PythonJuggler

So this'll probably land me on r/runningcirclejerk, but whatever.

I've seen this multiple times, where someone comes and says "hey, I want to run a marathon in X weeks, how do I do this?", where X is usually < 6.

I'm an experienced runner (not super fast, but I do have a 1:27 HM and 3:16 full so not a newbie) so I know how fucking stupid this is, but I don't really know how to speak in their language to convince them how dumb they're being. Usually it's the same David Goggins bullshit coming out...

Anyone have experience convincing folks that they're being stupid? Do you just gotta let them get injured and learn for themselves? How do you

Question: When you were relatively new to running, how much growth did you see between training cycles for major races with decreased mileage (say 20-30 mpw less)? Obviously the answer depends on the individual but I'm curious even for anecdotal evidence.

Context: I'm a relatively slow runner (for my mileage) training for Berlin (9/25), peaking at 85 mpw and aiming for a sub 3 marathon. If I don't hit it this cycle, I'm feeling pretty confident I'll hit it next cycle based on how much I've improved this year (1:40 HM in Nov, 1:35 HM in Jan, 3:18 first marathon in March, 1:30 HM in June, 38 min 6 miler in July, 17:50 5k last week).

After the marathon, I'm planning on decreasing my w

Yesterday, during my first marathon my heart rate dropped from an average 180 bpm at mile 19 to an average 160 bpm at mile 23 (went 180->177->168->164->160). For reference, my heart rate was 165+ from miles 5-18. I didn't noticeably slow down thankfully, but I was getting very afraid of bonking. There was no major downhills during that period, so it's not like the course got "easier" either

Is a drop in heart rate an indication that my heart is "done" with the effort and can't keep up? Does this mean I need to build my heart endurance more? Or does it mean I suddenly hit a "zone" and powered up? (sure didn't feel like it)

I've had previous days where I could not get my heart ra

Say in a hypothetical situation, your half marathon PR is ~7 min / mile. Say that after going for a PR, you'd be out for a week, or at least a bit worn down.

If you ran a 9 min pace half marathon, you might be a bit tired afterwards, but it would be practically the same as a weekly long run and you'd be fine the day after.

However, if you went at say a 7:20 min / mile pace, would you need a week to recover? 4 days? What if you went at a 7:10 pace?

How close can you get to a race pace for longer races before you need to spend more than a day recovering?

Curious about both research on the topic as well as everyone's personal experience.

**Edit: Lot of good points in the replies about thi

I'm going to be travelling for a marathon for the first time to a new country. Normally I like walking around and exploring the area, but obviously after a marathon, that walking might be hard.

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Curious to hear, what are your favorite activities to do after a long race (half, marathon, ultra, etc), when you're in a new city / country / place? How do you enjoy the new scenery while potentially limping around?

Title mostly.

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I'm looking at signing up for some upcoming races in the next few months, and stuck deciding between a 10k, half, and 30k.

For me, a 10k is a good distance where I can go fast and not worry about blowing up. I also think I can shave at least 1-2 min off my current PR.

The half is a distance I wanna get better at. My PR there is quite a bit worse than what I think I can do ( half PB: 1:41:14, but my 11 mile time on a track is a 1:18:55)

The 30k is a longer distance than I've ever run. I'm aiming for a marathon at some point next year and this seems like a good step up.

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TL;DR:

My race terrain is going to be pretty different from a track. Where should I do my speed work to prep, track or trails?

Background:

I'm targeting a semi-hilly, very sandy half marathon next month ( https://vacationraces.com/half-marathons/joshua-tree/ ).

Hoping for a 1:45 finish time, which comes out to ~8 min / mile.

I've been following a Garmin half marathon plan (Coach Amy) and my workouts look something like:

1 mile warm up, 7 x (3 min fast, 3 min rest), 1 mile cooldown.

Out of some laziness, I'd been doing the speed workouts on the track. I can probably go ~1 min / mile faster on a track than a trail f

https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/1324481425865908225