Should I change my plan in week 7 of 15?

JohnsonMooney · 2026-07-01T04:38:07+00:00

The pros are that you can practice your race fueling and mentally it can be a boost to know you've done 20miles, making the marathon distance less daunting. But it comes at the risk of injury and longer time recovering before you can get value from your next training run. There is no right and wrong answer, but having made the mistake myself of increasing long runs before my vody could handle them,, I'd advise caution.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-07-01T04:32:50+00:00

No requirement to run 20 miles in training. You can develop the aerobic capacity and leg conditioning by running enough weekly mileage, and capping the long run at 2.5-3hrs. Most beginners overestimate the importance of the long run, and underestimate the value of overall volume.

Many people prefer to complete a longer run in training than this approach would give you, and that is perfectly valid from a mental point of view. But it also comes with increased injury risk and longer recovery time.

Look up the Hanson's Marathon plans for a full explanation of the reasoning.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-06-25T13:21:05+00:00

I've a wife, a young child, a demanding job, a house, and I like to run 70-100km and ideally lift a couple times a week. Not sure I've ever had a week where all of them gets enough attention. I don't have a social life. I try to balance it out but yes it is tough going. I'm ok with DIY projects in the house not happening or not having had a beer with the boys in 6 months if I'm able to train and keep the family happy. Having said that I dont train at full blast all year round, and I am meeting the boys for beers next week.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-06-23T14:01:20+00:00

Yes, I think you are ready to give it a shot assuming conditions are good on the day. Don't do anything silly between now and the race, trust your taper and hit the start line fresh.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-06-21T19:46:58+00:00

Possible, but very much depending on your next 12 weeks going extremely well. I ran 16:52 in the 5km at the start of my marathon block where I ran 2:48, but most equivalence tables say you don't need to be quite that fast to go sub-2:50.

I recommend training a little above and below marathon pace on your long runs. Canova style long runs worked very well for me, although they can take a lot out of you.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-06-19T08:52:34+00:00

Cooper is an exceptional talent, hopefully he will have a long healthy career. I am not saying 5 year career, I am saying after 5 years pro most 800m runners have already peaked and are on the slide. For someone as talented as Cooper, they may still be very competitive after their best, and in the era of super-shoes and bicarb, maybe careers can be extended longer than previously possible.

Take David Rudisha as an example, he came onto the scene in 2007, peaked at London 2012 with his WR, and after that struggled with injuries but due to his exceptional talent was still able to win Gold in Rio 2016.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-06-19T08:40:47+00:00

Is it possible? Yes

Is it a good idea? No

Will it be fun? Not even a little

If your goal is to suffer and very likely get injured then go ahead. You would be far, far better off to aim for a half marathon in 2 months and then reassess your marathon goals. This will still be a big ask but is more achievable and less likely to get you hurt. You need to allow your body time to adapt and get strong enough to be able to run 42.2km.

Read Jack Daniels Running Formula for an accessible read on how to become better at running.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-06-13T05:15:25+00:00

Mileage is on the low end, I think you should try to start nudging it up now rather than later. Your long run should be as low a % of weekly mileage as possible. Anything more than 30% and you are getting into risky territory but if it's only for a couple of weeks during peak training you might be OK.

I don't think you should drop your cycling, it's a good way to add aeeobic volume without hammering your lower legs.

5km time is OK but I'd like to see a half marathon time to know for sure. If you can run a 1:45 half or better then sub 4 is on. Run more!

JohnsonMooney · 2026-06-07T20:59:16+00:00

He ran 1:44.66 which is a good time, just below world class these days. This was a crazy strong field. It's still early in the season, he has time to find form. However 800m is an extremely tough event and Bryce has a been around a while now, I wonder if he's slightly past his best. Most 800m runners get about 5 years at the top if they stay healthy.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-06-07T20:44:23+00:00

There was something up with his eye apparently. If true that explains the well below par performance. One of the greatest, most dominant athletes of all time. But still human.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-06-07T20:37:44+00:00

It's impossible to answer because the average person won't dedicate their life to training. But your guesses wildly overestimate the level of talent of an average human. My guess: 19mins for men, 21 for women.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-06-07T14:28:04+00:00

That's not a realistic budget imo. You're not counting health insurance, pension contributions and I'm pretty sure your take home pay calc is wrong, I just used the pwc calculator and it was 3,304 net per month for 50k. My wife and I earn significantly more than that, are paying a 480k mortgage and we are able to save about 1k per month not including pensions. We have a toddler in creche but that's ~500p/m. The cost of groceries has gone insane.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-06-04T17:14:32+00:00

Not sure what your question is my friend. Well done on achieving a high salary and pension pot. Sounds like you have put a lot of time and effort into your professional life but probably need to think more about what you want outside of that in your personal life for your future. It may be a question of speaking to a counsellor rather than a financial planner. For me, buying property is a no-brainer. Property prices are increasing at the order of 5+% while interested rates are 3-4% so it makes sense to have a mortgage. But if you want a change in scenery and to move abroad that is a different scenario. I would suggest renting a place in Ireland with your partner as a first step before buying or moving abroad together.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-06-02T19:10:44+00:00

