For those who don’t run 7 days and say run 5/6 or are working on adding days - is there a favourable method here? Is it better to stack 6 consecutive days over running 3 days in a row then resting before continuing again. Does it make any difference?
Just finished my first marathon last weekend and before starting running again next week I’m trying to work out where to go next with my training. Probably won’t run another marathon for 10-11months so I’m keen to really push and improve my times from 5k - half marathon.
I rarely ran 5 days a week in my marathon build - 4 days is very standard and achievable for me - so also unsure if diving into 7 days of NSA is advised or not? I’ve been following NSA for over 12 months now but just too hesitant to actually dive into it or doubting if I’m ‘ready’ for it..
For more context:
Male, 35, 77kg
5km: 20:55
10km: 43:20
Half-M: 1:37:40
I’ve done all of my long runs recently in my Li-Ning Challenger 5 shoes and plan to wear them on race day. They are a shoe that work exceptionally well for me at MP to 10K pace, I’ve had absolutely 0 issues with them on any run. They’ve probably done about 150-200km I’d estimate. I recently got a brand new pair and can put 30-40km in them before my race in a few weeks to break them in a bit.
What shoes do you think I should choose to race in? The ones that I’ve ran consistently with recently or a fresh lightly broken in pair? Will the newer shoe give me any actual noticeable benefits?
To start - I'm in probably one of the shortest marathon blocks in history as I prepare for my first marathon on August 02nd - *but I'm not looking for advice on how much of a bad decision this is. Tracking back, on the 24th June, 3 days after running a half-marathon PB (1:37:33), my wife pulled out of this marathon and we officially transferred her entry to me, this left me with a short 5 weekends until race day. Since then I have ran 25km, 28km, 32.5km and will do another 25km this weekend, then 15 next weekend with the race the weekend after.
Due to the fact I have not completed a traditional block - where I understand you discover your true marathon pace - I've gone off of general online calculators/my COROS race predictor which all have me somewhere between 3hrs40 right down to 3hrs23 and randomly picked 5:00/km as my marathon pace putting me roughly around 3hrs30 ish.
Now the race is only 2.5 weeks away and all I can think about is this marathon, I'm naturally overthinking and questioning everything. These weeks of running have seen me ramp up way more than recommended, but my body has handled them fine (thankfully) and I've successfully ran marathon paced sections at the end of the 25 and 28km long runs and plan to do 15km of this weekends run at marathon pace too, sandwiched by easy running - these have all felt fine and controlled. This morning's workout I still hit my KM repeats at around 4.30/km and they felt comfortably hard.
A question for all of those experienced marathon runners here - what pace do you think I should run at in a few weeks? I'd much rather aim for even splits/a slight negative split rather than start much slower and build into it. Is there a heart rate zone I should be looking to stay in that will help dictate my race pace better?
Training for my first off the back of a year focused on improving 5k to half-marathon times. Is it normal to feel like you’re much slower, even though you’re running further and likely fitter because of that? I do so much easy running and because I’m in a very short build compared to the average plan, the only quicker paces I’m hitting is marathon pace, maybe 5-10seconds faster. I haven’t been going hard midweek because my focus has been on really pushing the distances out and avoiding injury. Is it normal to feel slow training for your first? I set a PB in the 10KM back in March but feeling like I’m not sure I could even hit those paces now or if I could it would be much harder!
I just ran my longest run and biggest week of training before my marathon, which is in 3 weeks. This week I hit 57kms and these have been my last few weeks in reverse order: 52.5, 37, 40, 40, 46, 40. The last 2km of uphill today was a challenge after almost 3 hours and I could feel cramp was around the corner if I kept on pushing up the incline so ended at 32.5km. Apart from that the effort was pretty chill, heart rate never leaving my top end of zone 2 until those last 2km where it dipped into Z3. I raced a half-marathon PB in 1:37:33 3 weeks ago. My body is pretty tired and I’m looking forward to some easier weeks - I plan to do another 25km run next weekend with 15 at marathon pace but the week will only be 46km overall before heading into a 2 week taper.
My question is, how much does the taper really help and make marathon day feel a bit easier? Do you really notice that you just aren’t as tired and fatigued from training? It’s my first marathon so I’m content with just finishing but also I’m very competitive with myself and feel like I could push for close to 3hrs 30. Keen to know if you also think this is possible - I’m aware that my weekly mileage is pretty low - this marathon was a very late plan as my wife has had to pull out so we transferred her entry to me.
Just finished the last long run in my build that includes marathon pace (which I’m hoping to be 4:57/km). This will be my first marathon, 37 YO male and this is the longest run in my build so far. Plan to run 32km all easy next week. This run felt super controlled, body was starting to get a little muscle soreness toward the end but fitness wise I felt like I could have easily kept going at they 04:57 pace for a good while longer. Based off this info alone - rate my chances of going sub 3:30 in a few weeks.
Have a marathon coming up in about a month (targeting 3:30 time) and still can’t decide on what shoe to wear. I have both already and have ran in both a fair amount. My challenger 5’s are probably a little more snug than my PB3’s. Recently ran a half in the PB3’s and they were really good. What would you choose and why?
My wife just pulled out of a marathon that is about 5 weeks away. I’ve said that I’ll take her entry and run it. I’ve never ran a marathon before, half’s are more my thing.
I’ve been having a good consistent year of running this year so far, and have PB’d every distance (5km 20:53 | 10KM 43:15 | Half-m 1:37:33). I’ve also been averaging at least 40km per week apart from the odd de-load week for over 2 months now.
My COROS is estimating I can run a 3:25 which I think is very ambitious. I’m keen to see if a sub 3:30 is achievable though. My biggest concern is my lack of mileage. I ran 25km’s this weekend and plan to run a 30km and 35km the next few before a 2 week taper.
What are my chances of going sub 3:30? Is my body going to simply not have the strength to run for that long seeing as I never have? What should I be prioritising both in the next month and on race day to see where I can get to?
Thanks!
My wife just pulled out of a marathon that is about 5 weeks away. I’ve said that I’ll take her entry and run it. I’ve never ran a marathon before, half’s are more my thing.
I’ve been having a good consistent year of running this year so far, and have PB’d every distance (5km 20:53 | 10KM 43:15 | Half-m 1:37:33). I’ve also been averaging at least 40km per week apart from the odd de-load week for over 2 months now.
My COROS is estimating I can run a 3:25 which I think is very ambitious. I’m keen to see if a sub 3:30 is achievable though. My biggest concern is my lack of mileage. I ran 25km’s this weekend and plan to run a 30km and 35km the next few before a 2 week taper.
What are my chances of going sub 3:30? Is my body going to simply not have the strength to run for that long seeing as I never have? What should I be prioritising both in the next month and on race day to see where I can get to?
Thanks!