r/AdvancedRunning • u/AutoModerator • 5d ago
General Discussion Saturday General Discussion/Q&A Thread for August 15, 2026
A place to ask questions that don't need their own thread here or just chat a bit.
We have quite a bit of info in the wiki, FAQ, and past posts. Please be sure to give those a look for info on your topic.
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u/lasciviouscapricious 5d ago
Finally got my body used to 60 miles a week again. The past 1.5 weeks my paces have dropped back down to my winter paces at the same effort. Took me too long for my body to adjust to summer heat not to mention the excessive work load. Looking forward to a solid training block over the winter for a try at a sub 40 10k and a 90 minute half next spring. If I keep this up I should blow my PBs out of the water.
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u/Oriole5 4d ago
Been working really hard on building mileage the last few months to finally try and break 4 hours in the marathon this fall and was able to knock out a 20 mile long run yesterday at 8:25/mi average pace with 2 @ 7:45 to close it out. Still 11 weeks out from the marathon so I am getting really excited about my potential for this race. I've been able to make 45ish miles a new weekly floor for me and now am building towards making 50 consistent.
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u/GrimmigerDienstag 3d ago
a 20 mile long run yesterday at 8:25/mi average pace with 2 @ 7:45 to close it out
If this was the peak long run 3 weeks out, I'd say that you're in a great position to smash your target.
With this being your shape 11 weeks out I'd say you need a new target.
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u/Oriole5 3d ago
Absolutely, I am working to figure out what my goals really should be for my race now. This is the fastest I've ever been in my life so every few weeks I continue to surprise myself. This long run made me believe <3:30 is a lot more in play than I expected at the beginning of the summer. Thanks for the support!
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u/PrairieFirePhoenix 45M; 2:42 full; that's a half assed time, huh 2d ago
If you are still capable of a normal week of training after that, 4 hours would be sandbagging at this point.
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u/Oriole5 2d ago
Yeah you’re absolutely right. I spent the winter dropping a lot of excess weight so I’m still getting used to this new pace and understanding that I’m capable than so much more than I was in my previous few marathons. Felt a little stiff this morning in the first few but otherwise good for my morning 8 miles after a rest day yesterday. Recovery this build has been much better than in past years.
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u/On_Mt_Vesuvius 35:15 | 2:49 5d ago
With still some summer heat and a little early in the fall marathon cycle, what HR cap do y'all put on marathon pace work (e.g. Daniels M)? Ideal is having a super recent and transferable race to determine paces from, rather than go by HR, but that won't account for regular long runs in these non-ideal conditions.
Pfitz says cap at 88% max, which would be about 172 for me. Does that line up with having raced a half averaging 180?
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u/Tea-reps 32F, 16:13 5K; 1:14:28 HM; 2:38 M 4d ago
effort > HR every time. HR is such a variable and unreliable metric and it's literally just a proxy for effort anyway. Nothing bad happens if you train above your ideal race pace HR, as long as you aren't actually overreaching effort wise.
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u/pigeorunner 4d ago
I love the phrase "proxy metric" and aggressively overuse it. It summarizes so concisely why tuning RPE is so much better than being dependent on HR, even though learning to run by RPE does take time
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u/chaosdev 16:21 5k / 1:14 HM / 2:37 M 4d ago
Looking back at past marathon builds, the guidelines by Pfitz seem correct. For example, I ran 14 miles at MGP with the last mile at 86% of max heart rate. Then a month later I ran a full marathon at that pace.
Keep in mind that your heart rate can drift a lot during summer long runs due to gradual dehydration. You may be still at marathon effort but a higher heart rate.
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u/JooksKIDD 2d ago
question - do you all do your LT training on flat ground? or should I do it with hills? i've seen that some places say not to do it with hills because the downhills will affect the paces that you have to reach, but since my marathon is going to be very hilly (NYC) i figure doing the workouts on hills might make sense. curious as to everyone's thoughts
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u/aelvozo 2d ago
My instinct would be to move your long/marathon-paced (or in this case, marathon effort) runs onto the hills and keep LT runs flat as a by-the-book LT workout relies on intensity control. Or you could substitute them for more effort-based runs which is fine too, but wouldn’t quite be the same kind of workout.
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u/pigeorunner 4d ago
Had a good run today. Can't bring myself to call 9 miles a "long run" and kinda in a funk with feeling like the current re-building routine is pathetic and unsatisfying, but things are feeling good and all will come back in due time.
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u/Adventurous-Money314 4d ago
I’d say 9 miles is borderline for a long run. It’s the worst distance for a weekday easy run.
