Anybody with nagging injuries feel like they can mentally flare up that injury?

I have a history with an IT band issue that comes on occasionally and I recently ran Philly, but had it flare up. I remember thinking as I was running “feeling good, feeling good. I hope my it band doesn’t flare up. Shit, this feels tight.” Anybody have a similar experience and how to deal with it?

I have pt exercises I do for it and maybe I wasn’t as good about it this training cycle, so part of it was definitely my fault

I ran Valencia marathon for the first time last week. Really enjoyed it and am now looking for a marathon for next year that is similarly flat/fast and in Europe. All suggestions welcome.

I ran my first ever half-marathon a couple weeks back, 1:47. I've never ran more than 21.1km in training either, and now I've unforunately injured my left leg (not sure about the specifics but it hurts a lot to walk) so I don't suspect that I'll be able to run for at least a couple more weeks.

My city's next marathon is on the 6th of April, so assuming I start seriously training late-Dec or early-Jan, would I be able to crack a sub-4hr in April? My biggest worry is literally 0 experience with anything longer than 21.1.

Looking for treadmill recommendations. Would be using for winter training. Looking for an affordable reliable and comfortable treadmill, simple is fine, does not need a bunch of bells and whistles

I’m running the Tucson Marathon for the third time on December 15. Tonight we received an email that the course has been changed dramatically from the course that has been used in previous years and was previously announced for this year’s race.

The old halfway point is now the starting line, moving the finish line further into town. The last 8ish miles will now be on a bike path. The course is still a steady downhill, but a bit less so than before.

I don’t really have strong feelings about it either way and I’m not looking to stir things up or anything, but it seemed interesting to change a marathon course so close to the race. Anyone had that happen before?

This might be a dumb question but honestly it’s worth a try because I’ve been miserable in my past few runs with this cold weather. I started running this year and it’s my first winter season running so it’s my first time experiencing this- it’s so cold that it hurts to breathe through my nose. I try to push through but it’s so painful so I end up breathing through my mouth and then it messes up my breathwork and affects my run. Any tips would be much appreciated🥲 like should I run with a scarf over my nose or something? I have no idea what to do🤣

I’ve tried a lot of different strengthening and stretching movements due to the plethora of information floating around on YouTube/Google. But that comes as a double edged sword, because there are so many suggestions and I want to be selective in the movements I choose in terms of quality over quantity. I’d rather lay a solid foundation and do the movements and strength lifts consistently rather than spam as many as I can.

For the seasoned marathoners, or hell anyone who has managed to strengthen their shins and medial sided muscles/tendons (e.g. inner ankle, inner arch, inner shin, hip abductor) what is your routine? And if you could provide details on the movements, rep scheme, frequency, etc. that’d be awesome. Thanks in advance.

Any ideas how to fix my Achilles that feels tight without stopping training altogether?

Found this plan on women’s running magazine for running a sub 4

My current PR is 4:01:01 at CIM 2022

Do you think this is a good plan to follow? I used to have a coach but want to do it on my own this time since it’s cheaper.

Hi guys! I’m doing the pfitz 12 week plan and I am currently on week 2 and the last of intervals is kinda worrying me tbh. He has LT and MP runs and some strides but there are no “traditionals” intervals as in “800s, 1000s, 1600s”. Not gonna lie, this is a tad bit worrying me. Should I not be worried and just trust the plan or should I incorporate some intervals here and there? Obviously this plan is high value and I know that the pfitz plans are no walk in the park but the lack of intervals is a little bit concerning.

Has anyone tried this plan and has had success with it?

I just ran a marathon in October in 4 hours 35 mins - it was a super flat course but I struggled with the heat and minimal crowd support. I am wondering if breaking 4 hours next November in Philly (hillier course, but much cooler) is possible. I am mostly discouraged because I started running about a year ago, starting my marathon training about 9 months into my running journey, and still haven’t really improved in terms of pace. My easy, tempo, etc paces are still the same as it was when I first started running. If I increase my weekly mileage for the 2025 training block and go from running 4 days/week to 5, is an almost 40 minute PR possible?

Edit to add stats: 23F, former rower so decent cardio base but was more into weight training prior to starting running. My training I had probably 35 mpw average and peaked around 43. Incorporated speedwork (intervals, tempo runs), cross training, and strength training. Longest run was 21 miles then did a 4 week taper. I followed my plan to a tee and didn’t miss a single run.

I am running a marathon on Sunday and have been experience increasing pain and some swelling in my interior left ankle (sort of on the ankle bone and between the ankle bone and a little bit behind the bone in the direction of the Achilles tendon). It's not horrible, but it feels a little tweaky when I run and has been uncomfortable to walk on for a day or two after each run (no matter length). It is the most painful when I turn my foot so that the toes face out. I have had some ankle discomfort for about a month now but it used to only be after really long runs, and now it's every time I run.

