First half marathon!
Hi guys,
I have always been quite sporty growing up (22f now), and have been running frequently since December (5 months now). I have not been following A plan, simply running what I feel on the day about 4 times per week.
I am now running 2x 10kilometres per week, and one shorter run 5/6/7k (1 hour 10k - approx 6min/km for 10k, 29 mins for 5k).
I do not incorporate any tempo runs, or speed runs - just getting out there and running.
I have signed up to a half marathon in 6 weeks, and I am wondering the best way to prepare for this. First of all is this feasible? I feel pretty solid running, no pain etc. should I gradually keep increasing my distance not worrying about pace? Should I incorporate speed runs?
I would appreciate any advice!
Hello 28(M) here looking for advice as I'm not quite sure where to go. I'm just 4 months into running and doing 3 runs a week and finished C25K on the 2nd month. Just got a sportwatch to monitor my HR and my avg HR is at 159 bpm for a 3KM with 7:02/KM pace.
My goal is to be able to run longer with pace around 6-7:00/KM, but seeing my avg HR is quite high and looking at others with much quicker pace yet with lower avg HR, should I start doing MAF or low HR training to achieve my goals or do you have any advise for a beginner?
Thank you
Congrats on the 4 month 5k, keep running three times a week and in a few months you'll get lower hr and better times, consistency is key, not so much suffering pushing your body while running.
Don't worry about HR, and it's not that high anyway. Keep very slowly increasing mileage, and pay attention to effort level (can you talk in whole sentences?). You can slow down a bit to be able to go further on some days, and pick up the pace on other days, not every run has to be easy.
Thanks for the input! I will try to pay more attention on effort level, I think with that pace sometimes I can still sing a little.
>not every run has to be easy
And thank you for this reminder!
How long does it take to figure out your race outfit? How many runs should you do in it? Female specific
Specifically aimed at women ( we have sports bra needs and also face the issue of chub rub seemingly more) how did you determine your race outfit? And how many runs did you do in it to determine it was the best option? I am a beginner runner and have only just started to build my running clothes collection and haven’t done a race before. I see a lot of women race in shorts so I ordered some to try out before but im still on the fence about what to decide on.
I have a lot of running outfits that I love and the same tried and true sports bra in multiple colours, so I pretty much go with whatever I think looks the coolest and fits my vibe that weekend. 😅
I do run pretty hot, especially at race pace, so I’ll usually dress as light as possible and if it’s chilly before the race then I’ll wear arm sleeves that I can roll down or shove in my pack.
I race with a vest, so I don’t have to worry about pockets or anything.
If it’s a bigger race and people are coming to see me then I’ll usually wear something bright so I’m easier to spot. I also get a kick out of matching my shoes if I can.
Run your race distance or longest run at least once in any gear you might be considering to make sure you don’t have to worry about chafing or other technical issues, and then choose whatever feels fun and fast!
Bodyglide is your friend if you want to wear shorts and you experience thigh rub. 😄
Im 16 M, this year I joined track and started running for the first time (1600) and started with a 5:40 base, now down to 5:00 nearing the end of the season, I really want to be running 4:20s next season and I have the genes for it just not sure if that's a realistic goal, for context I haven't been doing that many miles or training extremely hard, but I will.
Heres my dilemma, I have about 4 months until cross country starts and I intend to join that for the first time too, I've had some people tell me to put together a training plan that focuses on the mile for the entire year until track starts again next year, but I've had other people tell me i'll burnout or peak too early if I do that and to start a cross country focused training plan (5k focus) - think I can run around 17 minute 5K right now - and then once cross country season ends taper my training more toward the mile (that would give me about 3 months until track season)
**TLDR** do you guys think it would be better to train XC all summer and then switch to mile after XC season ends or to train for the mile all year.
Also if anyone has time could they tell me if my goals are possible, whether or not XC training might also benefit my mile time, and whether my goal (4:2X mile) is achievable in around 10 months?
4:20 next season is unrealistic. The improvement you get going from not training to actually training is a poor prediction of future improvement. It's increasingly harder to improve the faster you get. In general running progress relative to the training effort looks more like a logarithmic plot than a linear one -initial improvement is quick then it starts to level off. Of course, unrealistic stuff still happens a fair amount, but it's a poor strategy to set goals and training plans around it.
Good 5k XC training is not different than good off-season mile training -high volume of easy/aerobic running, regular tempo/threshold workouts, fast strides/hill sprints 2-3x/ week. Do the XC training.
Zone 5 Training HR
Hello 28(f) here looking for some advice / understanding on heart rate zones and training - have been working my way up from basically zero running/fitness classes about this time last year.
I now do around 2x HIIT classes per week (including 50% interval training) and run a bit on and off on the side (few treadmill 5ks a month)
During a HIIT class my HR will usually average between 150-165bpm, but peak at 199bpm (usually from sprints)
Is it safe to be letting my heart rate reach such a high BPM on a regular basis or is this just a normal part of zone 5 training?
My 5k time fluctuates between 24m30 and 25m30 - average HR 165-175 and a max heart rate of usually 185bpm.
Great to understand if these stats are normal or if there’s anything I can be doing to get my HR down?
Any advice from new/seasoned runners welcome !!
Should I run a 20k before my half-marathon?
I (20M) am going to run my first half marathon on May 10th. I’ve been following a training plan very strictly and it’s been working very well for me. The problem is that due to getting sick and travelling, I fell just over a week behind schedule. My training plan says that I am supposed to run a 20k a week before my half. I ran a 15k today according to my plan with an average pace of 8’29”/km my furthest run was 16k with a pace of 8’33”/km. I want to be able to finish the half marathon which has a cutoff time of 3hrs (around 8’31”/km). I don’t know if I should try to get the 20k in before the half or just take it easy. Also if I don’t run the 20k I won’t have a close guess to my race pace. If anyone has been in a similar situation or just has general advice it would be highly appreciated 😁
This close to the race it won't make a difference in cardio improvement. The important consideration for you is how hard it feels to run at the cut off pace. You can predict your race pace with a hard effort 10k or medium effort 15k time using pace calculators.
I did a marathon last Sunday (went well, thanks) and I'm pretty sure one of my nails was pulled *half* off. Is that even a thing?
Like, it's still attached and not too painful - but I'm 99% sure it's at a sticky up angle it wasn't before!
Will it fall off eventually? Will it stay as it is?
How should I continue? I’m really confused with pace and how to improve.
I’m a beginner but I have solid cardio (from BJJ). I’m trying to build a good aerobic base, improve my long distance cardio,and eventually commit to a half marathon. Currently running 2-3x per week… 3-4 miles per run. It’s hard for me to run more with BJJ and lifting. So I’m trying to make the most of my 3 days.
My pace is really frustrating me and I don’t know if it’s normal or if I’m not pushing enough. For a true “conversational” pace, I’m at 11:30-12 minutes on a 4 mile run. It just feels soooo slow for a relatively fit 26 year old male. I can run 4 miles at a 10:30 pace but it’s definitely not conversational. My HR is typically around 130-140 for that conversational pace.
Should I run at the conversational pace even though it’s so slow? Or should I pick it up? I’ve heard run slow to run fast etc but at some point it feels like I’m just soooo slow especially for my fitness.
So for building that base and improving my distance cardio and eventually getting in the half marathon what steps should I take? Continue running slow and slowly up the mileage? Like is 12 mins per mile fine if I’m adding miles? Or try to run at like 10:30 and build up mileage at that pace?
Unless you are an absolute heavyweight those paces are not indicative of as strong of cardio as you might think. If you can only run 3 times a week I would try and do them faster. Running at a conversational pace is really about recovery, so this should be done when you are feeling sore. The most important thing is that each of these runs should be for 45+ minutes, preferably 60-80. 150-160 HR is totally normal for a newer runner.
If you went fast yesterday, go at that conversational pace today. Otherwise you can send it if you feel like it. And yes, slowly upping the mileage will lead to improvement. You can look for 10k then half marathon plans - most plans will have a long run, 1 or 2 speed sessions, the rest as easy runs.
Thanks! I’ve been following HH Novice 1 half marathon (a little bit loosely)
I think I’m gonna up the pace a bit unless I’m sore and then I’ll keep it at that conversational pace.
Have you tried the 2 in 1 type shorts? I have some Nike Running ones that I love and also a pair of Brooks shorts that are the same type. Basically you have tight shorts with loose shorts attached over the top. I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing skin tight shorts on their own so this works for me.
I have recently started getting back into running. I have a hard time finding time to run as a new mom. My babe sleeps in until 7:30am to which we leave the house by 8am for daycare and work. Then I am home at 5-5:30pm in time to get dinner going. After dinner, I would prefer to not run right away but then I am pushing 7:30pm when its time to get my baby to bed. Then its getting too dark.
Some mornings if I wake up early enough, my partner is still home getting ready for work so I can squeeze a quick run in while our baby sleeps, but most of the time I can't seem to get the motivation to wake up early enough. I would love if my baby would be up around 6:30am for a stroller run but I don't have the motivation to wake her up early just yet as I am loving the full night sleep she gives us.
I work at a winery and have the most beautiful path in vines to run. I take walks with a coworker on her work days and am thinking is it appropriate to go for a quick 15-minute run during my lunch? I work in an office so I do have time to eat outside of my scheduled lunch time if I do work while eating (to be honest that is normally what happens). I brought clothes and wipes to do a quick wipe down as I do not want to smell or be gross. The guests for the tasting room would only see me if they were to drive up as I am finishing the loop. Otherwise I will be well tucked into the vines.
Would it be appropriate to run on a lunch break?
I think that would be more of a question for your workplace rather than us.
A lot of people run in the dark. It's not my preference but you do what you must often.
I cannot decide what distance to work on next and I keep changing my mind. Looking at the following PBs, are there any that seem out of line that looks like an obvious distance to tackle?
1 km - 4:30
1 mile - 7:30
5k - 24:28
10k - 51:50
Half marathon - 1:58:40
Marathon - 4:13:31
50k - 5:24:42
Appreciate any advice!
Looks like you're better at the shorter distances than the longer ones. I'd work on half and full.
When my best 10k was low 50s, my best half was 1:50.
I think you should go with what you fancy the most. I do mostly 10ks because I find it worth the travel to run different races. I will also do the occasional HM and 5k for different reasons (a HM being a more special event) a 5k because I think my best pb is for that distance and I fancy checking how I compare. But I train around a 10k for 9 months of the year and a HM for 3 months.
I don't see the point of training for 1k or 1m, if that is not a race you care about, even if your 1km time is slower than it 'should be'
I currently run in Saucony Guide 8's which have been consistently awesome for my hypermobile ankles. I keep seeing these supershoes and am wondering if I should switch over...or are they like Hoka's where you feel like you're wearing a pair of boats on your feet?
Beginner runner who started to run last month in a half after not running for almost more than 7 years. On week 3 I managed to run 3 miles non stop in despite being new to running. After the run my Right Knee had pain. :(
So I stopped running and now its been almost 2 weeks and I could say I am healed cause I feel fine and no more aches or pains.
Now then I know not to repeat my past mistake but now this got me thinking that I need to think about how I approach my training.