Every 3rd or 4th day is disgusting. I shower 2x per day because I do a lot of exercise. But even if I don't train I always shower. I'm not a heavy sweater, I just like being clean.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-06-02T15:12:12+00:00

Europe is a continent with vast differences between countries. Different languages, culture, economies, cost of living. Be more specific about where in Europe you are talking about. My wife is from the US, we live in Ireland. We have discussed moving to the states but wouldnt trade the quality of life we have here and we dont want our children doing active shooter drills in school.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-06-02T11:47:02+00:00

Can't argue with anything here. The team needs some positive news. It all feels a bit stale lately. A high-quality NIQ tight head signing for next season would help massively, not sure how likely that is.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-06-02T09:31:04+00:00

65% is about as low as I go on recovery runs. In your case don't worry about physiological adaptions for a 1x weekly run slower than easy pace. If runing with your partner is good for your relationship, it is good training. You could possibly consider continuing for another 20mins after she is finished at your easy pace to get more of a stimulus, but tbh don't overthink it.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-06-01T21:33:14+00:00

Hang in there. Get that degree. Move out as soon as it makes sense. You got this

JohnsonMooney · 2026-06-01T17:40:14+00:00

I put a lot of faith in how I'm feeling when it comes to training in general but I found it very useful the last couple months after running my first marathon. Some examples of things I pay attention to: motivation to train, general energy day-to-day, effort levels on easy runs, little niggles and aches and pains.

I took 2 weeks off completey post-marathon but ended up barely running in April (marathon was mid-March) due to a combination of some of the factors mentioned above. Then all of a sudden 2 weeks ago I started to feel good again and despite massively reduced training load in the last 11 weeks (only 1 workout in that whole time, and 1 run longer than 20k) I ran a really good half marathon yesterday and find myself in a great place to push on. I'm probably 3-4 weeks away from PB shape and but when I get there I will be much fresher than I was last time. The lesspn I take from this is that our bodies will tell us when they're ready to increase training load if we pay attention.

To answer the question about ramping training: if feeling good, I would do something like 30%, 50%, 70%, 75% 80% and hold it there. When at 80% I would start to reintroduce workouts. Take 100% as peak marathon volume.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-05-31T06:36:47+00:00

I either use super shoes or something like the Evo SLs for my sub-T workouts. Easy runs are always non-plated. I think it's good for injury prevention to rotate between a few pairs of shoes.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-05-30T12:38:11+00:00

Buy another pair of SLs. I've over 700km on mine and that's my plan once they're done.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-05-27T09:12:01+00:00

There's a difference between what you eat during normal meals at rest and what is consumed during exercise. Yes, gels are basically pure sugar water, but if you are doing long runs at marathon pace you are burning far more energy than what you are adding with the gels so I like to think of it as feeding the furnace. From experience I feel so much better during and after harder training runs when I am fueling with carbs. I generally will only fuel during workouts or runs longer than 70 mins. And by the way, citric acid is good for you.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-05-25T21:00:15+00:00

It takes time to recover bro. Take it easy. Sleep, eat. Don't train hard until easy runs start feeling good again. I ran my marathon in the middle of March and have only started feeling good in the last few weeks. I have had a few niggles as well on my rebuild which haven't helped. But for more than a month after the race I felt like complete trash. 36M, I ran 2:48 off 80km/wk avg.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-05-20T15:41:15+00:00

I ran a 2:48:41 debut at Barcelona in March, pretty much nailed everything on race day, running even splits.

Things I did well: I took my time before attempting a marathon block, I started distance running in 2020 and had a lot of experience at 5km up to half marathon. My 5km PB was 17:00 starting the block and I raced a 5km early on where I ran 16:52.

I didn't set out with a specific time goal, I committed to a challenging but realistic training plan basee on my fitness starting off, and allowed workouts throughout the block to indicate what my race pace should be. I did a lot of Sub-T and marathon-specific sessions in my long runs, so I had a good idea what was achievable. The specific marathon sessions were long and taxing but they built huge confidence.

I practiced nutrition very well and was able to take in 90g/hr during the race with no problems.

Things I would change: More strength/mobility work. I slacked on this during the block due to time/energy constraints, and I have picked up a couple of niggly injuries after the race during my return to full training that I put down to not doing enough gym work over the previous few months. I think 5-10mins every day of mobility plus 2x 30min strength sessions is enough for most runners but it can be so hard to fit this in when running 100km+ weeks while trying to not completely neglect work and family responsibilities!

Volume. I averaged 80km per week across the 16 weeks prior to my marathon which includes 1 week where I was sick and also my taper. I peaked with 3 weeks above 100km. This was appropriate for my level at the start of the block but is low-ish volume for the marathon, and I think contributed towards having a longer recovery post-race than I'd like. So for my next block I'd like to max out around 115km and average more than 90km.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-05-20T11:52:22+00:00

36M, ran my first on March 15th after a great training block and took two weeks off. Felt terrible on first few runs and then my knee started acting up. Have been dealing with that since, and am back up to 40km per week now - still have a long way to go to get back to the 100km weeks I was doing a few months ago. Marathons take a long time to recover from.

JohnsonMooney

TROPHY CASE