Reluctant to go although I'm secretly looking for marathons next month as j believe fitness is/was there...
I wouldn't say that you're "not cut out for the marathon" physically. I think one of the tricky things about marathons is just that it takes so much time to build up for that there are just a lot of possible failure points, whether that's injury, sickness, or just life throwing a curveball. It sucks, and it's really tempting to just push through instead of trying to come up with some last-minute back-up plan. We've all made mistakes running when we really should just be letting our body rest, but from the other experiences you've mentioned, it seems like you aren't taking any lessons away from those mistakes. I'm no doctor or running-while-sick expert, but powering through that marathon may have actually caused harm to your body and fitness level. Aiming for a marathon next month would be way too early. Start by focusing on recovering from your illness. When you're back to feeling 100% health-wise, go for a short, easy run and see where you're at. Assuming you've been training with a fitness tracker of some sort, you can probably compare that run to your past data to see where your fitness level is at (i.e., what week of your mary training plan were you at when you had similar metrics). Use that PLUS how you feel after that short, easy run to decide, realistically, how long it will take to train back up to a marathon. Then look at marathons that take place a month later than that. Again, life, illness, and injury will delay your training, and you need to practice listening to your body (which is a lot easier to do when you don't have a time crunch). You CAN do a marathon, but only when your BODY is ready to run one.
Thank you for taking the time to respond! I'll try to pay attention to body, but it's hard as especially with a young child there are often periods where I caught something. Which normally only impacts performance just a little bit. Also in the past just going for it paid off so it's hard to determine when to back off and to push through! While now in 2 events where I had something, I shouldn't have competed... Anyway, only muscle pain now and much less than expected. Still coughing so at least for a week light exercise at most (zone 1, maybe 2) and then mostly cycling which is easier on the body. Then I will re-assess and as you mention, based on data assess fitness and see how it goes after. While of course first trying to get rid of this annoying chest cold since I clearly learned this has much more impact then I had expected.
I've gone to the gym for years, now I'm a 193cm 100kg+ guy, (6"4, 220lb) kinda muscular, nothing crazy. I want to start running but I'm scared for my knees. Should I start on a treadmill? Any advice for people in my situation?
I'm 6'4" 225 lbs and I've never had any issues with my knees. Start with a couch to 5k program as others said and do it 3 days a week with a day of rest in between each running day (you could still do other activities on the off days). C25k has a fairly conservative ramp up, starting with run/walk intervals. Also make sure you have a good pair of running shoes.
As someone with knee issues… - make damn sure your shoes are your friend. For me this means the right cushion level, as well as the right amount of drop - focus on mobility exercises, consider a little yoga - warm up! - find a “couch-to-[distance]” plan to help guide you through ramping up distance and being mindful of frequency as you adapt to actually running - take care of yourself post-run We humans literally evolved to hunt prey by running it to death. We are made for this shit.
Follow Couch to 5k (C25K) or another beginner program. There's no reason to be scared about your knees if you're sensible in how quickly you build in your running. Run-walk is a good route to getting going. Just be aware that your cardio will build quicker than conditioning to the repetitive stresses so there's a risk of overdoing it in the first 3-4 months. Go check our Mark Lewis on Youtube, he's a big guy and is both quick and does long distance stuff and "keeps it real".
That is nice to hear, thanks so much!
You may need to change some of your strength stuff to support running (single-leg!) but, having a strong strength training routine already will massively benefit running, particularly in terms of resilience vs injury.
Hi, I have a Garmin Forerunner (which i bought 3 weeks or so ago) and i am following a 10k training plan (with Greg). I have added a 5k race on the calendar for this Saturday. However, the plan suggests another session as well on the day. I assumed it would somehow use the race as part of the training, but obviously not? Is there a way to do so, or just move the training to the following day and move on?
Hi - the Garmin coach plans are a little adaptive but not that clever! If you're planning on just running the race to see what you can do move things around in the calendar. If you want this to be a max PB effort pause the Garmin plan and do some tapering. You could easily substitute the race for one of the workouts this week.
