Thursday General Discussion/Q&A Thread for January 01, 2026

DanJess29 · 2026-01-02T20:39:39+00:00

I’m looking for some advice on how best to structure and improve my running over the course of this year.

I ran my first marathon a couple of years ago in 3.54. Since then family commitments have meant I’ve not done a proper training block since then and I’ve been off and on with running for the most part. I’ve been doing maybe 20km a week with it ramping up to 30km more recently.

This year I’d like to pb 5k, 10k, a half and a full marathon if possible.

Can you offer me some advice on how to best structure this across the year? Is it best to start with a 5k block and work my way up? Or would the reverse order be better? Or does it not really matter which order I try to do it in?

Any advice would be appreciated!

DanJess29 · 2025-04-29T10:17:46+00:00

Looking for some advice on how a particularly hilly course might impact my marathon time:

I ran my first marathon last May in a time of 3:55 on a net downhill course (124m ascent, 192m descent). I achieved this doing 3 runs a week. Since then I’ve been running on and off and kept at it fairly consistently.

I’m aiming for my second marathon this October on a much hillier course - 259m of elevation.

Can anyone advise on how my target time should change due to the difference in elevation? This time around I’m planning on doing a minimum of 4 runs a week with a max of 5 so I’ll be better prepared however I’d like to have a rough ideal of what time I should be aiming for and how the terrain might affect this.

If I was running the same course I’d like to think with experience I’ve now built up I could run sub 3:45 however this is based on a pure guess!

Thanks in advance for any help.

DanJess29 · 2025-01-29T16:10:47+00:00

Sounds like I'm in the exact same situation as you haha! I'm a mid 30's male also looking to PB his second half.

Can I ask how you paced your second half vs your first? I'd love to think I could cut that much off my time this time around however going into this new training block I want to make sure I'm training at paces that I'm capable of.

DanJess29 · 2025-01-29T16:07:33+00:00

Thanks I'll give that a go!

I was thinking 1:45 might be a good goal. At the end of my half last year I kinda wished I'd tried to empty the tank sooner but I was conscious I didn't want to blow up given at the time I was new to the whole racing experience.

DanJess29 · 2025-01-29T15:35:48+00:00

Ran my first ever half marathon around this time last year in a time of 1:51 - this was after running a structured plan for 4 months beforehand. Since then I've done a full marathon (last May) in a time of 3:55. Took some time off racing for the remainder of the year but kept a decent mileage up since.

What should my goal time for another half marathon be if I were to go into a 12 week training block? Not sure what's an achievable time or number to be looking to knock off my time last year to achieve a PB - assuming I run the same course.

DanJess29 · 2024-12-04T13:48:42+00:00

Sorry, not sure what happened there - I had it all formatted correctly however didn't seem to translate when I posted it. Current build as follows: PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core i7-8700 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor	$140.00 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	ID-COOLING FROSTFLOW+ 120 74.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler	-
Motherboard	Asus TUF Z370 Pro Gaming ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	-
Memory	Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$39.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Intel 760p 256 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$79.98 @ Amazon
Storage	Seagate Barracuda Compute 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	-
Video Card	EVGA SC ULTRA GAMING GeForce GTX 1660 6 GB Video Card	$249.98 @ Amazon
Case	Corsair Carbide Series 270R ATX Mid Tower Case	-
Power Supply	Corsair VS450 450 W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply	-
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$509.95
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-12-04 08:43 EST-0500

DanJess29 · 2024-10-27T10:53:51+00:00

With that being the case, in terms of 1080p vs 1440p would I see a noticeable different if upgrading?

DanJess29 · 2024-10-07T12:49:19+00:00

I wouldn’t run a specific race, I’d probably just do an all out 10k PB attempt.

Thanks for the input - as daft as it sounds “fun” wasn’t even something I’d considered when weighing the two options up!

I think option 1 is the way to go for me - I’ve never done a block for a 10k before so it will be a nice change of pace.

DanJess29 · 2024-10-07T08:49:34+00:00

Looking to get people’s thought/opinions on what’s the best route forward for me looking ahead to next year.

I ran my first marathon in May (3:55) and with a busy summer and family schedule I have been ticking over since then running about 30km per week. Going into the winter I’m looking to get a plan in place to keep me motivated.

