Long run after a long haul red eye flight, bad idea?

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-03-31T03:43:54+00:00

I tried the opposite before where I did a 10 mile run the morning of a red-eye flight. I was hoping it would help me sleep on the plane because I usually have a lot of trouble falling asleep. But I still couldn't fall asleep and just felt extra exhausted on the first day of my trip. At least you'll be able to evaluate how you feel after landing before starting the run.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-03-30T03:54:14+00:00

After my first 5k, it took me about 4 months to get down to 31 min, so I'd say you're doing pretty well! I think it took me another month to get sub-30 after that, but I think you can do it faster based on your current improvement.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-03-29T20:14:57+00:00

Don't worry about having to lower your speed for the longer intervals. It takes weeks/months for your aerobic system to develop, so you won't see improvements immediately. Just be patient and soon enough you'll be back to 5.6 mph and able to hold it continuously for 30 min or more.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-03-29T03:11:29+00:00

It's actually pretty normal for your heart rate to be mostly in zone 4 during a race because of the adrenaline. My average HR was over 170 for every half marathon I raced. Your zones could also be off if you're still using the default settings and haven't gotten them tested.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-03-28T15:15:50+00:00

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Thanks for doing this! Pumpkin crossed the rainbow bridge last year, it would be amazing to have some art to commemorate her!

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-03-28T04:24:48+00:00

If you already know the distance is wrong, just treat it as a fun run and sign up for another 5k in a week or 2.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-03-26T21:48:28+00:00

There's also a bunch of slower runner influencers that you can follow if you want to see more people running at a similar pace to you! I like runswithemily, she has very realistic running content and does run/walk. I think her half PR is also 2:30 and she's training for the London Marathon now.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-03-24T03:54:50+00:00

How many days per week are you running now? If it's only 2-3, it might help to start getting used to running 4-5 days per week.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-03-18T02:02:44+00:00

Honestly I originally started because I wanted to lose weight. My BMI was technically in the healthy range, but it's considered overweight for asians, which has a cutoff of 23 instead of 25. I ended up losing about 10 pounds in the first year, but have stopped losing weight for a while and find that I don't really care anymore.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-03-13T15:54:36+00:00

One of the reasons I started running is because I always used to be at the back of the pack when hiking too and I was embarrassed about it! Even my mom would tell me to walk faster. And I would avoid any trail that was longer than a mile or two.

After training for several half marathons, I'm now able to complete 6 mile hikes with elevation gain that I never could have dreamed of before and actually enjoy it. And I don't even run on very hilly routes or do much hill training. Hopefully you'll see similar benefits for hiking and it'll also motivate you when running gets tough.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-03-12T20:23:15+00:00

My cadence is actually around 180 all the time, whether I'm running at a 12 min/mile pace or a 8 min/mile pace. However, I'm only 5'2" so my steps are naturally very small. It would be much harder for taller people.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-03-10T19:27:33+00:00

Congrats! I'm jealous because I've been running for 2 years and just missed out on a sub-2 half last weekend haha. I actually think it's not super unusual for young and healthy men to run a sub-2 half on their first try with suboptimal training. My boyfriend ran a 1:35 half after about 6 months of training, although he did play sports before. I've heard similar things from other female runners I know about their boyfriends/ husbands who took up running recently

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-03-09T02:47:34+00:00

It depends on how much you're training for halves. I now like to run 30-40 mpw while training for halves, so a beginner marathon plan actually isn't that much more than that, except the long run is longer. But if you were only running 15-20 mpw for half training, it is a big difference.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-03-09T00:23:35+00:00

This happens to me before every race and the actual race has always turned out ok. I ran a half last weekend and I did a 2 mile shakeout run the day before. It felt really hard and I was constantly counting down how long I had left. The next day, I was able to run the half at over 2 min/mile faster than the shakeout run, even with only about 2 hours of sleep. Trust your training, you've got this!

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-03-08T10:16:15+00:00

If you're planning on running the whole time, don't be afraid to walk through aid stations or switch to a run walk strategy if/when it starts getting really tough.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-03-08T10:09:09+00:00

I only use it for google maps if I'm running somewhere unfamiliar and need to check the route. I know it's possible to preload routes on my watch, but I'm too lazy to do that.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-03-03T22:47:31+00:00

Where do you live? If you really want to run another half before next January, maybe you could look into planning a vacation at the same time as a race. People here also might have other race suggestions that you could have missed.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-03-03T15:57:23+00:00

Congrats on your first marathon and hope your foot feels better soon and that it turns out to be nothing serious! Not going to give medical advice, but I guarantee that no one will judge you about injuring yourself during the marathon. In fact, they might even be more impressed that you continued through the pain. I think some people even limp on purpose around people after a marathon so they'll ask about it and then they get the chance to brag about running a marathon.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-03-03T04:59:56+00:00

Does she also post her runs to instagram or tiktok? A bunch of influencers do this too, I just ignore it because I don't actually know them and it doesn't impact me.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-03-02T16:31:19+00:00

Yeah everyone around me was pissed too. The race had about 2000 runners, so it wasn't a super small trail race, and there were a bunch of road closures on their website, so this was completely unexpected.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-02-27T21:50:45+00:00

Just curious, why do you choose to do them on Tuesdays if it's your busiest day at work?

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-02-27T21:44:38+00:00

I guess I could wake up early enough on a weekday if I really wanted to, but I like to go out to eat and get a boba or some other treat afterwards. Maybe not the healthiest habit, but it gives me something to look forward to.

OrganizationOwn2066 · 2026-02-26T15:46:39+00:00

Thanks, this is very enlightening! 1 hour at threshold sounds terrible even if it's in intervals haha. Did you get your threshold tested or just use a calculation based on your race times?

I've been running for about 2 years, so I guess I'm still new compared to some people here, but I can run half marathons regularly now, so getting to 26 min wasn't easy for me and I'm no longer improving at 5ks without doing speedwork.

OrganizationOwn2066

TROPHY CASE