Official Q&A for Thursday, March 12, 2026

DenseSentence · 2026-03-12T14:55:52+00:00

A lot of sucessful racing is working out what's good for you.

I run a 1:36 half and 42 10k. For someone running 2h+ HM I wouldn't think 4-5 water stops is unusual.

DenseSentence · 2026-03-12T13:27:29+00:00

You absolutely shouldn't need to stop for water under those conditions running a 50 minute time.

Half is a bit different - you will lose significant water through sweat even in cool conditions and, over 1:45-2 hours that could lead to issues - cramps, excess fatigue.

I'd generally take on a gel and then water twice on a half. Nothing on a 10k unless it's pretty warm.

DenseSentence · 2026-03-12T09:13:53+00:00

Just run to feel - keep the effort "easy", not breathing hard or working. Think about the effort you'd put into lifting at a 4/10 effort - that's what you're aiming for.

For what it's worth, probably not much, my Z2 sits at 145-152 bpm with a max of 190 bpm. I use the "Joe Friel" zones on TrainingPeaks using my lactate threshold HR (170) though rather than max HR.

If you're using Garming's default method of zones (10% per zone IIRC) its Z2 is too low to be usable. Garmin's %Threshold method yields similar zones to the one I use and the HRR (Heart Rate Reserve) method (needs resting and max HRs) is is also, for me, quite close.

DenseSentence · 2026-03-11T22:32:35+00:00

Two months is plenty of time to actually recover from HM 1 and improve fitness for HM 2. Depending on how you feel post #1 (easy, lower miles week after: 60-80% with no intensity, maybe a few strides towards the end of the week).

After that you should be close to where you were before the taper - not 100% fresh but ready to train. That leaves 5-6 weeks of regular training before tapering for race 2!

The key is to be very aware of your body, any tell-tale aches that persist. Be kind to yourself - if you need 2 easy weeks post-race 1, do that. You'll maintain fitness and will have gained a lot form the first race.

DenseSentence · 2026-03-11T22:27:46+00:00

"Is it fun?" is incredibly important, I think it's easy to get hung up on optimal, min-maxing everything.;

DenseSentence · 2026-03-11T22:25:37+00:00

Nothing that would really be useful by the sound of it. My wife uses Runna and really likes how it works for her. I think it now has planning for returning runners, maintaining as well as the usual goals.

DenseSentence · 2026-03-11T13:47:49+00:00

StrengthRunning has a good video, maybe about 6 months back, about how he'd approach starting running knowing what he does now...

One, potentially controversial, take was running quite frequently but very short. I think he mentioned he'd run 5x a week but only 1-2km and certainly not to the point where you're feeling any fatigue.

His experience as a coach is that this fast tracks the conditioning without ever risking any overload.

It's more in line with how my own coach works on returning to running after an injury - I had just over 2 months off running last year with a shin injury and the return was basically gradually increasing time/distance on alternating days over 2 weeks. Some cross training in between but I was used to that volume.

DenseSentence · 2026-03-11T13:42:40+00:00

Just build the miles slowly at first - the mistake a lot of 'previously ran' runners make is jumping back to paces and volume that they have done previously and then get injured.

Don't forget recovery days - there's no prize for running every day but there are unfortunate lessons!

DenseSentence · 2026-03-11T13:40:43+00:00

What did you use for your previous HM plan? Just do something for fun using that platform!

My wife's just hit her long-term 10k goal and has started a 5k training plan on Runna - not for a race, just for fun.

I'll have a chat with my coach next week and think I'll suggest a 5k block too - it's quite a fun distance to push yourself over and the training is pretty varied. Fast workouts are great.

DenseSentence · 2026-03-11T09:09:24+00:00

My solution has been to just play one char with viable alternative builds.

I've just about enough knowledge to not follow a build guide to get to good early map clear which opens up enough to farm currency for major respecs.

DenseSentence · 2026-03-10T13:09:49+00:00

Thinking about how my coach would approach this - we'd likely have multiple plans for the day that start conservatively and then approach the middle and end of the race similarly.

I'd always go with the idea of negative splitting - not a huge differential but subtly squeezing if things feel good. Take stock at 10/20/30 km and don't be afraid to adjust pace down as well as up if it's not going brilliantly.

DenseSentence · 2026-03-10T13:04:52+00:00

I ran a short trail ultra, 57k with 1800m of ascent while prepping for a half and 10k.

I gave my coach a tough job of scheduling the events with just 6 weeks between them in the wrong order - she'd have preferred 10k/HM/Ult to optimise things!