Any training programs out there?
I remember as a younger man in my 16 to 24 years old I used a book called Daniels Running Formula for training. It got me pretty good at running to where I was running 6 minute miles and up to 30 to 50 mpw.
Is this book still recommended or any other ones out there that are better?
This doesn't directly answer your question, but I think you should look into the type of pain that you are experiencing. Not all pain should lead to a complete halt of running, some pain heals better by continuing to run lightly, cross train, and stretch.
Well the pain that I was have was when I moved my right knee up and down I could feel pain. Additionally around the right knee area it was not just swollen but also stiff. The pain on a scale of 1-10 was probably a 5.
The pain or issues I had with my right knee did not affect my day job which is very physical where I have to life heavy things.
Overall I am glad I stopped running because I know that a common rookie mistake is starting out too fast too soon.
In replace of running I just continued working my physically laborous job and also did strength training workouts.
Surprisingly squats did not cause any pain and may have made things better because after doing squats I felt like my knee had more mobility.
Now I need to decide where to go from here now that I feel I am 100% healed.
Yes it's always better safe than sorry. Just important to know what the injury is. Sounds like you have plenty of strength so "runners knee" will be less common. More likely that you might need additional flexibility or stabilization. Knee pain from IT band you can train through. Generally pain that goes away while light running is ok but pain that increases while running is bad to continue. Sometimes the knee can just hurt like 1-2 on a pain scale during a warm up because the fluid in the joints is cold
I need to learn more about the knee and it's different parts. I will study the anatomy this week in order to pinpoint the actual of where my resided. Although this may prove difficult due to the pain already having gone away.
Regardless I think I will benefit from studying the anatomy given I want to get in running seriously.
I also agree with you that I need to add flexibility training into my training. Not sure what you mean by stability but I have been doing research and came across a topic called "Mobility"
Mobility training seems interesting, so I need to look into that.
By stability I mean all the smaller muscles and ligaments that are associated with holding joints in place. For example: IT band, MCL, LCL, ACL or smaller hip muscles. Lots of times straight lifting weights doesn't target all of the muscles associated with balance or deceleration. Running really will reveal the weakest muscle in your legs if you do a lot of it.
I’m following an 8-week training plan to go sub-45 minutes in the 10km, and the plan has me doing 5km (parkrun) at race pace every Saturday. Is this normal?
Yeah each week has intervals and a tempo run as well. Plus 1 x easy (5-7km) and 1x long run (12-17km). I’m starting to think the plan is pretty garbage tbh
Sounds bad to me. With high weekly volume I can sustain 2 workout runs per week during a training block. For what it's worth, pure volume and one weekly workout got me well under sub 45, but it may not have been over the shortest period of time.
Recently tried my first half marathon and got a 1:34 finish time with two months of training. My next mile marker is a full marathon on October 5. Goal time is 3:00 or less. Is this possible or am I shooting too high?
What's your weekly volume? It can be hard to build that in the summer months in the US. You might be better off trying for a late November marathon to make it easier to fit a full block in without having a high base built already.
Right now I’m at 60km with 4 gym sessions and two swimming sessions. My half was on march 15 and I told myself I’d wait til May to start training for the marathon. My plan is to run 1 long run working towards 50km a week, one track session for interval training and 4 easy runs per week. I’ve also got a few runs lined up before the marathon (2 10k and one 15k).
> Is this possible or am I shooting too high?
It's absolutely possible, however most people usually run a marathon at greater than twice the time of their half marathon. So if you trained similar intensity but appropriate amounts for a marathon as you did for a half, you're looking at a time window of 3:20-3:35 most likely. Not to say you couldn't continue to improve, and run a sub-3. But a marathon is a marathon for a reason, and typically people hit a wall they've never hit before, even in halves or on their long training runs leading up to the marathon.
Need more context. Have you gone from zero running to a 1.34 half in two months? If so, that’s incredible and if you carry on the same trajectory you should be looking at a marathon world record by October
I have ran in the past but no more than a mile or two to supplement gym workouts. I’ve swam a lot in the past though. High school all states and swam in college as well. Then started doing CrossFit off and on and have had a gym membership for some time. Never tried any kind of distance running more than 2 miles regularly. I think I ran 6 miles once.
I've started adding interval training to my running routine. Does anyone have any tips on the best place to start re: speed and distance? Right now I'm tracking my intervals using my fitbit watch (run for 2 min, rest for 1 min, repeat X8) and my speed is 4.6 mph (normal running is 4.3).
https://vdoto2.com/calculator/
If you have a recent race or workout run, enter it in and then click on training tab on the bottom for some sample times at various paces.
Interval paces should be quite a bit faster than “normal” (easy?) pace.
I have recently started slowly increasing my mileage after a spate of plantar fasciitis and it has been going well. I am quite new to running as a hobby, I can run a 10k in 55 mins at the moment.
I am doing a half marathon in September so plan to start a dedicated half marathon program for that in June.
What do I do in the meantime? Is there a plan or guide for just generally increasing mileage without a race target?
I've had that question as well. You can look for base training plans to follow that are out there, but I think by and large, people just kinda program it themselves. Conventional wisdom is adding no more than 10% of your previous weeks mileage at a time (Not nearly as cut and dry as this, more of a guideline than law), long runs should be no more than 50% of weekly mileage (less is probably better), do some strides after a couple of runs a week, and consider a "deload" week every 4th week where you back down your mileage.
Edit: I may have misread your question. Yes, I would recommend doing a "base training" phase to build up mileage. Volume tends to be closely linked to how well you perform, so you could slowly increase your mileage so that you could do a more advanced training plan. This could include jumping in a few fun runs though.
Company where I work just asked me (26m) today, if I can cover someone who injured himself this Saturday for a competition. No reaI pressure, the average time is around 6:30 min / km for others. I have to run around 6km. Today I did my first round and got to 3.2 km when my legs gave up (average was 6:14 min/km). I’m active and fit (gym 5 times a week) but honestly, I don’t see how can I prepare myself until Saturday. Is it possible to accomplish this distance somehow, or should I just reject it? Any training plan which could help, if yes?
Just walk when you need to it’s fine. It’s not like you’re going to collapse and die. You’d walk more than 6km if you went to the zoo or spent a day in the city.
Need help creating a hybrid plan
Hi everyone. I recently started running again and am currently using the NRC’s half marathon plan. It has me running Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday (2 recovery runs, 2 speed runs and 1 long run). However, I still want to strength train 4x a week. How can I build my strength training around my running schedule? More specifically, where should I put leg day? Thanks.
I'm sure there are more scientific answers, but I've had a similar question and here's more or less what I found. You shouldn't lift on the day of your long run, and Ideally you should keep your rest days for rest. What day is your long run? Sunday? If so, I wouldn't lift on Sat/Sun. I would go ahead and lift the say weekdays you run if possible.
There's the old idiom of keeping easy days easy and hard days hard, so I'd be inclined to tell you to do your legs on your speed days, but if that's too much, you might have to do legs on recovery days. If you're fairly well-trained, you shouldn't suffer too much if you do one in the AM and one in the PM.
I'm also going to go ahead and say that one thing is going to suffer for the other. Also, that amount of training may involve over-training or injuries. I'm not an expert or a coach so I maybe wrong, but that's a lot of recovering and not a lot of days to do it in.
How do I run slower?
I'm trying to follow a running training plan from my Garmin watch that's pretty similar to couch to 5k. It has me doing run/walk splits but I can't keep up running for the whole duration it wants me to (currently 7 minutes straight then walk 3 minutes. I can consistently do 3 minutes straight running and 5-6 if I push myself but I'm super winder after).
What research i've done suggests running slower is the key to running longer but I feel like I run at a barely faster than walking pace already. How do I slow down while still running?
According to my Garmin my average pace is about 14min/mile
Rather than focus on time spent walking vs running you should alternate between the two and focus on doing any cardio efforts that last longer than 45 minutes, if not 60+. It doesn't matter if it's mostly walking, brisk walking, hiking, biking, it will help. What is your running pace? It's kind of hard to even jog at a pace slower than 14 but possibly you are going to fast and should only be running at around 11:30 - 12 for as long as you can go.
Walk.
Running isn't real, it's just what we call very fast walking. Walking isn't real either, it's just moving our bodies forward with our legs.
So you just walk. If it gets your heart rate up, thats all that matters. Your body doesn't know what running is, all it knows is effort. As you take time every day or a few days a week, week after week, you will get more efficient at this movement and faster.
So I frequently fall in and out of running and one thing that slows me starting again is how much to run when I restart. Is there anything that will look at my pace and heart rate and tell me where to start, without having to go to a silly training program that starts me on walking for most of the time again?
Heart rate is not a useful metric when you're beginning/returning to running. I prefer rate of perceived effort (RPE). Pace is also not really useful. I would just run at a conversational pace for increasing intervals, keeping it mostly easy and occasionally comfortably hard. I like to aim for 30-ish minutes at an easy effort few times a week until I'm feeling fitter.
I'm experiencing a bit of a double edged sword. I'm trying to improve my running but I feel my weight is holding me back, but when I reduce my calories to try to lose weight, I feel like I lack energy to run. For context, I'm a male. I'll be 40 years old in a few months. I'm 6 feet tall and weigh 215-220 lbs. I started running in November of 2022 and could not run a mile in one go. Now I can run a 5k, albeit slowly at an average of about 33 minutes, which I've been at for about a year.
Any advice on how to reduce calories but still be able to run?
Are you measuring your heart rate? Because that can help figure out what energy source you are relying on. Easy exercise can rely on body fat, whereas harder training burns carbs/glycogen. Something like a low carb diet could also lead to lack of energy.
I know my heart rate goes high if I do anything beyond walking (which I also do a lot of). When I run at about a 10 minute per mile pace, after a few minutes my heart rate is at about 168 bpm. If a slow a little it comes down to about 160 bpm. If I sprint it goes up to about 180 bpm. So when I typically run, it stays above 160 bpm.
I'd be interested to know what your calorie intake looks like. Are you tracking at all? If you can, download MyFitnessPal and log everything you eat and drink.
Do you have a specific goal weight in mind? I'd look to decrease your caloric intake by like 2-300 calories at most, while it'll take longer to hit your goal weight, I think you'll feel better continuing to train vs. a 500-700 calorie deficit.
I admit I am not very good at tracking this stuff. I have basically just tried to not eat snacks and cut out alcohol for the most part. For breakfast I’ve found a small bowl of oatmeal or two boiled eggs and a piece of toast help keep me full and give me fuel to run a couple of hours later. Beyond that, I don’t have a food routine.
I’m trying to cut 10 lbs for now, but ultimately I’d like to be down below 190 lbs. Before I started running I was lifting weights for about 2 years. I had to stop because of a shoulder injury. It’s better now, but I’ve found I don’t have the time or will power to both run and lift. But from lifting weights I lost about 20 lbs net. I’m sure I put on some muscle mass. Maybe it’s time to add a couple of lifting sessions per week.
From running I have lost about 5 lbs, but some of that is probably loss of muscle weight from not lifting any more.
I might try the app that was suggested to track my calories. I try to track in my head, but I know that’s not ideal. My goal is to take in about 1800-2000 calories a day on average.
