Note: NOT SEEKING MEDICAL ADVICE. Already went to doc and waiting on an MRI.

I ran through an overuse injury because I'm an idiot and I thought I had a stress fracture. Doc says it's tendonitis which I found super surprising, but I do have an MRI on the books to double-check.

Anyone ever CONVINCED you have one thing and it turns out to be another?

I’m running the NYC Marathon as my first marathon and I’m so excited! The question of what pace I can expect to run has come up and I need some help.

First of all, I know that having fun and just finishing is the most important. But —

The TLDR is I thought I was on track to go out at a pace that would get me a 4:40-4:45 finish, but I’ve been running my long runs slower than that (on purpose) and I haven’t been doing “marathon pace” speedwork. I thought that was normal for a first time training plan and would still be expected to run the race at a bit of a faster pace than the long runs but now I’m hearing mixed things and I’m confused.

For some more information, I’m 31F and I’ve been running for a little over 2 years. My most recent half was back in March and I finished in 2:09. Since that half I did a Hal Higdon Intermediate Base building plan that had me running 25-28mpw with speedwork, took a small cutback this summer with some minor tendon issues (worked with a PT) and then I started my marathon training plan.

I’ve been using the Every Women’s Marathon Beginner plan that has average weekly mileage of around 30, and I peaked at 44mpw. It has 5 runs a week and I’ve been following the plan pretty much perfectly. I’ve also been doing strength training twice a week (prescribed by my PT) and a pilates class.

My running plan calls for easy paced runs pretty exclusively, with some weekly strides, but no dedicated speed sessions. I participated in a 10 mile race 5 weeks ago that I ended up running a little faster than MP, and I have added in some faster miles at the end of most of my long runs, but didn’t do any dedicated “marathon pace work”. I’ve been running the long runs at a truly easy, conversational pace, which has put me at 11:30min/miles. At the end of my 20 miler which was in less than ideal conditions (heavy rain through most of it and I had a minor cold) I felt really good, like I could even run the 26.2 that day no problem. I recovered really well, no soreness, and I could’ve run the next day easily.

I really wanted to try to race this at 10:45-11min mile pace and thought that seemed realistic given all of my stats, but I’ve recently gotten feedback on some first time marathon forums that I shouldn’t expect to run any faster than my conversational pace because that’s all I’ve been training. Now I feel kind of disappointed that I didn’t go harder during training.

I understand that I haven’t run 26 miles ever and that feeling so confident after that 20 mile run doesn’t actually guarantee anything, but I thought it would still make sense to run the race at least a little faster than my training runs.

I’ll add as well that due to some personal things coming up I won’t be able to train for another marathon at least until 2028 so I’m really trying to make the most of this effort.

have to be in Raleigh Durham next week, any locals (or folks familiar) have places they would recommend running? Need to get a couple of 4-6 mile efforts in while I'm there. Any areas to avoid from a running alone safety perspective?

Whoops. I fell over 1.5k into a run last night and split my knee open to the extent I had to go and get stitched up! For a straightforward ground fall it was quite spectacular. Shoutout to the NHS for patching me up for free.

Obviously I'm not running while the stitches are in (for two weeks) because I can't bend my knee much... Which is such a bummer, I ran my first 10k a few weeks ago and was feeling so speedy and really enjoying my running 🥲

I was just wondering if anyone else has had stitches in their knee specifically and what the recovery timeline is like once the stitches are out? Or anything I could do to keep up fitness or mobility in the meantime? It feels like recovery might be a bit awkward because of the lack of mobility. I want to try and keep moving, within reason. As far as I can tell all my ligaments etc are fine.

General commiserations also welcome 😅 I'm torn between thinking I'm being overdramatic and the fact that the nurses were quite impressed, haha.

It's not so much a bragging post as a reflection and achievement post I guess. I'm 30, I have never been a runner or an active person at all. The most I've ever run in my life was the forced 2km runs in school that I dreaded so much I would try to fake illness to skip it. I grew up in a very athletic small town as one of the only non-athletic people. I used to dread PE class. I was always picked last, I was always one of the worst in class at everything and I have because of it developed a fear of exercise I think and pushing myself, knowing I wasn't any good? As a result I have always been quite sedentary. I've always liked going on walks but other than that I went to the gym for a few months, and did yoga on and off but nothing ever stuck. And running was always the ultimate enemy, I have always despised it! 6 weeks ago I got a Garmin and started a Coach plan to 5km at the end of November thinking "we'll see what happens" very skeptically. My first run was 1.1km in 9 minutes with only 3 minutes running and I felt awful, it was so difficult! Now 6 weeks in I've actually done a 5km and I ran 30 out of those 45 minutes pain free and broke every single record in the process by quite a lot! I'm not the fastest, I don't run the furthest, but I am capable!! Just wanted to share with you guys and if anyone else is new, you are capable too!!

