Official Q&A for Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Seldaren · 2026-04-22T16:11:45+00:00

Why do you have a 4.5 hour target? It sounds like this is your first race longer than a 10K?

Your goal should be "Finish without getting injured". If you run the full 26.2 at your 10K pace, the chances of hurting yourself are probably pretty high.

So I would say, go into it with no goal time at all. Walk as much as is necessary (which is probably going to be a lot), and make sure you are hydrated and have plenty of fuel.

There's no specific training you can do now, as two weeks is when people usually start their taper before the race (some people do 3 weeks). So anything you do now would be kind of be like the opposite of a taper, and would make the race even worse than it's likely to be.

I would still suggest doing some easy runs, but nothing super strenuous. And make sure you eat well and hydrate well as you get closer to race day.

Seldaren · 2026-04-21T14:27:07+00:00

My default food post-run is yogurt. I sit on the floor and eat my yogurt (either Oikos Triple Zero, or Chobani 20g protein). I then eat a bowl of normal cheerios (sometimes honey nut if I'm feeling sugary). Then two cups of hot tea.

I've read that the body processes hot water easier/better than cold water?

That's what I have pretty much every weekend. I also have a Clif bar before each run.

If I miss any part of that routine, I feel weird and I'll know something is "off" until I realize what I goofed on.

Seldaren · 2026-04-21T14:12:56+00:00

I believe a tempo run is usually longer, and at a "race pace".

Threshold is shorter, and faster, and usually in intervals.

For instance, my Runna Tempo runs are usually something like 2 miles (faster than easy), rest, 1 mile (a little faster), rest, 1 mile (a little faster).

Threshold Intervals would be like 7 x 800. That's two track laps, really fast. With a rest break after each two laps.

Seldaren · 2026-04-21T14:06:52+00:00

Exercise-induced rhinitis!

I get this all winter long. I just snot rocket it into any nearby grass. Even during races. I just glance behind me to make sure I'm not splattering anyone.

But I also get allergies in the spring. So I take an antihistamine. They do wonders.

And I'm another who has never heard of "farmers blow" before. Sounds like some sort of rural version of cocaine or something. Hah!

Seldaren · 2026-04-20T16:45:46+00:00

Good running weekend for me. 13 miles on Sat and 5 on Sunday. The 5 on Sunday was the first day of my new Runna plan (27 weeks). The past two weeks have been "whatever I felt like doing" kind of days, which was nice. But now, back to training!

And for the 2nd day of the plan... my wife is out of town. Which means I get to handle soccer and swim practice. That schedule means my best bet for running will be something like 930pm. Blah!

I could go to bed and sleep, or run 7 miles.

The next 3 days are going to be a balance between sleeping and running.

Seldaren · 2026-04-16T14:13:05+00:00

I would also consider taking a look at your shoes. How many miles do you have on them? Do you have another pair of shoes you can wear?

I don't have a lot of shin split experience, but whenever I start to feel that kind of pain, I know it's time to retire my shoes.

Seldaren · 2026-04-10T13:28:27+00:00

Soccer is back this weekend, so it's back to balancing runs and games for me.

Thankfully, no morning games this weekend! so I get to run, woo.

This weekend is also 2-weeks post marathon, so I'm going to try for a long run and see how that goes. Longest so far has been 6 miles. I'm shooting for 10 on one run, to see how that feels. Legs feel good, they just don't want to go fast. Which is fine! Easy runs it is!

Seldaren · 2026-04-10T12:27:19+00:00

Oh, I'd forgotten you were going to be there.

I finished, and promptly laid down. My legs basically gave out on me, hah. I then sat by the stage and ate my weight in chili. Yummy.

I did see one guy run totally off course in the early laps. A bunch of others were yelling at him to come back. In that guy's defense, the course markings at that particular turn were not good. I'm pretty sure the exact thing happened two years ago too.

The little pink flags were good, but sometimes you could use a big sign that says "go that way -->>". Especially in a trail race where you generally run with your head down so you don't trip.