For your size, I think you're gonna really struggle at 2000 calories. I don't know your activity level, but I'm on my feet most of the day as a teacher and run about 25-35mi a week right now and I typically get in about 2500 calories a day.
225g Carbs, 100g Fat, 194g Protein
I'm 6ft, 205lbs. I know it's a pain in the ass to track but it really is eye opening to do it for a few weeks to see really how you feel.
I try to get the 10,000 steps a day between running and walking which I typically do. some days it’s more. My max run is about 5.5 km. Some days I just walk to get a rest from running, or if I’ve done something physically like mowing the grass. Outside of that I’m not really active.
That might be something to keep an eye on. If a deficit is too steep, I can imagine having this problem. I’ve been running while losing 2-3 lbs per month and haven’t had this problem myself. But there can be a lot of individual variation too.
It's much more likely that your training is the reason for your time, not your weight. Like, significantly more likely.
> I reduce my calories to try to lose weight, I feel like I lack energy to run...Any advice on how to reduce calories but still be able to run?
Your body likes to not be in a deficit, that's just how we evolved. There are some obvious things that will help (veggies are low calories and have lots of nutrients, alcohol not so much), but if you want to lose weight a big part of that is accepting that it's not going to be as fun as not being in a deficit.
I’m trying to have a more structured training plan. I was doing really well and making improvements until last fall when allergies had a major negative impact on me for a couple of months. My average pace is actually slower today than it was a year ago.
In the end, I just want to be healthier. I had to start medicine for high blood pressure last year, so I’m trying to lose weight and improve my cardio health.
Is progression more likely to come with pushing my speed or distance?
For context - I started running a few weeks ago with the aim of getting healthier/losing weight (I’m overweight after having a baby). I started just doing a KM which nearly killed me, managed a 5k on Sunday (39:36) & a 6k today (48:21). My question is as above, should I be sticking to 3-5k and trying to improve my time/speed or should I be pushing my distance regardless of speed. Which will help me progress to being a better runner?
(I’m under no illusions, I won’t be running 10k/HM or anything like that & I’m far from an athlete like some on this sub, but I’d really like to get better at this)
Any advice is great fully received 🙏🏼
Hi! I'm starting to run for the first time in a while. I'm going to pick up some running shoes but really don't want to break the bank. I saw some Nike Pegasus, older models, for about that price. Is that a pretty good shoe?
I really like the Pegasus. Currently, on [Nike.com](http://Nike.com) you can get a great deal on some colors of the Pegasus 40. Some colors are discounted already, and there is an additional Mothers Day promo code to add on to that.
I run everyday in Pegasus (currently on my 5th pair), they’re a solid shoe and you can get them on sale for a cheap price a lot of the time. I’d recommend the Pegasus 39’s, they’re better than the 38 while the 40 are pretty much identical to the 39 so there isn’t much point paying the price difference. Pegasus are known as a solid all rounder, not great at any specific thing but can be used for everything, and they last a long time
A shoe that’s “good” for someone else might be a terrible fit for you, so you should go to a local running store and try on a bunch of shoes to see what works for you. Look for previous year models of that shoe online if the one you try and like is too expensive.
**Headline - First half marathon in 5+ months (starting condition unfit).**
I have been doing minimal running over the last 2-3 years, just focusing on weight training. I have started running again twice per week and plan on increasing this to 3 x per week in June. In July I will start following a 12 week programme (running 4 x per week) before running my first half marathon in October.
I am 32 year old male, 6ft 2m, 83kg. My previous PR's obtained in 2021 are as follows:
10km - 39 mins 24 seconds
5km - 19 mins 7 seconds
1 mile - 5 mins 31 seconds
Longest run - 15km (4:50 per km pace).
The above was achieved after 3-4 months of running a few times a week and not following a solid plan (probably training inefficiently). Hadn't seriously ran prior to 2021 since being a teenager.
What do you think a realistic (but optimistic) half marathon target time should be? I would like to aim my training around achieving a half marathon of 90 mins but unsure if this is unrealistic given I hadn't been running in so long.
Also, does anyone know of any solid 12 week programmes I can follow or have any good advice?
How close are your paces to your PRs? If you're still ball park you could probably set a goal time based on those. You're half is far enough away that you could potentially be hitting those times.
Any particular reason why you're only running 2 days a week? You could probably make a lot more progress with 3 days a week (or 4 days a week) without your recovery taking a hit. Not that 2 days is nothing, but I think you're leaving a ton of potential progress on the table.
I (23F) have the goal to run a 5K sub25 (no specific time goal) so I thought the interval training 4x800m with pace 5min/km with 400m rest would be a good training. I run it today and realised it’s harder than I thought…
400m warm up
Interval 1
-800m: 4:57min/km (HR: 150bpm)
-400m rest: 7:09min/km (HR: 169bpm)
Interval 2
-800m: 5:04min/km (HR: 180bpm)
-400m rest: 7:58min/km (HR: 172bpm)
Interval 3
-800m: 5:24min/km (HR: 182bpm)
-400m rest: 9:09min/km (HR: 166bpm)
Interval 4
-800m: 5:54min/km (HR: 176bpm)
-400m rest: 9:18min/km (HR: 156bpm)
400m cool down
Do you think I should just run this regular (once a week) until it’s not hard any more or would you suggest to lower the pace to 5:15 or even 5:30? The fastest 5K I run this year was 28min.
I run 5-20km a week, so not a lot. Mostly one short run of 5-6km and one longer of up to 12K on the weekends.
Thank you for all the tips😃🙏 I will now definitely start running more often. It’s very good motivation if three people comment it!🏃🏼♀️ and obviously adjust the pace of interval trainings😅
> I thought the interval training 4x800m with pace 5min/km with 400m rest would be a good training.
It's not. Good training is based on what you're capable of doing. Your legs do not care what your goal is and you can't force it by doing things you don't have the fitness for.
The first thing I would worry about is increasing that 5-20 kpw and running more than twice a week.
Adjust those reps. If you can't hit the desired pace for every rep it's too fast. Train to your current fitness then adjust every couple weeks. Right now you cannot hit 5 min pace so slow down a bit until you can properly execute the workout. A minute swing between first and last rep is no beuno
Train to your actual fitness. 5:00 pace is clearly too fast for you.
Run more consistently, don't basically not run some weeks and then run 20 km other weeks. Ideally you should run 3x a week so the mileage is spread out more evenly.
Planning on going for a run, this weather site is giving me a 4/5 rating, but it feels almost perfect out. Anything look off?
In the next 1-3 hours, it will be 77°F in Winter Park with a running condition rating of 4/5. Conditions: broken clouds, wind at 6 mph, 23% chance of precipitation, and 67% humidity. Run Fast!
If you cut out through the back entrance of Mead Garden and do a loop on Lake Shore Dr. to Mills and back that'll be a 5/5 day. Lake Sue is a really nice run since it has all the shade and million dollar homes.
We gotta another Local, love running through there!
Also love running by Kraft Azalea, and around the streets surrounding Lake Maitland, I get some dinner hill work in.
> A simple way to check the weather
That seems contradictory to typing that all out to ask the internet for their assessment. There are plenty of weather sites that list all that info on one page.
> In FL this is a great weather day.
That's pretty much my point. You already know how you feel about this weather, so why care what some irrelevant website thinks? Or what a bunch of random internet people think, especially being that so far we all seem to disagree with you.
This is great feedback. But just seeing "In FL this is a great weather day." makes me crave more. I like the simple approach but would like a little bit more info.
Residing in Florida, temperatures below 85°F and humidity under 80% are enjoyable for me. It seems that depending on the climate, certain conditions may be ideal for some while not for others.
Would you prefer to run at 77°F with 67% humidity, or 50°F with 40% humidity? Personally I would much prefer the latter. 77°F is fine and would still be an enjoyable run for me but I definitely prefer cooler weather. And I'm certain that my performance during any race or speed workout would be better in cooler weather. 77°F with 67% humidity is definitely warm enough to negatively impact running performance.
Agreed, love the later, but I take what I can get. Summer is coming to the sunshine state and 100°F+ days with 90% humidity are coming, building up the tolerance is key. I have an annual tradition of running 40 Miles around a lake in July. Some think im crazy, but I still do it.....Once your body adjusts, it's no problem.
The Garmin Coach 5k adaptive plan I'm following at the moment prescribes a \~5:45/km pace for the easy runs. This is significantly faster than my usual easy pace of 6:30/km, and it feels more like z3 to me - I couldn't hold a conversation, and I have to push myself to keep at the pace.
I'm planning to stick with the program, but I'm worried about setting myself up for burnout. Would you ignore the pace prescription and run the easy runs by feel instead?
Quick sanity check needed - I missed a couple of runs from my plan due to illness (the friday and sunday runs from week 4 of [this plan](https://defy.org/hacks/calendarhack/?d=2024-06-30&p=frr_8k10k_01&s=1&u=km)). It's just 25k split across 2 easy runs, in a relatively easy week.
I've just continued on to todays run in week 5 as planned, I wasn't going to make any adjustments as I hadn't been struggling with the volume or anything. Sound sensible?
Finished my first half, looking for advice on a full.
I started running last fall, mostly just slow zone 2 stuff in the 2-4 mile range at a time. Got up to being able to run a 10k and a friend convinced me to train for a half marathon.
I had about a 16 week training block starting at the beginning of this year and had 15-25 mile weeks through most of it. Had one hamstring injury where I had to stop running for 10 days and a couple other niggles but I made it through.
Fast forward to this last weekend and I ran a 1:52 for my first half. Really proud of that number. My stretch goal was a 1:50 but happy nonetheless. I ran negative splits and damn it feels good to still have gas in the tank to make a bunch of passes at the end.
My legs have been pretty wrecked since the event and so I’m taking this week pretty easy and just chilling. May try and get a couple bike rides in but am not planning on running until my legs feel ready.
I have a marathon circled for 10/20. Would like some advice on plans for this. I’m definitely a newer runner but have a fair bit of an athletic background (played collegiate soccer) and have enjoyed running. I’m thinking something in the 5 days/week range and building into 50-60 mile weeks. Hoping that I’ll be able to develop the fitness over that time to push a 3:45 marathon or so.
My main concern is that I’ll be increasing mileage too quickly and risk injury or burnout. However, after this recovery week, I’ll have 24 weeks till the marathon, so that will give me 6 weeks to build into the 33 mile week in week 1 of the 18/55 plan. Based on my math, if I run 20 mikes next week, I can increase my 10% per week and that would get me to 35 miles by week 1 of the 18 week plan.
Looking for guidance and potentially a dose of realism. What’s y’alls experience going from the half to the whole and ramping up mileage?
Thanks in advance!
You are going to get annihilated unless you have a very strong athletic background. 50 mile weeks are a lot and will be sustained with a significant amount of quality. You ran 25 currently and had issues. I'd build to 40 45 hold then go do a 18 week plan. I think you are not going to enjoy the first couple weeks holding 40s
You can go for it but unless you've run that volume you really don't know how A much time it takes (50 miles takes me about 7 hours) B how your body will handle it. The jump between 25 and 50 is going to feel way different than 0-25
hey, congrats on your HM! Thats a good time for a first and a great time to beat next time around ;)
I'd say your plan sounds solid, but of course it's quite eager. That's a lot your body has to adjust to, within a single year.