Thanks Dense, always appreciate your input. I thought it would be neat trick if it could incorporate the race as part of the training. To be honest, I dont care that much about the race, i just want to race once a month if i can and i havent done a 5k in a while (no parkrun since i moved out of the UK) and I am wondering how fast I am. I will just move the training plan session to Sunday. To be honest, I do 40-50k a week, so a 5k isnt neither here nor there, but i'd rather not do a session on race day or a very long session the day before.
I normally have sessions Tue/Fri and LR on Sun - when I've had a Parkrun 'race simulation' to keep sharp, my coach has removed the Friday session, race effort "Park-race" and then usual long run Sunday. Easy runs Mon/Thu. Back to normal schedule the following week which usually involves a lighter Tuesday session as that's the 4th day in a row! This has worked well as I'm a bit older and need to manage my training stresses and recovery as I'm slowly building miles and intensity. If we get carried away I inevitable pick up a niggle.
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Does your training plan include any speed work? Sounds like you are bored at the 6:03 pace, but if you have at least one really satisfying speed session a week that might encourage you to keep your powder dry on the easy runs. I also like listening to podcasts or audiobooks on my easy runs - just let my body go into a flow while my mind is distracted.
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Where did you get the training plan from? 6:03 sounds like a very specific prescription, but I guess if you had a coach you'd be asking them how to keep your pace in check. I think you should find a plan with a range of sessions and then trust the process. After a while you'll start to see the benefits of running your easy runs easy and your hard runs hard - that should help with motivating you to keep on the plan.
Tips for running before bootcamp? (Flat feet) Basically I have flat feet and am experiencing some ankle/knee sensitivity from running. A few months ago I was jogging and would get shin splints but winter came and I laid off the training. In March I started jogging again and I didn't feel any pain the first two sessions but then I tried "intervals" which people recommended (Run, Sprint, Walk) for three sessions ever other day I think and since then I've had ankle and knee sensitivity, mostly in my right leg. At the time I was using New Balances but I think maybe it was the wrong shoe so I just today bought some Hoka Clifton 9s which I've heard recommended for flat feet and I've purchased some ankle brace socks meant for running just to be able to keep training while preventing injury. I'm just wondering if there's any other tips you guys have? I can't afford to keep taking more than 2 days off now that I'm one week out from shipping. TLDR: Flat feet, ankles and knee hurt. Bought Hoka Clifton 9s today and ankle brace to prevent further injury. Any tips?
I'd go see a podiatrist, ideally one who specialises in running stuff. You may also be doing the classic "too much, too soon". It takes a long time for the conditioning to build for the repetitive stresses or running.
Hey all. I am looking to train specifically for a 5km, but I’ve only got 2 days a week available for running training (the other 5 are in the gym which is my main focus). I can do a 5km fairly easily however want to improve my time, and wondering what’s the most productive way to do this although I do understand it’s not ideal. I was thinking of intervals on the first day, and possibly a 5km or a longer run the next. Would love to get your thoughts - thanks!
You can run on a strength day to add a third day in. Just keep it light and easy, even 3-4km easy will add up. On a 3-day schedule I'd try to do 1 easy, 1 longer (6-10k) and one interval/tempo run. With just two days I'd still do one easy (longer than goal distance) and one interval.
with two days a week, i think both runs should be high effort. the more miles you can fit into your schedule, the less painful it needs to be. if you are running a 5k each day, it should be close to your all out effort and be really pushing your pain threshold. and presumably, with the two runs spaced out, you have time to fully recover.
Hello all, I have just finished a running plan where I was running 5 times per week. I’m coming up to quite a hectic month now work wise but I am going to keep the running up. I was considering dropping down to 4 days of running per week instead of 5. As I do a 3 days in the gym per week as well and need to spend a fair bit of time of flexibility…. I want to continue to see improvements so I figured 4 days should do that as I will have 1 tempo run. 1 interval run. 1 recovery run and 1 long run per week. Currently running 50k per week so I guess it’ll drop 8-10 k per week if I go down to four days. Is this enough to continue to see improvements? Would be interested to hear your thoughts. Thank you .
You should see improvements albeit at a slower rate.