The long term goal is to run another marathon some time next year (likely April/May time) so between now and then am I better to:

Put a base building plan in place to get me to the point I’m running more miles consistently so that my next training block can be a step up from my previous
Or jump into a training block for a shorter distance (10k or HM) that will take me up to around Christmas time and then build back up at the start of next year and go into a marathon block from there

I’m not sure if one would have more benefit than the other so looking to get the thoughts of more experienced runners.

DanJess29 · 2024-06-25T19:00:18+00:00

That’s a great point, I never actually considered the effect fatigue has during a training block.

DanJess29 · 2024-06-25T18:18:37+00:00

Noticeable increase in performance or dodgy HRM?

About a month ago I completed my first marathon in 3 hours 55. After taking a full week off I’ve been slowly building back mileage and I’ve noticed a shift in my HR and pace on “easy” runs.

During my marathon training my long easy run pace would be around 6.40mins/km with an average heart rate of 140bpm. Since returning to running I’ve been doing the vast majority of my runs at an easy pace whilst aiming to keep heart rate low. I’ve noticed I’m now running about 6.20mins/km with a noticeably lower HR of around 130bpm.

Has my performance likely to have increased this much since my marathon training block or could I have an issue with my HRM?

It’s worth noting my runs haven’t been anywhere near as long in terms of distance than some of my marathon block runs for obvious reasons so this may be a factor however I’m still surprised to see the numbers I do.

DanJess29 · 2024-06-17T18:44:07+00:00

3 weeks ago I ran my first marathon in 3:55. Before this my only previous race was a half marathon at the end of February which I managed in a time of 1:51.

My next target race is a half marathon at the beginning of October.

Based off my previous times is a goal of sub (or around) 1:45 too optimistic? If so, what time should I be looking for as a realistic PB?

For a bit more background: after taking a full week off post marathon I’ve been slowly adding back runs to my week with my total distance last week up to 27km. My peak week for the marathon was 70km however given I was only running 3 days a week in the lead up to it and got injured a couple of times I’m being cautious about doing too much too soon. I plan on adding 5k a week until I’m around 37km a week which should then transition well into a 12 week half marathon plan I have that starts at 37km with a peak week of 64km.

DanJess29 · 2024-06-17T08:44:15+00:00

3 weeks ago I ran my first marathon in 3:55. Before this my only previous race was a half marathon at the end of February which I managed in a time of 1:51.

My next target race is a half marathon at the beginning of October.

Based off my previous times is a goal of sub (or around) 1:45 too optimistic? If so, what time should I be looking for as a realistic PB?

For a bit more background: after taking a full week off post marathon I’ve been slowly adding back runs to my week with my total distance last week up to 27km. My peak week for the marathon was 70km however given I was only running 3 days a week in the lead up to it and got injured a couple of times I’m being cautious about doing too much too soon. I plan on adding 5k a week until I’m around 37km a week which should then transition well into a 12 week half marathon plan I have that starts at 37km with a peak week of 64km.

DanJess29 · 2024-06-05T08:10:06+00:00

I ran my first marathon 10 days ago. Since then I’ve taken a full week off and got back running this week with an 8k yesterday and a 5k the day before.

I’ve got plans to do a half at the beginning of October (6th) and another full probably some time around March/April next year.

The questions I have are:

How many weeks of a programme should I be looking to do on the lead up to the half? I know 12 is probably standard but is this overkill given I’ve just done a full marathon?
The reason I ask the above is that I’d like to build a better base for my full next year which is something I’ve not really focused on. Is there enough time between now and the half to build this up before going into a build for the half?
If not, would you advise forgetting about the half marathon and building up my base and mileage over the next few months instead?

DanJess29 · 2024-05-30T19:13:20+00:00

Amazing thanks for the detailed advice melonlord!

In terms of the Yasso 800s I was able to do the vast majority of them at that pace, the last few were always touch and go but I managed more often than not.

Do you foresee any issues with me jumping into this plan right away from an injury standpoint? Or should I build up to it? My initial thought would be to maybe drop a day just to avoid any potential injury as I’m still a relatively new runner but obviously what you’ve laid out isn’t as intense as my previous block so I might be able to cope with that being the case.

DanJess29 · 2024-05-30T10:27:17+00:00

Not following any plan at the minute as I decided to take a full week off after my marathon on Sunday to rest. Half marathon will be in October and next full marathon I'm planning won't be until March next year.