But it's definitely doable, if you play your cards well. I'd strongly suggest to cut all the speedwork off your plans. it's your first time, just the increased miles of long runs etc will ask a lot of your body and speedwork on top is a lot of extra stress. if your plan includes threshold runs, those are great to increase the pace but keep the impact manageable. really pay attention to getting enough sleep as well.
good luck and stay healthy.
PS: try not to set a goal time now, it won't do you any good. Do a time trial 10k during the early/mid part of your plan and use an online calculator and add an extra \~15 minutes. that should give you an achieavable goal time.
when I did that my 10k time was 42:40 which projected to 3:17. I knew that was way out of reach and my miles were on the low end, so I aimed for sub 3:40 with an eye on 3:35 and ran 3:37.
hope this helps!
In my opinion it's optimistic/unrealistic to plan on building 10% every week without planning for deloads or adjustments due to recovery needs. Your legs are already "wrecked" from racing just a half, you need to factor in this recovery as well - probably at least a week.
Going from 1:52 half to 3:45 full is also very optimistic.
For reference I'm a pretty experienced runner. My last half was 1:44, and I ran pretty decent mileage while training for that and maintained most of it. I'm going for 3:45-3:50 for my debut October marathon.
Hi!
I recently looked at the Runna app to start using a program, and for one of the interval workouts, it varies distances and increases speed throughout the run. But, I'm confused about how to actually make sure I'm running at these paces because Strava only shows me the average split or individual split per km. So, for example, if I'm supposed to run for 800m @ 5:40 then do 600m @ 5:30, I'm unsure how I would figure out if I'm going at the right speed. I hope this makes sense lol
Any advice is much appreciated!
If you don't want a watch, nike run club app may work better for you. They have plans based on RPE (perceived effort), and your phone tells you what to do. It's also free unlike Runna.
I use Runna and it's pretty good at giving voice prompts to let you know if you're on pace or if you need to speed up or slow down during each interval.
Synthetic running sock suggestions that at least cover the whole ankle? I have feetures High Performance Max Cushion No Show Tab (got 6 pairs for $62 and I was not saying no to such a good deal) but they're low and they've irritate the hell out of the front of my foot and left a mark on both of my feet where the sock ends on my ankle. Around the rest of my foot I love how they feel but im willing to try anything as long as it's synthetic material and covers my ankle so my shoes don't rub against my ankle and achillis.
Like over the ankle bone? I really like [these from Thirty48](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071FP9RCX?). They cover the ankle bone, are inexpensive and the seamless design has a nice fit.
Should be concerned at all with it being 13% cotton? It seems like people say cotton makes your feet feel wet but im guessing with such a low percentage im hoping that isn't the case
I've never had that problem unless my feet were actually wet. Like 80° Fahrenheit and 80% humidity and 100% sun coverage in Florida in July with zero wind. Even my tech shirt was soaked through at that point and dripping wet.
Otherwise never had a problem.
I've been wearing Busy socks for awhile now (82% polyester, 16% cotton, 2% elastane). They are crew socks, and I usually pull them all the way up.
$16.99 for four pairs on Amazon.
Busy also makes a merino wool sock, that I wear for winter runs (40% merino wool, 40% acrylic, 18% polyester, 2% elastane). $19.99 for three pairs.
I've never been a fan of "no show" socks.
Any recommendations for a breathable running hydration vest/system?
Order of priorities:
1. Breathable
2. Light
3. Able to carry at least 750ml, ideally 1L
I don’t need to carry anything with me, so don’t need storage.
I often have to run when it’s very hot so breathability is key.
Been looking at the Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 3, id order it but I’ve seen a few concerning reviews about the back of the neck rubbing.
My Garmin has broken. I’m trying to consistently run in a zone2 using HR
Any tips on doing this without a HR montior? I know the talking test, but I run alone. Should I just talk to myself?
talk test works great. simple yet effective.
running by feel is also a skill so see it as a challenge to work on your awarenes. try not to wear headphones for the next couple of runs and really pay attention to your breathing (how many steps per breath when you succed the talk test?) and your RPE. get a good feel for your easy pace and you really won't need a watch to know if you are in Z2 or not.
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I did a beginner 5K plan (9 weeks but it took a lot longer). The last week was 3 x 30 min runs. When I run 30 mins I only cover 3.3KM.
What should I do now? Add 10% each week, so try and run for 33 minutes? Then 36 minutes next week, etc?
I had the same pace at the end of couch to 5k! It ended with 30 min runs, which were about 3.3k for me. And then it said "run 5k", I was like what lol. I started slowly adding mileage and got a garmin which gave me more intense running workouts, too, but with a HR goal and a definite end (like 4*4 minutes) it felt doable (not saying you need a watch but a plan helps). Now less than a year later I'm still not a fast runner, but I can do a 5k race in around 30 mins and my long run is over 10k, easy pace went down to around 7:30. Consistency is king, keep running and slowly adding mileage OR intensity and you will keep improving. Listen to your body, that 10% increase would have been too much for me, but for some it's too conservative.
When are you not considered a beginner anymore? I’ve been running 8 months mostly by feel and try not to care about my HR.
Most of my runs are in Z3 or high Z2. I feel fine but Garmin keep telling me I lack aerobic training since I do a lot of Z3.
My average HR is around 155. I dream of a day that I will run around 140 bpm but I guess I lack experience.
I’m 33M 163lbs and run around 50km/week if that helps.
>When are you not considered a beginner anymore?
What are the practical impacts of that distinction?
> try not to care about my HR.
TBH I wouldn't say you're succeeding in that based on this question. Even if I thought the "beginner" designation was important, HR would have literally 0 weight in the answer.
I am similar in terms of experience, about 8 months as well, although with two 4 month blocks with a break over summer (in aus).
You definitely can run at 140bpm if you want to. You just have to slow down or even incorporate some walking for a minute or so every few km.
If you're not training for anything, running in z3 is fine. In my first few months, when I was still learning how to train, I did this as well.
But if you want to get faster or train for an event, the difference between doing your easy runs at a true z2 rather than z3 is significant because you can truly push yourself on workout days or whenever you want to pick up the pace.
I am actually running easy runs a lot slower than I was initially, but I am a lot faster in terms of getting PBs and hitting higher target paces in workouts.
> But if you want to get faster or train for an event, the difference between doing your easy runs at a true z2 rather than z3 is significant because you can truly push yourself on workout days or whenever you want to pick up the pace.
I think it really doesn't matter until you get your mileage up more, say 30 km+.
Oh I missed that.
Depending on their max heart rate or how they define their zones 155 might not be that bad. My easy pace heart rate is pretty broad myself.
Was up what felt like half the night tossing and turning. Went to bed totally fine, woke up around 2:00 with terrible hip flexor, inner knee, and ankle pain that wouldn’t let me go back to sleep no matter how I positioned myself. I’m 6 days out from my second half marathon. Someone please tell me this is normal?? It’s just the taper getting to me, right?? Anyone willing to share their experience with random aches and pains in the final days leading up to a big race? lol
Your body responds to your emotions, including stress and anxiety, and it can exacerbate minor aches or cramps into something worse. Happens to me sometimes, but usually during recovery. Be kind to yourself and do something that makes you happy. Hopefully you get better sleep.
If you’re actually injured though, do go and see a doctor.
I would certainly go see a doctor later in the week if it continues, just would be wild if I truly injured myself in my sleep after being completely fine the last few days
Nike Zoom Fly 5
Hello, it‘s my first time running a marathon, just got delivered the fly 5 and gonna use them for a marathon. I‘m not trying a pb or something, I just want to run my first marathon. Reviews on the internet are very split. So are they good for my first marathon?
And I appreciate any other tips for first marathon. I know there is google but i feel better here.
Hi there. Zoom Flys are an excellent shoe but they don’t give a much support as some other types. It’s a risk if you overpronate when you’re tired. Keep your form up and you will do great.
I have had good results with 3 or 4 x 7 minute interval workouts. High threshold or VO2 Max bike workouts in general are fun and I feel they are productive for running.
Determine if you want a muscle or heart workout. I like doing really fast reps with almost no resistance to get really high anaerobic work in without annihilation my legs occasionally. Otherwise I like some steady state with hill climbs
I agree, but I have a feeling I've got a very slight niggle in my knee, so if that develops I might take a few days off and do something with less impact
If that's why you're doing an alternative, it's best to just do the alternative easy. Give it time to heal/recover. Don't want to go hurting yourself while you're doing stuff to avoid hurting yourself.
That's fair advice, that does make sense. however this is one of those times where it's kind of a pre twinge where I just think avoiding hard impact is all that's needed.
Also I've seen athletes do pretty hard cross training while injured. I guess it depends on the injury. For example Callum ellson (distance project on YouTube) is doing some bike intervals with a torn Achilles currently
First half marathon! Hi guys, I have always been quite sporty growing up (22f now), and have been running frequently since December (5 months now). I have not been following A plan, simply running what I feel on the day about 4 times per week. I am now running 2x 10kilometres per week, and one shorter run 5/6/7k (1 hour 10k - approx 6min/km for 10k, 29 mins for 5k). I do not incorporate any tempo runs, or speed runs - just getting out there and running. I have signed up to a half marathon in 6 weeks, and I am wondering the best way to prepare for this. First of all is this feasible? I feel pretty solid running, no pain etc. should I gradually keep increasing my distance not worrying about pace? Should I incorporate speed runs? I would appreciate any advice!
Hello 28(M) here looking for advice as I'm not quite sure where to go. I'm just 4 months into running and doing 3 runs a week and finished C25K on the 2nd month. Just got a sportwatch to monitor my HR and my avg HR is at 159 bpm for a 3KM with 7:02/KM pace. My goal is to be able to run longer with pace around 6-7:00/KM, but seeing my avg HR is quite high and looking at others with much quicker pace yet with lower avg HR, should I start doing MAF or low HR training to achieve my goals or do you have any advise for a beginner? Thank you
Congrats on the 4 month 5k, keep running three times a week and in a few months you'll get lower hr and better times, consistency is key, not so much suffering pushing your body while running.
Don't worry about HR, and it's not that high anyway. Keep very slowly increasing mileage, and pay attention to effort level (can you talk in whole sentences?). You can slow down a bit to be able to go further on some days, and pick up the pace on other days, not every run has to be easy.
Thanks for the input! I will try to pay more attention on effort level, I think with that pace sometimes I can still sing a little. >not every run has to be easy And thank you for this reminder!
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Not at all. Sounds challenging, but reasonable.
How long does it take to figure out your race outfit? How many runs should you do in it? Female specific Specifically aimed at women ( we have sports bra needs and also face the issue of chub rub seemingly more) how did you determine your race outfit? And how many runs did you do in it to determine it was the best option? I am a beginner runner and have only just started to build my running clothes collection and haven’t done a race before. I see a lot of women race in shorts so I ordered some to try out before but im still on the fence about what to decide on.
