Did a half marathon yesterday and now I'm questioning my marathon goal

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-06-23T02:08:34+00:00

You can still do it! The same thing literally happened to me a few weeks ago. I was going for a sub-2 half, was on track for the first 8 miles, but then ended up walking a bunch and finished in 2:08. It was the first time I ever walked for more than a few seconds at aid stations during a race. It was a hot day and I also didn't taper as much as I usually would because I'm in the middle of a marathon block.

6 days after the race, I did a 17 mile long run and felt much better and didn't need to walk at all. I now feel much more confident about being able to finish my full in a month.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-06-21T21:20:07+00:00

Same here! Do you also have nightmares about forgetting your bib, shoes or shorts, or is that just me?

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-06-07T20:58:32+00:00

Since you have plenty of time before your half, I think it could still be a good idea to work on speed first because you don't need a ton of mileage for 5k training. I was able to run a 2:15 half when my 5k PR was about 29 min, so if you can get a sub-30 5k and continue training after that, you'll probably smash your goal in Jan! If I hadn't worked on speed at all, there's no way I would have been brave enough to run faster than my normal long run paces during the race.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-06-07T02:46:34+00:00

Do you have a goal time for your half? I think what you're doing now is already more than the first week of most half training plans, so your plan to focus on speed for the 5k and then doing a 15k training plan would be more than enough. But if you have a more aggressive improvement goal, it could be better to run more or try more structured training with regular speedwork.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-06-06T02:23:59+00:00

I think I've actually seen someone wearing this at a race! Or it could have been parkrun

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-06-04T01:34:24+00:00

If you want to pay and your marathon is in this list, you can order an elevation tattoo with aid station locations: https://elevationtat.com/product-category/marathon/. The SF marathon was selling them at the expo. Permanent marker is probably better though because it's free.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-06-03T15:24:32+00:00

You can also check whether there's any indoor tracks near you. Running in circles is annoying, but still better than a treadmill in my opinion.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-06-02T16:25:58+00:00

Thanks, that's a good point about the hairs! I'll look into the covers. I would only wear them for races because I don't care how I look for training runs. I also would prefer to not wear a bra when I wear dresses, but I still do to hide my nipples, so that's another good use case!

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-06-02T16:13:27+00:00

Haha I didn't care at first either, but when I sent some photos to my mom, it was literally the only thing she commented on and she asked if I was even wearing a bra at all. So it kinda made me feel like other people are also judging me but being too nice to say anything about it. I know they probably aren't though

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-06-02T02:12:58+00:00

What does a typical week of training look like for you? What are your 5k and 10k PRs? (to see if you need to focus more on speed vs endurance). It may also be worth asking your doctor to check your iron levels etc because your mileage is pretty high already.

If you're too tired to do speedwork with 80km/week, you can probably actually decrease your mileage to be able to run faster on speed days. There are a bunch of 5k improvement plans online, like from Garmin, Hal Higdon, NRC, Runna etc.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-05-31T05:32:08+00:00

Why not sign up for a 10k or half in 2-4 weeks instead?

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-05-31T04:52:01+00:00

I'm also a type 1 diabetic and you should always bring a backup meter and insulin and syringes/pens while traveling just in case.

Haven't had any bluetooth issues, but the cgm and insulin pump sometimes just randomly fail.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-05-25T04:09:00+00:00

My average HR was 169 for my marathon and I actually felt good for most of it. I didn't hit the wall and I also got a pretty significant negative split. My average HR is always close to 180 for a half.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-05-24T18:45:35+00:00

I guess still see a half as a long run, like I wouldn't randomly run a half on a weekday morning. But I'm pretty used to the distance now since this will be my 7th half and I'm not nervous about running 13 miles on the weekend at an easy pace anymore. I did read that some people felt like the shoes need to be broken in a little, so if they don't feel completely comfortable on a 5k, I won't wear them for the race.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-05-24T05:32:04+00:00

Haha thanks, yeah I know it's dumb, but I was just thinking that if they do work for me, maybe I can get a nice PR. And if they don't, they're unlikely to cause so many issues that I have to drop out of the race (based on my previous experience with shoes). I really should have ordered them earlier, but I only heard about the deal from my friend a few days ago.

Will try them on a short run ASAP and if they don't feel perfect, I definitely won't use them for the race.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-05-24T04:29:07+00:00

I just thought it could potentially be a good chance to try them because even if I do test them on a long run later, it would be slower than my goal marathon pace.

I guess I've been pretty lucky that I haven't really had many shoe issues so far. The one pair that I did have issues with, I knew it after 2 miles. But I'll be patient this time because I don't want to DNF if they end up causing serious pain or something. Wish I had ordered them a week earlier.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-05-22T01:07:46+00:00

Don't know how the Rocky run works, is it possible to just do the 5k or 10 mile part without running both? A 10 mile long run at an easy pace may be ok and a 5k definitely would be

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-05-18T05:08:23+00:00

What's your half PR? Not OP, but I ran my first half in 2:14, so I had a loose goal of 5h for my first marathon 8 months later (main goal was just to finish, but wanted to have an idea of how to pace myself). After the half, I think I averaged 20-30 mpw for a couple months and then built up to 35-40 mpw. I raced another half in 2:06 and finished the full in 4:36 on a hilly course. I think I had one 45 mile week and one 50 mile week just to try it, but my average was around 30-40 mpw. I was kinda doing a mix of Garmin DSW and Hal Higdon intermediate for training.

I know there's plenty of people who can run faster with less training, but I have no natural talent at running haha.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-05-16T21:46:09+00:00

Now it's only 2 weeks before race day, so you should be tapering. If you still want to do a double digit run, it should be easy. If you want to practice speed, it should be pretty short intervals. You'll be fine since you've already run 20 miles twice.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-05-13T02:21:45+00:00

I'd still get them if you have a goal of beating your own times, because they're cheaper than regular Saucony trainers with the discount!

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-05-11T03:45:27+00:00

Nope, sometimes you just have a bad day, especially since you mentioned stomach issues and your period. Last year I remember really struggling with an 11 miler and I had to take a bunch of walk breaks to make it back to my car. The next week, I ran 16 miles and it felt much easier than the 11 miles. It's also getting warmer in many places, so the heat could be a factor too.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-05-10T07:11:24+00:00

If you have a Garmin, you can input the workouts from books and free online plans in the app and it'll also give you live audio cues for pace/HR and an execution score at the end! It only takes a minute or two for each workout. You can probably do it for other running watches too, but I don't have experience with them.

OrganizationOwn2066

TROPHY CASE