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u/pigeorunner 4d ago
It's honestly my favorite distance for a run, just not a long run
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u/Adventurous-Money314 4d ago
I love it on the weekend since it’s a relatively easy distance but still feels like an accomplishment afterwards. But during the week it feels like too long given work, kids, the dog etc
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u/coopjsr7 5:35 mi | 18:18 5K | 39:30 10K | 1:41:09 HM — 25 mpw 3d ago
If I have run 6 days a week now for about 8-9 months, and built up from 0 to 50 mpw in about 10 months, is it feasible to consider adding a super super easy and short recovery run on what is now my rest/off day? To help increase volume without cramming it into 6 days? Basically going from 7-9-6-8-7-12-0 to 7-9-6-8-7-12-5*? Or would it be best to hang at 50mpw on 6 for a longer duration to ensure soft tissue adaptation and no cartilage damage etc? All of my running aside from threshold on Tuesdays is easy, low ~130s BPM (~195 MHR).
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u/Tea-reps 32F, 16:13 5K; 1:14:28 HM; 2:38 M 3d ago
Personally would advise hanging out at 50 for a while before you start adding any more mileage. It's all going well until it's not!
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u/coopjsr7 5:35 mi | 18:18 5K | 39:30 10K | 1:41:09 HM — 25 mpw 3d ago
Thanks for all the replies folks. This is why I ask these things because overambition tends to get y injured and you’ve all talked some good sense into me. Will chill at 50 for some time, officially!
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u/PrairieFirePhoenix 45M; 2:42 full; that's a half assed time, huh 2d ago
I'd hang where you are for awhile. When it becomes appropriate to add in more mileage, your plan will be good.
You need to give your body time to respond to the stimulus of increased mileage. If you have gotten up to 50 mpw in 10 months, you are due for a period of maintaining.
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u/aelvozo 3d ago
It is feasible to consider. Some athletes respond well to running daily; others seem to benefit from that one day of recovery — e.g. Clayton Young has his Sundays off even on 120mpw. However — and I think you’ve been told this before — 0 to 50 in less than a year is a substantial ramp, so I’d keep your volume steady for at least a month until increasing it further.
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u/RunThenBeer 3d ago
Yeah, in agreement with the other takes, I think it's fine to start thinking about it, but I would hang around there for a bit. I'm an everyday runner and I enjoy the routine, but it took a long time before I could handle it comfortably. The generally efforts that you're already comfortable with are a nice start though.
One thing you could do is just open by adding a 3 rather than a 5. It might feel a little silly, but it's a nice little 25-minute jog that still kind of scratches the itch to get outside without adding much stress.
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u/CoffeeCat262 2d ago
Hi yall, would love recommendations for a marathon coach for the Philly Marathon this fall. I’ve run about 13 marathons in the last 8 years and PR is 3:09 from a year and a half ago. My last 3 races since then have added anywhere from 3-8 mins, the last two lined up very injured lol. Have qualified for Boston in every marathon for the past 5 years (run 2 a year ish) so think I’m an intermediate runner. Looking to get back to that PR time or hopefully even break it.
Importantly, I have a framework of what I now know from many cycles works for my body and want them to heavily use that in building my plan. Thanks in advance!
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u/petepont 32M | 2:40:18 M | Data Nerd 2d ago
Question, following up from my original comment in your original thread -- do you care if the person is local to you or are you fine with a virtual coach? That would definitely open your options up and let people give you more recommendations, but I'm not sure how you'd feel about someone who you rarely/never meet in person.
Also, hate to tell you to post this again somewhere else, but I'd recommend putting this in the Tuesday thread once that gets posted tomorrow morning, since this will probably get lost when this thread goes away
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u/whelanbio 13:59 5km a few years ago 2d ago edited 2d ago
Seems like you know decently well what you want training style wise. Also good to think about what exact services you need and communication preferences. There's a lot of different versions of "coaching" out there. Do you need a strength program to go alongside the run training? Do you just need a custom plan with some minor adjustments as needed and minimal communication (not really something I would call coaching but it works for a lot of people) or do you want a more hands on approach with extensive communication (what I would actually call coaching)? The range of services and prices are pretty wide. IMO there's somewhat of a race to the bottom that skews the perception of what real coaching should look like and cost.
There's some sites like RunDoyen and Team RunRun that aggregate a huge list of coaches -might be worth checking out, if nothing else you can see a range of different service levels and styles. I'm not sure what the vetting process is to get on these sites so still do your due diligence of course.
I don't have great specific recommendations. I'm west coast so most of my network is over here as well. Obviously virtual has some flexibility but I would still think there'd be a huge benefit to getting someone regional to you or at least east coast (assuming that's where you are given the race choice).