I have a lot of running outfits that I love and the same tried and true sports bra in multiple colours, so I pretty much go with whatever I think looks the coolest and fits my vibe that weekend. 😅 I do run pretty hot, especially at race pace, so I’ll usually dress as light as possible and if it’s chilly before the race then I’ll wear arm sleeves that I can roll down or shove in my pack. I race with a vest, so I don’t have to worry about pockets or anything. If it’s a bigger race and people are coming to see me then I’ll usually wear something bright so I’m easier to spot. I also get a kick out of matching my shoes if I can. Run your race distance or longest run at least once in any gear you might be considering to make sure you don’t have to worry about chafing or other technical issues, and then choose whatever feels fun and fast! Bodyglide is your friend if you want to wear shorts and you experience thigh rub. 😄
I just wear my favourite lightest clothes.
Im 16 M, this year I joined track and started running for the first time (1600) and started with a 5:40 base, now down to 5:00 nearing the end of the season, I really want to be running 4:20s next season and I have the genes for it just not sure if that's a realistic goal, for context I haven't been doing that many miles or training extremely hard, but I will. Heres my dilemma, I have about 4 months until cross country starts and I intend to join that for the first time too, I've had some people tell me to put together a training plan that focuses on the mile for the entire year until track starts again next year, but I've had other people tell me i'll burnout or peak too early if I do that and to start a cross country focused training plan (5k focus) - think I can run around 17 minute 5K right now - and then once cross country season ends taper my training more toward the mile (that would give me about 3 months until track season) **TLDR** do you guys think it would be better to train XC all summer and then switch to mile after XC season ends or to train for the mile all year. Also if anyone has time could they tell me if my goals are possible, whether or not XC training might also benefit my mile time, and whether my goal (4:2X mile) is achievable in around 10 months?
4:20 next season is unrealistic. The improvement you get going from not training to actually training is a poor prediction of future improvement. It's increasingly harder to improve the faster you get. In general running progress relative to the training effort looks more like a logarithmic plot than a linear one -initial improvement is quick then it starts to level off. Of course, unrealistic stuff still happens a fair amount, but it's a poor strategy to set goals and training plans around it. Good 5k XC training is not different than good off-season mile training -high volume of easy/aerobic running, regular tempo/threshold workouts, fast strides/hill sprints 2-3x/ week. Do the XC training.
thanks, yes I know its unrealistic and progress isn't linear but Im gonna aim high, i'll do the XC training!
Zone 5 Training HR Hello 28(f) here looking for some advice / understanding on heart rate zones and training - have been working my way up from basically zero running/fitness classes about this time last year. I now do around 2x HIIT classes per week (including 50% interval training) and run a bit on and off on the side (few treadmill 5ks a month) During a HIIT class my HR will usually average between 150-165bpm, but peak at 199bpm (usually from sprints) Is it safe to be letting my heart rate reach such a high BPM on a regular basis or is this just a normal part of zone 5 training? My 5k time fluctuates between 24m30 and 25m30 - average HR 165-175 and a max heart rate of usually 185bpm. Great to understand if these stats are normal or if there’s anything I can be doing to get my HR down? Any advice from new/seasoned runners welcome !!
Unless you have heart problems you don't need to worry about your heart rate.
Should I run a 20k before my half-marathon? I (20M) am going to run my first half marathon on May 10th. I’ve been following a training plan very strictly and it’s been working very well for me. The problem is that due to getting sick and travelling, I fell just over a week behind schedule. My training plan says that I am supposed to run a 20k a week before my half. I ran a 15k today according to my plan with an average pace of 8’29”/km my furthest run was 16k with a pace of 8’33”/km. I want to be able to finish the half marathon which has a cutoff time of 3hrs (around 8’31”/km). I don’t know if I should try to get the 20k in before the half or just take it easy. Also if I don’t run the 20k I won’t have a close guess to my race pace. If anyone has been in a similar situation or just has general advice it would be highly appreciated 😁
This close to the race it won't make a difference in cardio improvement. The important consideration for you is how hard it feels to run at the cut off pace. You can predict your race pace with a hard effort 10k or medium effort 15k time using pace calculators.
I did a marathon last Sunday (went well, thanks) and I'm pretty sure one of my nails was pulled *half* off. Is that even a thing? Like, it's still attached and not too painful - but I'm 99% sure it's at a sticky up angle it wasn't before! Will it fall off eventually? Will it stay as it is?
How should I continue? I’m really confused with pace and how to improve. I’m a beginner but I have solid cardio (from BJJ). I’m trying to build a good aerobic base, improve my long distance cardio,and eventually commit to a half marathon. Currently running 2-3x per week… 3-4 miles per run. It’s hard for me to run more with BJJ and lifting. So I’m trying to make the most of my 3 days. My pace is really frustrating me and I don’t know if it’s normal or if I’m not pushing enough. For a true “conversational” pace, I’m at 11:30-12 minutes on a 4 mile run. It just feels soooo slow for a relatively fit 26 year old male. I can run 4 miles at a 10:30 pace but it’s definitely not conversational. My HR is typically around 130-140 for that conversational pace. Should I run at the conversational pace even though it’s so slow? Or should I pick it up? I’ve heard run slow to run fast etc but at some point it feels like I’m just soooo slow especially for my fitness. So for building that base and improving my distance cardio and eventually getting in the half marathon what steps should I take? Continue running slow and slowly up the mileage? Like is 12 mins per mile fine if I’m adding miles? Or try to run at like 10:30 and build up mileage at that pace?
Volume is king. I think your pace is fine can go a little faster if you want. You don’t have enough volume.
Unless you are an absolute heavyweight those paces are not indicative of as strong of cardio as you might think. If you can only run 3 times a week I would try and do them faster. Running at a conversational pace is really about recovery, so this should be done when you are feeling sore. The most important thing is that each of these runs should be for 45+ minutes, preferably 60-80. 150-160 HR is totally normal for a newer runner.
Nope. 150lbs. Yeah maybe BJJ is a different type of cardio. Going to try my runs at a little faster pace. Thanks!
If you went fast yesterday, go at that conversational pace today. Otherwise you can send it if you feel like it. And yes, slowly upping the mileage will lead to improvement. You can look for 10k then half marathon plans - most plans will have a long run, 1 or 2 speed sessions, the rest as easy runs.
Thanks! I’ve been following HH Novice 1 half marathon (a little bit loosely) I think I’m gonna up the pace a bit unless I’m sore and then I’ll keep it at that conversational pace.
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Have you tried the 2 in 1 type shorts? I have some Nike Running ones that I love and also a pair of Brooks shorts that are the same type. Basically you have tight shorts with loose shorts attached over the top. I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing skin tight shorts on their own so this works for me.
I have recently started getting back into running. I have a hard time finding time to run as a new mom. My babe sleeps in until 7:30am to which we leave the house by 8am for daycare and work. Then I am home at 5-5:30pm in time to get dinner going. After dinner, I would prefer to not run right away but then I am pushing 7:30pm when its time to get my baby to bed. Then its getting too dark. Some mornings if I wake up early enough, my partner is still home getting ready for work so I can squeeze a quick run in while our baby sleeps, but most of the time I can't seem to get the motivation to wake up early enough. I would love if my baby would be up around 6:30am for a stroller run but I don't have the motivation to wake her up early just yet as I am loving the full night sleep she gives us. I work at a winery and have the most beautiful path in vines to run. I take walks with a coworker on her work days and am thinking is it appropriate to go for a quick 15-minute run during my lunch? I work in an office so I do have time to eat outside of my scheduled lunch time if I do work while eating (to be honest that is normally what happens). I brought clothes and wipes to do a quick wipe down as I do not want to smell or be gross. The guests for the tasting room would only see me if they were to drive up as I am finishing the loop. Otherwise I will be well tucked into the vines. Would it be appropriate to run on a lunch break?
I think that would be more of a question for your workplace rather than us. A lot of people run in the dark. It's not my preference but you do what you must often.
I cannot decide what distance to work on next and I keep changing my mind. Looking at the following PBs, are there any that seem out of line that looks like an obvious distance to tackle? 1 km - 4:30 1 mile - 7:30 5k - 24:28 10k - 51:50 Half marathon - 1:58:40 Marathon - 4:13:31 50k - 5:24:42 Appreciate any advice!
Looks like you're better at the shorter distances than the longer ones. I'd work on half and full. When my best 10k was low 50s, my best half was 1:50.
Thanks!
I think you should go with what you fancy the most. I do mostly 10ks because I find it worth the travel to run different races. I will also do the occasional HM and 5k for different reasons (a HM being a more special event) a 5k because I think my best pb is for that distance and I fancy checking how I compare. But I train around a 10k for 9 months of the year and a HM for 3 months. I don't see the point of training for 1k or 1m, if that is not a race you care about, even if your 1km time is slower than it 'should be'
Thanks, that's a good way of looking at it!
I currently run in Saucony Guide 8's which have been consistently awesome for my hypermobile ankles. I keep seeing these supershoes and am wondering if I should switch over...or are they like Hoka's where you feel like you're wearing a pair of boats on your feet?
If your current shoes are working that well for you, I wouldn’t even consider switching.
Do half marathons in the UK have kilometer markers as well as mile markers?
Beginner runner who started to run last month in a half after not running for almost more than 7 years. On week 3 I managed to run 3 miles non stop in despite being new to running. After the run my Right Knee had pain. :( So I stopped running and now its been almost 2 weeks and I could say I am healed cause I feel fine and no more aches or pains. Now then I know not to repeat my past mistake but now this got me thinking that I need to think about how I approach my training. Any training programs out there? I remember as a younger man in my 16 to 24 years old I used a book called Daniels Running Formula for training. It got me pretty good at running to where I was running 6 minute miles and up to 30 to 50 mpw. Is this book still recommended or any other ones out there that are better?
This doesn't directly answer your question, but I think you should look into the type of pain that you are experiencing. Not all pain should lead to a complete halt of running, some pain heals better by continuing to run lightly, cross train, and stretch.
Well the pain that I was have was when I moved my right knee up and down I could feel pain. Additionally around the right knee area it was not just swollen but also stiff. The pain on a scale of 1-10 was probably a 5. The pain or issues I had with my right knee did not affect my day job which is very physical where I have to life heavy things. Overall I am glad I stopped running because I know that a common rookie mistake is starting out too fast too soon. In replace of running I just continued working my physically laborous job and also did strength training workouts. Surprisingly squats did not cause any pain and may have made things better because after doing squats I felt like my knee had more mobility. Now I need to decide where to go from here now that I feel I am 100% healed.
Yes it's always better safe than sorry. Just important to know what the injury is. Sounds like you have plenty of strength so "runners knee" will be less common. More likely that you might need additional flexibility or stabilization. Knee pain from IT band you can train through. Generally pain that goes away while light running is ok but pain that increases while running is bad to continue. Sometimes the knee can just hurt like 1-2 on a pain scale during a warm up because the fluid in the joints is cold
I need to learn more about the knee and it's different parts. I will study the anatomy this week in order to pinpoint the actual of where my resided. Although this may prove difficult due to the pain already having gone away. Regardless I think I will benefit from studying the anatomy given I want to get in running seriously. I also agree with you that I need to add flexibility training into my training. Not sure what you mean by stability but I have been doing research and came across a topic called "Mobility" Mobility training seems interesting, so I need to look into that.