Any ideas for how to get it in good shape by Sunday? Should I be worried about a stress fracture?

Hey Runners!

I’m a 22-year-old guy who started running about 1.5 years ago (logged ~1500km in 2 years). While I’ve always been health-conscious and generally fit, I’ve never really done sports before jumping into running.

One thing that’s been puzzling me: my heart rate seems to skyrocket the moment I lace up my running shoes. It’s tricky for me to define “easy runs” because even at a slow pace, my HR climbs higher than I think it should.

Fast forward to last Sunday, I ran the Valencia Marathon! 🎉 I followed a 16-week training plan with two goals in mind:
1️. Finish the race
2️. Dream goal: Sub-4 hours

I’m thrilled to share that I managed to cross the finish line in 3:59:26 (barely made it, but it counts, right?).

Here’s the thing that’s left me scratching my head: My average heart rate during the race was 192bpm (measured with Garmin HRM Pro-Plus). Is that normal for a marathon? Is it okay to sustain that for nearly 4 hours?

I’m already looking ahead to more races because I’ve completely fallen in love with running, but I’d like to figure out how to lower my heart rate and improve my overall efficiency.

Anyone else experienced something similar? Any advice, insights, or tips would be awesome. Thanks so much in advance! 🙏

Hi if anyone wants to do a nice deed for the christmas spirit, could someone please write a training guide for a beginner runner wanting to achieve a half marathon in 6 months and a full marathon in 12 months. I work in a really hectic job that can vary in hours from 60-100 hours a week. I can run 5 miles now without stopping just under an hour (so I am slow)!! I need a schedule with a lot of flexibility, but I think with a long time frame I can make this happen. If this is a really selfish ask on this forum I am so sorry, but I didn’t know if people thought it was fun to write plans if running is their hobby (i’m really new to the running world). If you think I should hire someone to write a plan for me please let me know who I should ask and how much I should pay reasonably!!! Thank you!!! 💖💖💖💖

I believe it said the beginning of December online, wanted I see if anyone else had a specific date. Thanks!

Race Information

• Name: Valencia Marathon
• Date: December 1, 2024
• Distance: 42.75 kilometres
• Location: Valencia, Spain
• Time: 3:44:xx

Goals

Splits

Background

42 / M / 86kg / 178cm

Started running in April 2020 (during Covid). After a sporty childhood I hadn't taken my fitness seriously as an adult, but still played football (soccer) and went for the occasional run without any structure.

Prior to Valencia, I'd done two marathons (4:18 and 4:10) and a load of halfs and shorter distances. Loosely followed Daniels' 2Q for the first two marathons but got much more serious for this one.

Training

I opted for Pfitz 18/55, largely due to positive comments in this sub, and the fact that it has the midweek medium long runs which I hoped would give me greater endurance. I don't regret using this plan/philosophy, and will probably use it again for my next block with a view to slightly increasing mileage towards eventually being able to take on the 18/70.

The training block went as well as it possibly could. I didn't suffer any injuries (a first for me), save for a slightly painful achilles towards the end, but nothing that caused me to miss any workouts. Obviously I experienced accumulated fatigue as the weeks went on, but generally I went into each workout feeling it was achievable.

I had to tweak a couple of weeks early in the block as I was already signed up for the Great North Run (half marathon), which fell 12 weeks from Valencia. Ideally I'd have raced a HM as one of the tune-up races later in the block, but GNR is important to me for family/personal reasons so I wasn't going to miss it. I managed a PB of 1:39:xx which gave me good confidence for the tougher weeks ahead.

I did all of the tune-up races as solo TT's as this was the only way I could fit it in with family and work. I'll try and do proper races for my next Pfitz block as the benefits are obvious. I planned 10km TT's for each of the three tune-ups. I had a stinking cold for the first one, so ground out a 5k as fast as I could then went home feeling sorry for myself. I managed to plod around the long run the next day and convinced myself that there were enough weeks left that it wouldn't make much difference. The second one was a 45:38 and I felt really fatigued going into it and struggled to hang on. The third one went well, and I got a PB of 43:56. The next day's long run was one of the best feeling runs I've ever had, and I felt like I could've done the whole thing at race pace. This wiped clear the memories of the first two tune-ups being far from my best.

The long and marathon paced runs all went well and I hit the required paces. This was my first time treating the long run as a hard workout rather than just a plod to build up distance. Sounds obvious, but I feel like a much stronger runner for it.

I enjoyed the VO2 max workouts and hit all the paces relatively comfortably. I've always been better at shorter distances, and my 5k race times suggest I should be running marathons much quicker than I do (just got to keep building endurance I guess).

The taper was fine. I felt ready for it when it arrived so enjoyed the rest and didn't succumb to any maranoia.