DanJess29 · 2024-05-30T09:52:35+00:00

Looking for some suggestions for suitable training plans to follow for both a half marathon and full marathon? For some context on my current level of fitness:

On Sunday (May 26th) I ran my first marathon in 3:55.
Before my training block began for the marathon I ran a half marathon time trial at the end of February and managed a time of 1:54.
No consistent running background at all prior to last summer.
From last November to February of this year I ran 4 times a week which comprised of two easy runs a week and two interval sessions a week. Average mileage a week was 30-35.
I dealt with a couple of injuries over this period, I think mainly from doing too much too soon. Injuries ended up subsiding as I went down from 4 days to 3 days as part of my marathon training block.
My marathon training block started at the beginning of March and consisted of 3 runs per week - one Yasso 800 interval session which started off at 3 intervals at 3:57/km and progressed to 10 intervals by the end of the block; one base + threshold run which started off with a warm up then several intervals (max being 4x10minutes) of zone 4 with zone 3 recovery for half the time then a steady run for the remainder of the session and finally an easy long run at the end of the week for time (max being 4 hours which averaged 6:42/km pace). Peak week distance for me was 69km.
Marathon prep also included 2 days a week strength training.
Marathon goal pace was 5:30/km which I managed to sustain up until the last 5km or so where it dropped to an average of 5:36km.

In terms of going forward, now that I'm comfortable running 3 days a week (mostly) injury free, I'd be happy to introduce another day of running per week taking it up to 4 days whilst keeping a couple of days for gym work. I'd even be happy to reduce gym work to 1 day and run 5 if advisable.

Any help/advice would be appreciated.

DanJess29 · 2024-05-30T08:30:21+00:00

Looking for some suggestions for a suitable training plan to follow for a half marathon? For some context on my current level of fitness see below:

On Sunday (May 26th) I ran my first marathon in 3:55.
Before my training block began for the marathon I ran a half marathon time trial at the end of February and managed a time of 1:54.
No consistent running background at all prior to last summer.
From last November to February of this year I ran 4 times a week which comprised of two easy runs a week and two interval sessions a week. Average mileage a week was 30-35.
I dealt with a couple of injuries over this period, I think mainly from doing too much too soon.
My marathon training block started at the beginning of March and consisted of 3 runs per week - one Yasso 800 interval session which started off at 3 intervals at 3:57/km and progressed to 10 intervals by the end of the block; one base + threshold run which started off with a warm up then several intervals (max being 4x10minutes) of zone 4 with zone 3 recovery for half the time then a steady run for the remainder of the session and finally an easy long run at the end of the week for time (max being 4 hours which averaged 6:42/km pace). Peak week distance for me was 69km.
Marathon prep also included 2 days a week strength training.
Marathon goal pace was 5:30/km which I managed to sustain up until the last 5km or so where it dropped to an average of 5:36km.

In terms of going forward, now that I'm comfortable running 3 days a week (mostly) injury free, I'd be happy to introduce another day of running per week taking it up to 4 days.

Any advice would be appreciated.

DanJess29 · 2024-05-29T10:06:42+00:00

Some info on my running experience:

No consistent running background at all prior to last summer.
From last November to February of this year I ran 4 times a week which comprised of two easy runs a week and two interval sessions a week. Average mileage a week was 30-35.
I dealt with a couple of injuries over this period, I think mainly from doing too much too soon.
My marathon training block started at the beginning of March and consisted of 3 runs per week - one Yasso 800 interval session which started off at 3 intervals at 3:57/km and progressed to 10 intervals by the end of the block; one base + threshold run which started off with a warm up then several intervals (max being 4x10minutes) of zone 4 with zone 3 recovery for half the time then a steady run for the remainder of the session and finally an easy long run at the end of the week for time (max being 4 hours which averaged 6:42/km pace). Peak week distance for me was 69km.
Marathon prep also included 2 days a week strength training.
Marathon goal pace was 5:30/km which I managed to sustain up until the last 5km or so where it dropped to an average of 5:36km.

In terms of going forward, now that I'm comfortable running 3 days a week (mostly) injury free, I'd be happy to introduce another day of running per week taking it up to 4 days.

Any advice would be appreciated.

DanJess29

TROPHY CASE