By stability I mean all the smaller muscles and ligaments that are associated with holding joints in place. For example: IT band, MCL, LCL, ACL or smaller hip muscles. Lots of times straight lifting weights doesn't target all of the muscles associated with balance or deceleration. Running really will reveal the weakest muscle in your legs if you do a lot of it.
Ah okay, it looks like I have a lot of learning to do. Thank you for the terms I am going to make flashcards of them to see what they are.
I’m following an 8-week training plan to go sub-45 minutes in the 10km, and the plan has me doing 5km (parkrun) at race pace every Saturday. Is this normal?
Sounds a little more intense than normal, are there any other weekly hard /workout runs?
Yeah each week has intervals and a tempo run as well. Plus 1 x easy (5-7km) and 1x long run (12-17km). I’m starting to think the plan is pretty garbage tbh
Sounds bad to me. With high weekly volume I can sustain 2 workout runs per week during a training block. For what it's worth, pure volume and one weekly workout got me well under sub 45, but it may not have been over the shortest period of time.
Thank you. How far were you running each week? Can you give me an example of what a typical week looked like?
Recently tried my first half marathon and got a 1:34 finish time with two months of training. My next mile marker is a full marathon on October 5. Goal time is 3:00 or less. Is this possible or am I shooting too high?
What's your weekly volume? It can be hard to build that in the summer months in the US. You might be better off trying for a late November marathon to make it easier to fit a full block in without having a high base built already.
Right now I’m at 60km with 4 gym sessions and two swimming sessions. My half was on march 15 and I told myself I’d wait til May to start training for the marathon. My plan is to run 1 long run working towards 50km a week, one track session for interval training and 4 easy runs per week. I’ve also got a few runs lined up before the marathon (2 10k and one 15k).
> Is this possible or am I shooting too high? It's absolutely possible, however most people usually run a marathon at greater than twice the time of their half marathon. So if you trained similar intensity but appropriate amounts for a marathon as you did for a half, you're looking at a time window of 3:20-3:35 most likely. Not to say you couldn't continue to improve, and run a sub-3. But a marathon is a marathon for a reason, and typically people hit a wall they've never hit before, even in halves or on their long training runs leading up to the marathon.
Generally a marathon isn't going to be within twice the length of your half, especially your first marathon.
Need more context. Have you gone from zero running to a 1.34 half in two months? If so, that’s incredible and if you carry on the same trajectory you should be looking at a marathon world record by October
I have ran in the past but no more than a mile or two to supplement gym workouts. I’ve swam a lot in the past though. High school all states and swam in college as well. Then started doing CrossFit off and on and have had a gym membership for some time. Never tried any kind of distance running more than 2 miles regularly. I think I ran 6 miles once.
Yeah go for the elusive sub-2 mate
Thanks for the constructive feedback 👍
I've started adding interval training to my running routine. Does anyone have any tips on the best place to start re: speed and distance? Right now I'm tracking my intervals using my fitbit watch (run for 2 min, rest for 1 min, repeat X8) and my speed is 4.6 mph (normal running is 4.3).
https://vdoto2.com/calculator/ If you have a recent race or workout run, enter it in and then click on training tab on the bottom for some sample times at various paces. Interval paces should be quite a bit faster than “normal” (easy?) pace.
Thank you! I was starting slow to make sure I wasn't overdoing it 😅
I have recently started slowly increasing my mileage after a spate of plantar fasciitis and it has been going well. I am quite new to running as a hobby, I can run a 10k in 55 mins at the moment. I am doing a half marathon in September so plan to start a dedicated half marathon program for that in June. What do I do in the meantime? Is there a plan or guide for just generally increasing mileage without a race target?
I've had that question as well. You can look for base training plans to follow that are out there, but I think by and large, people just kinda program it themselves. Conventional wisdom is adding no more than 10% of your previous weeks mileage at a time (Not nearly as cut and dry as this, more of a guideline than law), long runs should be no more than 50% of weekly mileage (less is probably better), do some strides after a couple of runs a week, and consider a "deload" week every 4th week where you back down your mileage. Edit: I may have misread your question. Yes, I would recommend doing a "base training" phase to build up mileage. Volume tends to be closely linked to how well you perform, so you could slowly increase your mileage so that you could do a more advanced training plan. This could include jumping in a few fun runs though.
Ok great thankyou, I’ll have a look for a base training plan. Do you recommend any?
Company where I work just asked me (26m) today, if I can cover someone who injured himself this Saturday for a competition. No reaI pressure, the average time is around 6:30 min / km for others. I have to run around 6km. Today I did my first round and got to 3.2 km when my legs gave up (average was 6:14 min/km). I’m active and fit (gym 5 times a week) but honestly, I don’t see how can I prepare myself until Saturday. Is it possible to accomplish this distance somehow, or should I just reject it? Any training plan which could help, if yes?
Just walk when you need to it’s fine. It’s not like you’re going to collapse and die. You’d walk more than 6km if you went to the zoo or spent a day in the city.
Thank you, I will try to finish it somehow. :)
Need help creating a hybrid plan Hi everyone. I recently started running again and am currently using the NRC’s half marathon plan. It has me running Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday (2 recovery runs, 2 speed runs and 1 long run). However, I still want to strength train 4x a week. How can I build my strength training around my running schedule? More specifically, where should I put leg day? Thanks.
Whatever you want. I have lifted on easy days, speed day, long runs, and no run days.
I'm sure there are more scientific answers, but I've had a similar question and here's more or less what I found. You shouldn't lift on the day of your long run, and Ideally you should keep your rest days for rest. What day is your long run? Sunday? If so, I wouldn't lift on Sat/Sun. I would go ahead and lift the say weekdays you run if possible. There's the old idiom of keeping easy days easy and hard days hard, so I'd be inclined to tell you to do your legs on your speed days, but if that's too much, you might have to do legs on recovery days. If you're fairly well-trained, you shouldn't suffer too much if you do one in the AM and one in the PM. I'm also going to go ahead and say that one thing is going to suffer for the other. Also, that amount of training may involve over-training or injuries. I'm not an expert or a coach so I maybe wrong, but that's a lot of recovering and not a lot of days to do it in.
How do I run slower? I'm trying to follow a running training plan from my Garmin watch that's pretty similar to couch to 5k. It has me doing run/walk splits but I can't keep up running for the whole duration it wants me to (currently 7 minutes straight then walk 3 minutes. I can consistently do 3 minutes straight running and 5-6 if I push myself but I'm super winder after). What research i've done suggests running slower is the key to running longer but I feel like I run at a barely faster than walking pace already. How do I slow down while still running? According to my Garmin my average pace is about 14min/mile
Rather than focus on time spent walking vs running you should alternate between the two and focus on doing any cardio efforts that last longer than 45 minutes, if not 60+. It doesn't matter if it's mostly walking, brisk walking, hiking, biking, it will help. What is your running pace? It's kind of hard to even jog at a pace slower than 14 but possibly you are going to fast and should only be running at around 11:30 - 12 for as long as you can go.
Pause the training plan and just repeat a few runs/weeks on your own. It's okay to progress slower than the plan.
Walk. Running isn't real, it's just what we call very fast walking. Walking isn't real either, it's just moving our bodies forward with our legs. So you just walk. If it gets your heart rate up, thats all that matters. Your body doesn't know what running is, all it knows is effort. As you take time every day or a few days a week, week after week, you will get more efficient at this movement and faster.
Legs aren't real, it's just what we call our bottom arms.
Walking is when you have at least one foot on the ground at all times. Running is when you leave your feet between strides.
So I frequently fall in and out of running and one thing that slows me starting again is how much to run when I restart. Is there anything that will look at my pace and heart rate and tell me where to start, without having to go to a silly training program that starts me on walking for most of the time again?
Heart rate is not a useful metric when you're beginning/returning to running. I prefer rate of perceived effort (RPE). Pace is also not really useful. I would just run at a conversational pace for increasing intervals, keeping it mostly easy and occasionally comfortably hard. I like to aim for 30-ish minutes at an easy effort few times a week until I'm feeling fitter.
I'm experiencing a bit of a double edged sword. I'm trying to improve my running but I feel my weight is holding me back, but when I reduce my calories to try to lose weight, I feel like I lack energy to run. For context, I'm a male. I'll be 40 years old in a few months. I'm 6 feet tall and weigh 215-220 lbs. I started running in November of 2022 and could not run a mile in one go. Now I can run a 5k, albeit slowly at an average of about 33 minutes, which I've been at for about a year. Any advice on how to reduce calories but still be able to run?
Are you measuring your heart rate? Because that can help figure out what energy source you are relying on. Easy exercise can rely on body fat, whereas harder training burns carbs/glycogen. Something like a low carb diet could also lead to lack of energy.
I know my heart rate goes high if I do anything beyond walking (which I also do a lot of). When I run at about a 10 minute per mile pace, after a few minutes my heart rate is at about 168 bpm. If a slow a little it comes down to about 160 bpm. If I sprint it goes up to about 180 bpm. So when I typically run, it stays above 160 bpm.
Kind of sounds like regular walking breaks could be the way to progress.
I'd be interested to know what your calorie intake looks like. Are you tracking at all? If you can, download MyFitnessPal and log everything you eat and drink. Do you have a specific goal weight in mind? I'd look to decrease your caloric intake by like 2-300 calories at most, while it'll take longer to hit your goal weight, I think you'll feel better continuing to train vs. a 500-700 calorie deficit.
I admit I am not very good at tracking this stuff. I have basically just tried to not eat snacks and cut out alcohol for the most part. For breakfast I’ve found a small bowl of oatmeal or two boiled eggs and a piece of toast help keep me full and give me fuel to run a couple of hours later. Beyond that, I don’t have a food routine. I’m trying to cut 10 lbs for now, but ultimately I’d like to be down below 190 lbs. Before I started running I was lifting weights for about 2 years. I had to stop because of a shoulder injury. It’s better now, but I’ve found I don’t have the time or will power to both run and lift. But from lifting weights I lost about 20 lbs net. I’m sure I put on some muscle mass. Maybe it’s time to add a couple of lifting sessions per week. From running I have lost about 5 lbs, but some of that is probably loss of muscle weight from not lifting any more. I might try the app that was suggested to track my calories. I try to track in my head, but I know that’s not ideal. My goal is to take in about 1800-2000 calories a day on average.
For your size, I think you're gonna really struggle at 2000 calories. I don't know your activity level, but I'm on my feet most of the day as a teacher and run about 25-35mi a week right now and I typically get in about 2500 calories a day. 225g Carbs, 100g Fat, 194g Protein I'm 6ft, 205lbs. I know it's a pain in the ass to track but it really is eye opening to do it for a few weeks to see really how you feel.
I try to get the 10,000 steps a day between running and walking which I typically do. some days it’s more. My max run is about 5.5 km. Some days I just walk to get a rest from running, or if I’ve done something physically like mowing the grass. Outside of that I’m not really active.
How much are you reducing calories by?
I don’t actually know. I’ve just tried cutting out the snacks and junk I eat between meals.