Pre-race

I arrived in Valencia on the Friday evening after a long day of travelling from the UK via Madrid (I can thoroughly recommend the super fast Spanish AVE trains).

Checked into the hotel and met some friends for food and a couple of beers. Got an early night but slept terribly.

Woke early on Saturday and went to the Expo for its 10am opening. Was back at my hotel with takeaway lunch and carby snacks at midday. Spent the afternoon watching TV, then met friends for a pasta dinner at 6pm. Back in bed for 8pm and slept fairly well.

I left early on Sunday morning to walk down with friends who were starting in earlier waves. This meant I was hanging around for a while, but I found a good spot to sit and people watch. I'd much rather be there soaking up the race day atmosphere than pacing nervously around my hotel room.

Race

I started too far back in my wave, so was penned in for the first 3-4km. I couldn't resist a bit of weaving even though I knew this would cost me energy. It opened up after 4km and I was able to get in my stride and try to relax.

Hit 5km at 26 mins and 10km at 52 mins, so pacing was looking good. I was using Garmin's Pace-Pro function and had it set to 3:40:00, which I knew was ambitious but not impossible. Got to halfway in 1:50 with Garmin telling me I was a few seconds ahead of target, so feeling pretty good.

Then it started to get warm! It wasn't crazily hot, but was rapidly nudging up towards 21C. After a couple of cooler months in the UK, my body wasn't accustomed to it and I could feel it was taking more effort to maintain my pace. I try not to look at heart rate during a race as I find it can play mind games with me (I'm either working too hard or not hard enough) but couldn't resist a quick glance and it confirmed I was at about 10bpm higher than I'd expect for an equivalent pace in cooler weather.

I needed to stop for a pee at 25km (hate it when that happens) and after that I had to ease back on the pace. I did some maths and realised that sub-3:40 was nigh on impossible. This didn't bother me too much as it was always a hugely ambitious target, and my REAL goal was sub-3:45. I knew that if I could maintain something like 5:25/km - 5:30/km I'd be there or thereabouts. But it just kept getting hotter and I had a couple of horrible km's at 34 and 35. It was as flat a course as you could hope for, but even the 4m elevation gain here was noticeable.

Still, I was determined not to let sub-3:45 slip away. I gave myself a good talking to at 36km and picked the pace back up. By now I was really struggling to hang on, but kept reminding myself I was nearly there and it would all be over soon. The problem was that my watch wasn't lining up with the KM markers, so I knew I'd have to run longer than 42.2km but wasn't exactly sure how fast I needed to go (I was incapable of even the most basic maths by this point).

I got back into the city centre at 40km and the crowds there were amazing. There was no way I was going to let this slip. The Spanish were great, but there's nothing like hearing an accent from your hometown shouting your name to spur you on. I still didn't know how fast I needed to go, so just got my head down and ran and told myself not to look at my watch until I got to the 1,000m countdown marker.

With 1km to go, I needed to do it in about 4 minutes to get sub-3:45. This is about my 5k pace, so quite a daunting prospect. But I gave it everything on that blue carpet, crossed the line and stopped my watch with seconds to spare. I was now a sub-3:45 marathoner!

Post-race

Lots of walking to get medal, goodie bag, rucksack from bag drop, which felt nearly as hard as the race. Some of the faster members of our group had gathered in a nearby bar, so the thought of cold Spanish lager kept me going.

Then showered and hit the town for food and Agua de Valencia. We had 3 PB's out of 7 runners in our group, so plenty to celebrate.

Overall, it was a great event in a great city and I'd recommend it to anyone. I'd been to Valencia a couple of times before and it's easily one of my favourite European cities. It was a privilege to run there after all the hardship the region has gone through recently, and it felt great to see the local crowds happy and cheering. I'd been slightly nervous before that they may not appreciate 36,000 runners taking over their city when they've got bigger things to deal with, but those thoughts were misplaced and they couldn't have been more welcoming.

I'm back home now thinking about a training plan for Manchester in April, and think I'll have another crack at sub-3:40.

Made with a new race report generator created by u/herumph.

I’m a few days out from my first marathon, and during my taper runs I’ve been going way into zone 3 for a pace that normally puts me in zone 2. Is this normal?

I’m worried that I ate & drank too much during Thanksgiving and that’s affecting my endurance.

Peroneal Tendonitis 6 weeks out... tell it to me straight 😔

Devastated but time with family and good food helped soften the blow. Ran last Tuesday on treadmill because it's freezing outside, no issues. Woke up Wednesday with a limp, Thursday could barely apply pressure, Friday crying in pain. Went to ortho and have been in boot, on crutches, and taking anti-inflammatory meds every day since. Walking in the boot is practically painless at this point, there's discomfort when walking on my bare foot.