Hi there. I’m in training for a spring marathon and have started fueling using gels and electrolytes. Since I take 50mg of Spiro daily, my doctor recommended I proceed carefully with what I choose and preferably use a low potassium option for fueling. Any recs or tips on what works? Sad because I really loved my honey stinger gels and FastChews.

I am currently training for a half marathon in December. Saturday will be the longest run I have done since I started running in January (8.5 miles). It should take me about 1 hour 20/25 minutes and I’d like to start practicing fueling. I have some gels and some gummies as well as candy. But I don’t know where to start. I know I probably don’t need to on this run but I’m ramping up miles after this week and want to ease my way into it. I was thinking maybe one gel halfway through Saturdays run just to see what it’s like? All advice and recommendations are welcome! Thanks in advance.

I’ve got my very first half marathon coming up soon. I’m a beginner. I have trained for about 3 months using Hal Higdon’s Novice 1 Half Marathon program. I managed to run my last long 16.1k at 7:11/km.

Life got busy and I just found out I’ll probably be getting my period that weekend, so I’ll either be Day 1 or Day 2 on my period on the day of the race. I usually experience very painful cramps and heavy bleeding. My last long run with my period was not fun and I stopped my run 1km early.

Now I’m just super nervous about this affecting my ability to finish, which is really my only goal. I’ve started having some nightmares about my legs giving out, or having an “accident” on my run.

I’d love for some advice on how to calm anxiety, and to prepare nutrition wise for my period and run. Thank you!!

Do you have a preference? Any anecdotal evidence from those who have tried both?

I’m using featherstone nutrition and trying to decide which is best.

I know 3 days may be preferred if you have a hard time eating that much in 2 days but if 2 somehow “works better” I want to do that. It’s a lot of food but I’m short so my carb allocation isn’t enormous.

thanks for any info!

Hello everyone. I'm ending my last week of training before heading into a 2-week taper for my second half marathon.

I ran my first HM this May with a time of 1:59:13 (5:39/km pace) with basically only 1 week of 30km and the week before of 33km since I had school before and it was quite hard to find time for training. This HM was very difficult for me, and my average HR was 180bpm.

This summer, I had way more time to invest into training, and am expecting a big jump between my past HM time and my next HM time since I'm at the beginning of my more-invested running journey, and I'm expecting progress to be quicker.

I've attached 2 recent workouts
- Tempo run of 40 minutes at 4:57/km pace and HR 177bpm
- Long Run of 24.22 km at 5:33/km moving pace/ 6:12/km elapsed pace at 164bpm

that I think more accurately reflect my current level of fitness, and I wanted to ask for the community's advice on how I should set my pace goal for the next HM.

For a bit more background, I did an 18 week plan, but had 4 weeks total where my mileage was only ~20-25km/week due to being sick/vacation/injury. My last 4 weeks were 47k/48k/47k/53k, this week planning to run probably ~50k.

I definitely think sub 1:50 is within reach, but my question is whether I should be running with the 1:45 pacer (as that is kind of my dream goal), or is that going to be a rough time.

Thank you!

Hiya! Curious how all of you who have been running for longer than myself set your goals?

I just ran my first marathon (Chicago) on Sunday and while I’m enjoying no longer being in an intense marathon training block, I’m itching for another goal! I’ve only been really “running” regularly for about 2 years.

What are some goals you’ve set recently? I’m thinking of maybe signing up for the Chicago half marathon in June or maybe trying to get my 5k time down (sitting around 36 minutes). My marathon was not my best day and I’d love to give it another go, but will wait a few years to do that again.

Thanks!!!

My husband (37M) and I (37F) are both quite serious runners. We are on the fence about kids, but are now leaning towards having one. There are many things I'm afraid of, and I know that it will all be a big adjustment, but I really worry about how it will impact my relationship with running. I know that running will always be there for me when I'm ready again, but we both love it so much, and it's a huge part of our life. Are there any other moms out there who also have a partner who trains really hard. If so, how do you make it work? My husband is a very good partner, and I know that he'd sacrifice his own training so that I would still be able to get out there and train, but I also don't want him to have to do that. I know we will both have to make sacrifices, and train less than we do now, at least for the first few years, and that's okay. I just am looking for reassurance that we will be able to make it work somehow. We have so many races we want to run still!

I’m currently 26 weeks. My pregnancy is high risk so I was told not to run. Before my pregnancy I was up to 8 miles and training for a half marathon. I literally daydream about running again. Those of you who ran after pregnancy how did you get back into it? I’m honestly afraid about how it will go, so hearing success stories would be helpful!