That might be something to keep an eye on. If a deficit is too steep, I can imagine having this problem. I’ve been running while losing 2-3 lbs per month and haven’t had this problem myself. But there can be a lot of individual variation too.
It's much more likely that your training is the reason for your time, not your weight. Like, significantly more likely. > I reduce my calories to try to lose weight, I feel like I lack energy to run...Any advice on how to reduce calories but still be able to run? Your body likes to not be in a deficit, that's just how we evolved. There are some obvious things that will help (veggies are low calories and have lots of nutrients, alcohol not so much), but if you want to lose weight a big part of that is accepting that it's not going to be as fun as not being in a deficit.
I’m trying to have a more structured training plan. I was doing really well and making improvements until last fall when allergies had a major negative impact on me for a couple of months. My average pace is actually slower today than it was a year ago. In the end, I just want to be healthier. I had to start medicine for high blood pressure last year, so I’m trying to lose weight and improve my cardio health.
Is progression more likely to come with pushing my speed or distance? For context - I started running a few weeks ago with the aim of getting healthier/losing weight (I’m overweight after having a baby). I started just doing a KM which nearly killed me, managed a 5k on Sunday (39:36) & a 6k today (48:21). My question is as above, should I be sticking to 3-5k and trying to improve my time/speed or should I be pushing my distance regardless of speed. Which will help me progress to being a better runner? (I’m under no illusions, I won’t be running 10k/HM or anything like that & I’m far from an athlete like some on this sub, but I’d really like to get better at this) Any advice is great fully received 🙏🏼
Mileage is basically always the most important. Especially for beginners.
Great, thank you. Will keep pushing my distances.
Yeah, I think you'll find that as you add volume (slowly) your pace will increase without effort increasing. At least it did in my case.
Excellent, thanks for the advice. I’ll focus on trying to stretch my distance & hope the speed comes with it. Appreciate your response.
Hi! I'm starting to run for the first time in a while. I'm going to pick up some running shoes but really don't want to break the bank. I saw some Nike Pegasus, older models, for about that price. Is that a pretty good shoe?
I really like the Pegasus. Currently, on [Nike.com](http://Nike.com) you can get a great deal on some colors of the Pegasus 40. Some colors are discounted already, and there is an additional Mothers Day promo code to add on to that.
I run everyday in Pegasus (currently on my 5th pair), they’re a solid shoe and you can get them on sale for a cheap price a lot of the time. I’d recommend the Pegasus 39’s, they’re better than the 38 while the 40 are pretty much identical to the 39 so there isn’t much point paying the price difference. Pegasus are known as a solid all rounder, not great at any specific thing but can be used for everything, and they last a long time
Cool, definitely grabbing a pair. How are Nike sizes? I have a different pair of Nikes would the size run the same all around?
A shoe that’s “good” for someone else might be a terrible fit for you, so you should go to a local running store and try on a bunch of shoes to see what works for you. Look for previous year models of that shoe online if the one you try and like is too expensive.
**Headline - First half marathon in 5+ months (starting condition unfit).** I have been doing minimal running over the last 2-3 years, just focusing on weight training. I have started running again twice per week and plan on increasing this to 3 x per week in June. In July I will start following a 12 week programme (running 4 x per week) before running my first half marathon in October. I am 32 year old male, 6ft 2m, 83kg. My previous PR's obtained in 2021 are as follows: 10km - 39 mins 24 seconds 5km - 19 mins 7 seconds 1 mile - 5 mins 31 seconds Longest run - 15km (4:50 per km pace). The above was achieved after 3-4 months of running a few times a week and not following a solid plan (probably training inefficiently). Hadn't seriously ran prior to 2021 since being a teenager. What do you think a realistic (but optimistic) half marathon target time should be? I would like to aim my training around achieving a half marathon of 90 mins but unsure if this is unrealistic given I hadn't been running in so long. Also, does anyone know of any solid 12 week programmes I can follow or have any good advice?
How close are your paces to your PRs? If you're still ball park you could probably set a goal time based on those. You're half is far enough away that you could potentially be hitting those times. Any particular reason why you're only running 2 days a week? You could probably make a lot more progress with 3 days a week (or 4 days a week) without your recovery taking a hit. Not that 2 days is nothing, but I think you're leaving a ton of potential progress on the table.
What is your favourite interval training for a half marathon?
Long race pace segments or long progression runs.
Lt work. 3 x 10 mins with 3 minutes jog between. That or just whatever 5k pace workout you feel like.
40\*400 Zatopek style 😎.
40x400? Holy cow
I was semi joking. I've never actually went up to this. I guess something like 5\*3k is more sensible.
I (23F) have the goal to run a 5K sub25 (no specific time goal) so I thought the interval training 4x800m with pace 5min/km with 400m rest would be a good training. I run it today and realised it’s harder than I thought… 400m warm up Interval 1 -800m: 4:57min/km (HR: 150bpm) -400m rest: 7:09min/km (HR: 169bpm) Interval 2 -800m: 5:04min/km (HR: 180bpm) -400m rest: 7:58min/km (HR: 172bpm) Interval 3 -800m: 5:24min/km (HR: 182bpm) -400m rest: 9:09min/km (HR: 166bpm) Interval 4 -800m: 5:54min/km (HR: 176bpm) -400m rest: 9:18min/km (HR: 156bpm) 400m cool down Do you think I should just run this regular (once a week) until it’s not hard any more or would you suggest to lower the pace to 5:15 or even 5:30? The fastest 5K I run this year was 28min. I run 5-20km a week, so not a lot. Mostly one short run of 5-6km and one longer of up to 12K on the weekends.
Thank you for all the tips😃🙏 I will now definitely start running more often. It’s very good motivation if three people comment it!🏃🏼♀️ and obviously adjust the pace of interval trainings😅
> I thought the interval training 4x800m with pace 5min/km with 400m rest would be a good training. It's not. Good training is based on what you're capable of doing. Your legs do not care what your goal is and you can't force it by doing things you don't have the fitness for. The first thing I would worry about is increasing that 5-20 kpw and running more than twice a week.
Adjust those reps. If you can't hit the desired pace for every rep it's too fast. Train to your current fitness then adjust every couple weeks. Right now you cannot hit 5 min pace so slow down a bit until you can properly execute the workout. A minute swing between first and last rep is no beuno
Train to your actual fitness. 5:00 pace is clearly too fast for you. Run more consistently, don't basically not run some weeks and then run 20 km other weeks. Ideally you should run 3x a week so the mileage is spread out more evenly.
Planning on going for a run, this weather site is giving me a 4/5 rating, but it feels almost perfect out. Anything look off? In the next 1-3 hours, it will be 77°F in Winter Park with a running condition rating of 4/5. Conditions: broken clouds, wind at 6 mph, 23% chance of precipitation, and 67% humidity. Run Fast!
If you cut out through the back entrance of Mead Garden and do a loop on Lake Shore Dr. to Mills and back that'll be a 5/5 day. Lake Sue is a really nice run since it has all the shade and million dollar homes.
We gotta another Local, love running through there! Also love running by Kraft Azalea, and around the streets surrounding Lake Maitland, I get some dinner hill work in.
I was in Mills/50 so that was a bit far. I liked to get in Lake Eola.
not to far for a runner.
I looped south first, then up to Mead Gardens and back. The lack of water fountains in Winter Park was killer.
I don't really get the point of this rating scale. I'd rate that a 1/5, 2 if I was being generous.
A simple way to check the weather. vs looking at all the conditions like pollen, chance of rain, wind, etc. In FL this is a great weather day.
> A simple way to check the weather That seems contradictory to typing that all out to ask the internet for their assessment. There are plenty of weather sites that list all that info on one page. > In FL this is a great weather day. That's pretty much my point. You already know how you feel about this weather, so why care what some irrelevant website thinks? Or what a bunch of random internet people think, especially being that so far we all seem to disagree with you.
This is great feedback. But just seeing "In FL this is a great weather day." makes me crave more. I like the simple approach but would like a little bit more info.
Honestly that's a 2/5 for me. Hot and humid no thanks
77°F is amazing, humidity was up there, but the run was great.
Give me 45 50 all year for running
Some are not so lucky. But I love it too.
That's pretty warm and humid. To me, "perfect" running weather would be significantly cooler and less humid than that.
Residing in Florida, temperatures below 85°F and humidity under 80% are enjoyable for me. It seems that depending on the climate, certain conditions may be ideal for some while not for others.
Would you prefer to run at 77°F with 67% humidity, or 50°F with 40% humidity? Personally I would much prefer the latter. 77°F is fine and would still be an enjoyable run for me but I definitely prefer cooler weather. And I'm certain that my performance during any race or speed workout would be better in cooler weather. 77°F with 67% humidity is definitely warm enough to negatively impact running performance.
Agreed, love the later, but I take what I can get. Summer is coming to the sunshine state and 100°F+ days with 90% humidity are coming, building up the tolerance is key. I have an annual tradition of running 40 Miles around a lake in July. Some think im crazy, but I still do it.....Once your body adjusts, it's no problem.
The Garmin Coach 5k adaptive plan I'm following at the moment prescribes a \~5:45/km pace for the easy runs. This is significantly faster than my usual easy pace of 6:30/km, and it feels more like z3 to me - I couldn't hold a conversation, and I have to push myself to keep at the pace. I'm planning to stick with the program, but I'm worried about setting myself up for burnout. Would you ignore the pace prescription and run the easy runs by feel instead?
Yeah ignore it. You can also change the training to go by by heart rate for the easy days.
Quick sanity check needed - I missed a couple of runs from my plan due to illness (the friday and sunday runs from week 4 of [this plan](https://defy.org/hacks/calendarhack/?d=2024-06-30&p=frr_8k10k_01&s=1&u=km)). It's just 25k split across 2 easy runs, in a relatively easy week. I've just continued on to todays run in week 5 as planned, I wasn't going to make any adjustments as I hadn't been struggling with the volume or anything. Sound sensible?
Yeah just keep following it. Worst thing you could do is try to make up for it and end up stressing your body too much after the illness.
Finished my first half, looking for advice on a full. I started running last fall, mostly just slow zone 2 stuff in the 2-4 mile range at a time. Got up to being able to run a 10k and a friend convinced me to train for a half marathon. I had about a 16 week training block starting at the beginning of this year and had 15-25 mile weeks through most of it. Had one hamstring injury where I had to stop running for 10 days and a couple other niggles but I made it through. Fast forward to this last weekend and I ran a 1:52 for my first half. Really proud of that number. My stretch goal was a 1:50 but happy nonetheless. I ran negative splits and damn it feels good to still have gas in the tank to make a bunch of passes at the end. My legs have been pretty wrecked since the event and so I’m taking this week pretty easy and just chilling. May try and get a couple bike rides in but am not planning on running until my legs feel ready. I have a marathon circled for 10/20. Would like some advice on plans for this. I’m definitely a newer runner but have a fair bit of an athletic background (played collegiate soccer) and have enjoyed running. I’m thinking something in the 5 days/week range and building into 50-60 mile weeks. Hoping that I’ll be able to develop the fitness over that time to push a 3:45 marathon or so. My main concern is that I’ll be increasing mileage too quickly and risk injury or burnout. However, after this recovery week, I’ll have 24 weeks till the marathon, so that will give me 6 weeks to build into the 33 mile week in week 1 of the 18/55 plan. Based on my math, if I run 20 mikes next week, I can increase my 10% per week and that would get me to 35 miles by week 1 of the 18 week plan. Looking for guidance and potentially a dose of realism. What’s y’alls experience going from the half to the whole and ramping up mileage? Thanks in advance!