I had yet to miss a single run before this past Wednesday. On the HH Novice 1 plan, had been running for about a year prior to starting training. All runs have been painless. My long run coming up is 18 with 20 to follow. It feels more hopeless with every run I miss. I hopped on the bike Wednesday and Thursday of last week and could cycle instead, I just know it's not the same.

I guess I'm just curious if anyone has any words of encouragement or discouragement or honesty or relatability. How reasonable is it for me to expect to be back on my feet by next week? Is it a case-by-case basis? Is biking a viable way to maintain fitness? Should I decrease taper time and finish out my runs starting from the ones I missed before I got injured? I know that I should just listen to my body, I am maybe hoping someone else who's had tendonitis can tell me about their road to recovery. Race date is Jan 12th. Thank you ❤️

I am 5 weeks into a 14 week training plan for my marathon. It was just given to me by a running coach, so not sure what type of plan it is. It’s 5 runs per week, 35-55 mpw. One long run, one speed workout run, 3 easy runs. I usually surf once or twice a week and sometimes take one rest day. I do light yoga 4 or 5 days per week too.

This is my third marathon, the first two I never followed a proper plan just kind of ran a lot up until the race and showed up (probably no more than 30 mpw). The first two I never broke 4 hours, so I’m really hoping to this time. I’m training for 3:45 with the hope of running with a 3:50 pacer on race day.

My question is, can I just blindly trust this training plan? I’m so worried about bonking again and ending up with another over 4 hr time.

This might come off as being a jerk, but whatever. The number of walkers clogging up the road was brutal. I understand that the north course was not available to the half participants. That would have alleviated some of this pressure. However the course is very narrow, and I was constantly weaving in and around these walkers lined up 4-5 wide taking up the whole right lane of the road. It's difficult to do the last 10k of a marathon and I was not too happy about it. The organizers let too many half people in while capping the full IMO.

This was my first time doing it. It's definitely more of a casual race.

I (M27) saw my physio today and we discussed about my knee pain. He then asked about my running volume and thought I run too much (50-60km/30-37 mpw for last 12 weeks following Jack Daniels style training)

Have I been progressing too quickly with the mileage since I started running on this years January?

I've done one half and one full marathon this year and havent had any issues when I peaked at 44 miles per week.

I’m in the middle of marathon training and wondering how much cross-training others are doing. Right now, I’m mainly focused on running, but I’ve heard that adding cycling, swimming, or strength training can help improve endurance and prevent injuries.

How often do you cross-train during your marathon prep?

I’m living the single life and currently running 50/55km per week. Started training seriously 5 months ago. I’m curious how much sleep others get and if you notice a big difference in recovery etc. Currently I’m between 8/9,5 hours of sleep.

So question is.

Daily average hours of sleep Weekly km’s/milage of training Probably kids or no kids has lot of impact on sleep

Did you finish it? I am not scared of the Running itself. I am scared of the french red wine because for me its hard to say no😂. How was the experience. Would you recommend it?

Happy Monday y’all. I have a marathon coming up this weekend that I’ve been really amped for, but I’m dealing with some lateral ankle pain that came up the day after a 20-miler about 2 weeks ago. I rested for about 8 days and the pain went down, before resuming on a couple runs last week. The pain came back yesterday, which just so happened to be after my last taper long run: a 10-miler. Does this sound like some sort of tendinitis? Peroneal Tendonopathy? Does anyone have experience with this? I feel it with most steps when I walk, but it’s mainly a soreness. Any tips to make the recovery quickly?

I will be traveling across the country for a marathon and was wondering if anyone has had any issues with having gels in there carry on?

I have a marathon on April 6th (just aiming to finish, can go super slow) and a half marathon on April 27th (trying to push myself on pace). I’ve run a half marathon before, but this will be my first full marathon.

How would you structure training over the next few months to balance the distance training needed to finish the marathon with the training needed to push myself the half? Specifically, I’m curious about:

1. Peak training distance and when to hit it?
2. What to do in the three weeks between the runs?

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hey all you 2025 Houston Marathoners (and all marathoners in the know)... :)

With the H-Town marathon January 19th, I wanted to check in and see what everyone is doing for their final long training runs. Mine:

17 miles - Saturday, November 23rd. (Six Weeks from race. FINISHED.)

19 miles - This Sunday, December 7th. (Six weeks from race.)

21 miles - Saturday, December 20th. (Four weeks from race.)

Taper after that.

I am worried that my December 21st date for my longest run (21 miles) is too close to the January 19th date and that I should back it up to Sunday December 14th? Or maybe the four weeks between longest training run and race day is just right? I'd love your opinions.

Also, I am taking these odd weekends off. No long runs between the 17 miler and the 19 miler, and the 19 miler and the 21 miler. I am spacing these last three long runs two weeks apart each, with no long runs in between. Thoughts there?

Thanks! See you in Houston next month!!!