I’ve been struggling to get back into regularly running between having a young toddler and working full time. I’m looking for a book with themes on running and motherhood (ideally a memoir but open to anything) to help motivate and inspire me. Thanks!

I’ve been training for a half marathon in late November. I’ve ran one before and honestly didn’t train much for it (max I had run before the race was 7 or 8 miles) and it went really well! I had a great time, was careful to listen to my body, recover, all that good stuff.

Fast forward to now, I feel so spent hahaha. I have 2 kids now and am a sahm. My youngest still doesn’t sleep through the night and has been teething which has been making sleep worse for me. My husband gives me as much time as he can to get my workouts in but he has a demanding job and side hustle that makes a good amount so he really needs time for that too. So the options are typically get my “shorter” runs in during the couple hours of nap time midway through the day, stroller run, and/or run Saturday morning when my husband can guaranteed take the kids for several hours.

I basically am feeling extremely unmotivated and have been considering pulling out of the race with one month to go. Deep down I know that I would be disappointed if I did back out but I need some hype hahaha

I’m in my second week of following a Nike 5K running plan, and something has happened on two runs in a row that I honestly wasn’t expecting to bother me this much.

Yesterday, a car slowed down next to me and the driver honked at me three times. Today, another car slowed down as it passed me, and I noticed two guys around my age (I’m 23) pointing at me and looking at me while talking to each other.

Now I’m wondering if my shorts might be part of the reason, because they sometimes ride up when I run. I wear cotton shorts because I’m not a fan of the typical tight, spandex-style running shorts, and now I’m second-guessing that choice a little.
I knew that unwanted attention like this could happen, but I guess I expected it to be a relatively rare occurrence, not something happening on two consecutive runs. I genuinely didn’t think it would bother me this much, but after it happened again today, I’m feeling pretty annoyed.

For those of you who run regularly, especially other women around my age, how often does this kind of thing happen to you? Is this unfortunately more common than I thought, or have I just had some bad luck these past two days?
I don’t want to let it put me off running, but it’s frustrating to feel self-conscious doing something as basic as going for a run.

Hi running friends!

I’d love some advice on working towards a sub-3 marathon. I know it’s a big jump from 3:13, so I’m trying to figure out a realistic timeline and what I should focus on.

I started running just over three years ago.

My marathon history:

- november 2024: First marathon in 3:43, peaking at around 30 miles / 50 km per week.

- Took around six months off due to a chronic UTI.

- London 2026: 3:35, on similar mileage.

- Lisbon 2026: Just ran 3:13, around five months later, peaking at 55 miles / 90 km per week.

I’ve been following Runna fairly consistently, but I don’t currently do strength training or train using heart rate. Haven't hit sub 20 5k but also never raced it, ran 20.50 pb in a HM.

Next year I have Paris, London and Chicago booked. I’d love some thoughts on:

- Is sub-3 at Chicago a realistic stretch goal, or would a longer timeline make more sense?

- How would you approach Paris and London, given how close together they are?

- What would you prioritise to make the next step: more consistent mileage, strength training, or something else?

- Has anyone made a similar jump using Runna, or found that getting a coach made a big difference?

I’d especially love to hear from people who’ve gone from around 3:15 to sub-3: how long did it take, and what helped most?

Thanks!

That’s me (left) and my gf at the Boston 10k for women on Saturday. I’ve wanted to break an hour in the 10k for over a year and this was my third attempt. First was 1:07, second was 1:04, and this one in a glorious 59:51! 9 seconds! It was the rainbow tutu magic, I’m sure of it. I’m so happy and proud of myself. Thanks for celebrating with me :)

i’m 21 f and got into running in march. until this point i hadn’t done cardio exercise since school and that was only what i had to do, i’d never been sporty. so starting in march i could barely run for a minute at a time and did a couch to 5k programme. i’ve been consistent since and have been running around 3 times a week for most of the last few months. I can now run a slow but continuous 10k. i feel like i’ve worked so hard to make this progress and i’m worried if i take a break i’ll lose it all. how long a break would i have to take to end up fully back at square one?

Hi all! I’m running my first 10k in like 8 years 🫠 I’d like to build up to a marathon again but ya know.. it takes time. Anyway! I finished my training plan a little early and ran 6 miles this past Sunday. But the race I signed up for isn’t for another few weeks.

I have 3 Sundays before my race, so I’m not sure if I should keep increasing my long run distance, run more 6-milers, or taper it a bit?

I’m not trying to PR or anything, just feel good, have fun and finish 😊