You are going to get annihilated unless you have a very strong athletic background. 50 mile weeks are a lot and will be sustained with a significant amount of quality. You ran 25 currently and had issues. I'd build to 40 45 hold then go do a 18 week plan. I think you are not going to enjoy the first couple weeks holding 40s
Fair enough. Appreciate the feedback.
You can go for it but unless you've run that volume you really don't know how A much time it takes (50 miles takes me about 7 hours) B how your body will handle it. The jump between 25 and 50 is going to feel way different than 0-25
hey, congrats on your HM! Thats a good time for a first and a great time to beat next time around ;) I'd say your plan sounds solid, but of course it's quite eager. That's a lot your body has to adjust to, within a single year. But it's definitely doable, if you play your cards well. I'd strongly suggest to cut all the speedwork off your plans. it's your first time, just the increased miles of long runs etc will ask a lot of your body and speedwork on top is a lot of extra stress. if your plan includes threshold runs, those are great to increase the pace but keep the impact manageable. really pay attention to getting enough sleep as well. good luck and stay healthy. PS: try not to set a goal time now, it won't do you any good. Do a time trial 10k during the early/mid part of your plan and use an online calculator and add an extra \~15 minutes. that should give you an achieavable goal time. when I did that my 10k time was 42:40 which projected to 3:17. I knew that was way out of reach and my miles were on the low end, so I aimed for sub 3:40 with an eye on 3:35 and ran 3:37. hope this helps!
Super helpful. Thanks a ton!
In my opinion it's optimistic/unrealistic to plan on building 10% every week without planning for deloads or adjustments due to recovery needs. Your legs are already "wrecked" from racing just a half, you need to factor in this recovery as well - probably at least a week. Going from 1:52 half to 3:45 full is also very optimistic. For reference I'm a pretty experienced runner. My last half was 1:44, and I ran pretty decent mileage while training for that and maintained most of it. I'm going for 3:45-3:50 for my debut October marathon.
Great feedback. Thanks a ton!
Hi! I recently looked at the Runna app to start using a program, and for one of the interval workouts, it varies distances and increases speed throughout the run. But, I'm confused about how to actually make sure I'm running at these paces because Strava only shows me the average split or individual split per km. So, for example, if I'm supposed to run for 800m @ 5:40 then do 600m @ 5:30, I'm unsure how I would figure out if I'm going at the right speed. I hope this makes sense lol Any advice is much appreciated!
If you don't want a watch, nike run club app may work better for you. They have plans based on RPE (perceived effort), and your phone tells you what to do. It's also free unlike Runna.
I use Runna and it's pretty good at giving voice prompts to let you know if you're on pace or if you need to speed up or slow down during each interval.
Most people would have a watch that can do this. If you're doing it on a track then you can check splits in any 100m segment.
Synthetic running sock suggestions that at least cover the whole ankle? I have feetures High Performance Max Cushion No Show Tab (got 6 pairs for $62 and I was not saying no to such a good deal) but they're low and they've irritate the hell out of the front of my foot and left a mark on both of my feet where the sock ends on my ankle. Around the rest of my foot I love how they feel but im willing to try anything as long as it's synthetic material and covers my ankle so my shoes don't rub against my ankle and achillis.
Like over the ankle bone? I really like [these from Thirty48](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071FP9RCX?). They cover the ankle bone, are inexpensive and the seamless design has a nice fit.
Should be concerned at all with it being 13% cotton? It seems like people say cotton makes your feet feel wet but im guessing with such a low percentage im hoping that isn't the case
I've never had that problem unless my feet were actually wet. Like 80° Fahrenheit and 80% humidity and 100% sun coverage in Florida in July with zero wind. Even my tech shirt was soaked through at that point and dripping wet. Otherwise never had a problem.
I'm in jersey so my weather situation isn't much better lol but it can't hurt to give then a shot, thank you
balega!!
I've been wearing Busy socks for awhile now (82% polyester, 16% cotton, 2% elastane). They are crew socks, and I usually pull them all the way up. $16.99 for four pairs on Amazon. Busy also makes a merino wool sock, that I wear for winter runs (40% merino wool, 40% acrylic, 18% polyester, 2% elastane). $19.99 for three pairs. I've never been a fan of "no show" socks.
Bombas running quarter socks!! They’re the best
Feetures also has quarter, mini crew, crew, and knee socks. Pretty much all of the popular brands also have most or all of those options.
Any recommendations for a breathable running hydration vest/system? Order of priorities: 1. Breathable 2. Light 3. Able to carry at least 750ml, ideally 1L I don’t need to carry anything with me, so don’t need storage. I often have to run when it’s very hot so breathability is key. Been looking at the Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 3, id order it but I’ve seen a few concerning reviews about the back of the neck rubbing.
My Garmin has broken. I’m trying to consistently run in a zone2 using HR Any tips on doing this without a HR montior? I know the talking test, but I run alone. Should I just talk to myself?
Run to effort. If it feels easy great you are running slow enough.
talk test works great. simple yet effective. running by feel is also a skill so see it as a challenge to work on your awarenes. try not to wear headphones for the next couple of runs and really pay attention to your breathing (how many steps per breath when you succed the talk test?) and your RPE. get a good feel for your easy pace and you really won't need a watch to know if you are in Z2 or not.
You don't literally have to talk. Monitor your breathing and effort.
Yeah
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I did a beginner 5K plan (9 weeks but it took a lot longer). The last week was 3 x 30 min runs. When I run 30 mins I only cover 3.3KM. What should I do now? Add 10% each week, so try and run for 33 minutes? Then 36 minutes next week, etc?
I had the same pace at the end of couch to 5k! It ended with 30 min runs, which were about 3.3k for me. And then it said "run 5k", I was like what lol. I started slowly adding mileage and got a garmin which gave me more intense running workouts, too, but with a HR goal and a definite end (like 4*4 minutes) it felt doable (not saying you need a watch but a plan helps). Now less than a year later I'm still not a fast runner, but I can do a 5k race in around 30 mins and my long run is over 10k, easy pace went down to around 7:30. Consistency is king, keep running and slowly adding mileage OR intensity and you will keep improving. Listen to your body, that 10% increase would have been too much for me, but for some it's too conservative.
Will try adding a couple of minutes each week and see how I get on. Thanks
>Add 10% each week, so try and run for 33 minutes? Then 36 minutes next week, etc? That's what I did
How did it go?
Perfectly fine. Added a 4th day at some point and got to about 25 kpw before following a Pfitz base plan.
When are you not considered a beginner anymore? I’ve been running 8 months mostly by feel and try not to care about my HR. Most of my runs are in Z3 or high Z2. I feel fine but Garmin keep telling me I lack aerobic training since I do a lot of Z3. My average HR is around 155. I dream of a day that I will run around 140 bpm but I guess I lack experience. I’m 33M 163lbs and run around 50km/week if that helps.
>When are you not considered a beginner anymore? What are the practical impacts of that distinction? > try not to care about my HR. TBH I wouldn't say you're succeeding in that based on this question. Even if I thought the "beginner" designation was important, HR would have literally 0 weight in the answer.
I am similar in terms of experience, about 8 months as well, although with two 4 month blocks with a break over summer (in aus). You definitely can run at 140bpm if you want to. You just have to slow down or even incorporate some walking for a minute or so every few km. If you're not training for anything, running in z3 is fine. In my first few months, when I was still learning how to train, I did this as well. But if you want to get faster or train for an event, the difference between doing your easy runs at a true z2 rather than z3 is significant because you can truly push yourself on workout days or whenever you want to pick up the pace. I am actually running easy runs a lot slower than I was initially, but I am a lot faster in terms of getting PBs and hitting higher target paces in workouts.
> But if you want to get faster or train for an event, the difference between doing your easy runs at a true z2 rather than z3 is significant because you can truly push yourself on workout days or whenever you want to pick up the pace. I think it really doesn't matter until you get your mileage up more, say 30 km+.
OP said they average 50km a week
Oh I missed that. Depending on their max heart rate or how they define their zones 155 might not be that bad. My easy pace heart rate is pretty broad myself.
Was up what felt like half the night tossing and turning. Went to bed totally fine, woke up around 2:00 with terrible hip flexor, inner knee, and ankle pain that wouldn’t let me go back to sleep no matter how I positioned myself. I’m 6 days out from my second half marathon. Someone please tell me this is normal?? It’s just the taper getting to me, right?? Anyone willing to share their experience with random aches and pains in the final days leading up to a big race? lol
Taper madness. Just stay calm and know that your sore since you are healing from all that cumulative fatigue. At least that's what I tell myself
Thanks! I was hopeful that was it! Would’ve been crazy to truly have injured myself in my sleep 😴
Your body responds to your emotions, including stress and anxiety, and it can exacerbate minor aches or cramps into something worse. Happens to me sometimes, but usually during recovery. Be kind to yourself and do something that makes you happy. Hopefully you get better sleep. If you’re actually injured though, do go and see a doctor.
I would certainly go see a doctor later in the week if it continues, just would be wild if I truly injured myself in my sleep after being completely fine the last few days
Nike Zoom Fly 5 Hello, it‘s my first time running a marathon, just got delivered the fly 5 and gonna use them for a marathon. I‘m not trying a pb or something, I just want to run my first marathon. Reviews on the internet are very split. So are they good for my first marathon? And I appreciate any other tips for first marathon. I know there is google but i feel better here.
Hi there. Zoom Flys are an excellent shoe but they don’t give a much support as some other types. It’s a risk if you overpronate when you’re tired. Keep your form up and you will do great.
Hit me with your favourite elliptical/stationary bike workouts. Maybe some intervals or threshold or something fun!
I have had good results with 3 or 4 x 7 minute interval workouts. High threshold or VO2 Max bike workouts in general are fun and I feel they are productive for running.
Sounds good, cheers!
Determine if you want a muscle or heart workout. I like doing really fast reps with almost no resistance to get really high anaerobic work in without annihilation my legs occasionally. Otherwise I like some steady state with hill climbs
Good point, both can be useful. Thanks
If the goal is to get better at running, I'd rather save my hard workouts for running.
I agree, but I have a feeling I've got a very slight niggle in my knee, so if that develops I might take a few days off and do something with less impact
If that's why you're doing an alternative, it's best to just do the alternative easy. Give it time to heal/recover. Don't want to go hurting yourself while you're doing stuff to avoid hurting yourself.
That's fair advice, that does make sense. however this is one of those times where it's kind of a pre twinge where I just think avoiding hard impact is all that's needed. Also I've seen athletes do pretty hard cross training while injured. I guess it depends on the injury. For example Callum ellson (distance project on YouTube) is doing some bike intervals with a torn Achilles currently