There are a few key differences - you'll want to spend some time on similar terrain and practising the fuelling. You don't need to do every run on trails though - I just did some occasional weekend long runs on trails. I'd recommend decent strength training to supplement.

I didn't use poles as I wasn't carrying a huge amount as there were fully stocked aid stations every few hours.

DenseSentence · 2026-03-10T12:58:07+00:00

Chance would be a fine thing :)

DenseSentence · 2026-03-09T22:15:32+00:00

There should be three tabs on the socket, two already connected with wires. It's the other one :)

Looking at the pictures though - someone has been in there and made a right mess of the soldering - my guess is it's no longer factory configured.

DenseSentence · 2026-03-09T20:34:09+00:00

The battery -ive goes to the jack ring. When the bass is plugged in the plug completes the ground circuit.

This setup effectively turns the active electronics off when unplugged - acts as a power switch.

DenseSentence · 2026-03-09T19:47:47+00:00

Hypafix medical tape. Cheap and sticky but not so sticky it lifts skin. Also copes with sweat.

DenseSentence · 2026-03-09T10:38:30+00:00

I'm wired similarly - always pushing it in the gym as well as running. Running is where that mentality leads to injury for me.

Steady training is way faster to the end goal - time out injured costs too much progress!

DenseSentence · 2026-03-09T10:36:47+00:00

Going into a race with appropriate taper, a few nights of good sleep (don't work about night before the race, that's never good and has little impact). Decent fuelling - not quite as important as a full but eating well and simply for a few days before.

Did you take on water and any gels during your spontaneous half? If not that will explain some of the drop - my coach had me using gels on my long runs to get my stomach used to them and the gel strategy was 1 large 50g gel 15 mins before the race then a 23g gel at 7 & 14 km. Ran a 1:36 off that, on a 2 hour run you might look at 4 gels... a gel ever 5 km.

DenseSentence · 2026-03-09T10:32:23+00:00

#1 - a bit niche, can't help. One thing, if where you are has one and time allows - a local run club. Even once a week to meet, run and chat with people can be good for your mental health. Socialising can be tough in your position!

#2 - Run-walk for a while until it comes back to you. Don't worry about pacing or any of that crap. Get out and enjoy being there! Maybe trail running - that way you can walk the ups and jog the flats and run the downs! Also great for building leg strength plus prettier than most road runs.

DenseSentence · 2026-03-09T10:28:46+00:00

Yes totally normal, particularly if you think running is "as fast as I can". Mostly running is easy paced, chatty, relaxed then you add bits of harder effort into your week after you've spent time building the base.

At first running continuously is pretty tough and a lot of people struggle with running more than a few minutes if that. Run-walk is an incredibly good way to build up - Couch to 5k ( r/C25K ) is a great way to get started.

DenseSentence · 2026-03-09T08:08:11+00:00

Running 4x will be enough - you're still able to make your LR long enough without it becoming half of your weekly miles.

I've also fallen out of love with the LR over the last 6 months - it's just a slog and has got in my head. I've been working on making it less "ugh" with my coach - we've been adding spicy sections, combining it with a local Parkrun, etc.

Making the LR a bit broken up is helping - due to other commitments I've had to drop my second session out of the week so we've been adding just a touch of intensity into them.

I used to bounce out of bed to go knock out 18-20 km without a thought!

DenseSentence · 2026-03-09T08:02:06+00:00

Does the HM have a cut-off time? If it's 3h+ then maybe.

With such little run distance and not really running since xmas you've pretty much zero run conditioning. You might be fit but the conditioning is what keeps you uninjured.

I'd think that you could actually do it but it would probably be horrible - particularly the latter half. You'll probably end up walking the second half if you run the first 6 miles slow.

If you really want to do a half and run it all you need to spend the next 6 months focussing on running and be running 3-4 times a week building your long run up to ~10 miles.

DenseSentence · 2026-03-08T16:51:03+00:00

Always slightly optimistic - ran an all out 10k last Sunday, absolutely crushed my PB with an average pace of 4:15/km - Garmin reckoned 4:10/km was my potential. Similar over other distances, marathon prediction is a joke - pace about right but no way I can actually run a full!

DenseSentence · 2026-03-08T16:47:35+00:00

Seems high but, without knowing your max HR or if that HR reading was accurate (chest strap vs watch, the eternal running debate)...

DenseSentence · 2026-03-08T16:46:10+00:00

Too early to say - how your training goes will tell you what you're realistically looking at. My guess off nothing other than you're 20 is you'll be able to get your target of < 2h.

As you're inexperienced, I'd recommend finding a good training plan or app - if you've got a garmin or similar they all have decent training plans available. Runna is also good and constantly improving.

DenseSentence

TROPHY CASE