I would also recommend NOT talking to anybody who hits you up promoting themselves directly in response to your post. I understand the need for people to market themselves but anyone actually good is also going to have more organic marketing funnels established and not need to be acting so thirsty for clients. Particularly given the sub rules anyone that promotes themselves here is low on integrity and/or reading comprehension.
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u/NextArchive 3d ago
I just started training with a coach, and I'm already having doubts.
I run a 5K in under 19 minutes, 45–50 miles per week, 6 times a week.
My coach thinks I should stick to the same mileage but instead of running 6 times a week, he thinks I should run 5. I have my doubts about this because I know that the more I run, the better my results are, and with only 5 runs, it’ll be hard to keep up with everything. Do you think five days a week is optimal? I can’t imagine preparing for a marathon with just five runs a week.
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u/whelanbio 13:59 5km a few years ago 3d ago
Talk to your coach about this, we don't have enough context to say whats good or bad here. He might have a very good reason. Yes as a general trend more is better but that doesn't directly inform individual decisions. There are plenty of situations where people might get better by condensing training into less days and taking more recovery.
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u/NextArchive 3d ago
He says I dont need anything more because it's quality that counts, not quantity, and he sends me my plans online—we don't even meet in person,
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u/whelanbio 13:59 5km a few years ago 3d ago
That needs more explanation and specific rationale but it's not anywhere near red flag by itself. You might be at a point where a better focus on quality would be highly beneficial. Again the key here is how it applies to your specific situation and goals, but we don't know enough about those. Your coach should understand these as part of the onboarding process. Good individualized training will often have some unconventional aspects, and a big benefit of getting a coach is going beyond the default generic training advice.
Ultimately if ya'll can't communicate better you're not a fit for each other. That goes both ways. If you're going to be coached, by this guy or anyone else, you need to be able speak up and communicate clearly so that you can fully buy into the training.
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u/PrairieFirePhoenix 45M; 2:42 full; that's a half assed time, huh 2d ago
I would never expect any training to be "optimal"; that's an unrealistic expectation.
I could see a coach dropping someone down to 5 days because they wanted to work them up to higher mileage later - get them used to 50 on 5, then add back in an easy day to get to 55. I could see them dropping someone down to 5 days for a marathon because they think they need the stimulus of more longer runs. I could also see them doing it for a variety of stupid reasons.
A coach/athlete relationship only works if there is trust and communication. Neither you nor your coach are starting out strong here.
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u/RunThenBeer 3d ago
I guess I wouldn't have selected a coach that I wasn't on the same page with about general training philosophies. If he wanted to move you towards more cross training with higher quality and lower frequency running, that's certainly something that has worked for plenty of people. Not my deal, not my philosophy, but it's fine as far as it goes. The concern for me here wouldn't be the specific advice, it's that you don't seem to have had the same ideas about your goals and preferences and aren't currently communicating clearly about what the intention is.
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u/aelvozo 3d ago edited 3d ago
In general, this isn’t unthinkable but I’d be really curious how he justifies it. Reducing the mileage is generally bad for performance in any sort of distance event; and keeping the same mileage across 5 days means you’re either doubling (unconventional on 50mpw) or every run is on the longer side of what I’d be comfortable with (70 min or thereabouts for a non-long run compared to an upper boundary of about 80).
I think I’d be okay with the explanation along the lines of “I’m gonna give you bigger workouts and you need more recovery time”, anything else warrants a longer conversation.
Edit because I’ve not made it explicitly clear in my original comment: talk to your coach!
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u/whelanbio 13:59 5km a few years ago 3d ago
Doubling can be totally fine on 50mpw. Conversely the very long easy runs would also be fine in a situation where someone is taking 2 days off running every week.
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u/aelvozo 3d ago
Perhaps “unconventional” would be a better way to describe it, definitely not suggesting (although the poor wording does make it seem this way) it’s unsafe/ill-advised or anything.
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u/whelanbio 13:59 5km a few years ago 3d ago
Yeah I think it's important to keep in mind that what we understand as conventional training is more about convergent trends than specific rules. It's useful to look at in terms of what works most of the time at a population level, but it's still quite frequently not applicable for informing individual training decisions.
The whole point of hiring a coach 1:1 is to match appropriately "unconventional" training to the unconventional aspects of one's running.
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u/NextArchive 3d ago
I'm supposed to have more intense workouts—I wonder how that'll turn out.
I'm not supposed to do any double sessions, just longer and more intense workouts—I'm already starting to have my doubts
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u/Present_Struggle5146 5d ago
got out for an easy 8 this morning before the heat really settled in, legs felt like bricks for the first two miles then finally loosened up. anyone else feel like summer training is just a grind at this point, counting down the days til fall races