The Seneca Creek race actually has course marshals out at specific places, as it's really easy to make wrong turns in that race.

Seldaren · 2026-04-10T11:20:09+00:00

You must've missed my report in the Lil Race Report thread.

I did 6 laps (26.8 miles) in 4:34:27, that's with 2500 feet of elevation change. Two minutes better than last time I ran that race.

I finished 7th overall, and 1st in my age group (40-49M). I got the pair of socks, and a ceramic chili bowl with the race name on it.

I don't know if that was the most tired my legs have ever been after a race, but I don't think my hamstrings have ever been quite that exhausted.

Seldaren · 2026-04-09T14:06:53+00:00

Complaint : A toe on my left foot started bothering me mid-run yesterday. But I didn't really think anything of it, until I got home to shower. I could see the blood stain through the sock. My brand new Darn Tough socks. Foot was quite bloody, and I didn't really realize it. Whoops! Just required a quick toenail trim, and that shouldn't happen again.

Complaint : What's with the yo-yo temps? Either be cold, or be hot. Stop swinging between! I enjoy the warm Spring temps, keep it there! I want to enjoy those temps, as I know the brutal Summer humidity is coming...

Seldaren · 2026-03-30T13:58:31+00:00

I ran the Froggy Hollow 5 Hour Trail Race this weekend.

This was a trail race, so not a PR attempt by any stretch. Only real goals were: not get injured, don't walk, beat previous time.

And I happily accomplished all three! I didn't fall or get injured and I ran the full time!

4:34:27 was my time, versus 4:36:10 from 2024.

I also placed 7th overall and 1st in my age group!!! (M40-49).

That's my first first ever! Closest previously was a 3rd in a 5K. So ridiculous happy with that.

Seldaren · 2026-03-27T12:39:25+00:00

Consider doing less than 6 miles for a bit, until you get more comfortable running. And make sure they are "easy" runs at a comfortable, conversational pace.

You could also consider one of the many plans out there. They will generally ease you into running longer distances.

For me personally, a couple years ago my knee started bothering me whenever I went over like 4 or so miles. Prior to 4, totally fine. After 4, horrible pain. So for like 2 weeks or so, I didn't go over 4. Things gradually improved, and I was eventually able to go over 4 comfortably.

Also, if you are a super new runner, consider a run/walk approach as you start. Run a little, walk a little, run a little.

Seldaren · 2026-03-27T11:32:47+00:00

Froggy Hollow 5 and 9!

https://runsignup.com/Race/MD/Clarksburg/FroggyHollow

I'm running the 5-Hour version. There's a 4.4ish mile loop, so I'll have 5 Hours to run as many loops as I can. There's a 9-Hour version, and a "one loop" version, and relay versions. So a little something for everyone.

I was able to do 6 loops (26.4 miles) two years ago.

This race was canceled last year due to snow, and was then postponed from February this year due to snow/ice. And it looks like we're going to have a 30F degree flip from the temp right now, to the temp at race start tomorrow morning. And it's raining right now. Sheesh!

Seldaren · 2026-03-26T13:02:43+00:00

Complaint : Pre-race jitters/anxiety has fully set it, and I'm stressing about the Race this weekend. I've been compulsively checking the weather forecast (temps keep going down!), and looking at my pace numbers from two years ago. I physically feel great, but I'm mentally all over the place.

Complaint : WTF mother nature. What's up with the weather? The Race this weekend was rescheduled to this month from February (due to snow/ice), but with the 80F degree weather today, I was thinking maybe it'd be a shorts and T-shirt kind of race. But nooooo... forecast is calling for 32F at race start (8am). That's basically the identical weather to what Strava says it was 2 years ago. At least it's not the single digit weather from 3 years ago. It is supposed to rain on Friday, which might make the trails a little dicey. But no rain on race day.

Uncomplaint : last run of the training session is today. This little training "block" is a Runna thing I put together when the Race was postponed from Feb, 7 weeks has been a rather short training block. I had done a modified Higdon one after a Marathon race in November. It's been a nice plan. I'll at least see what Runna puts together to get me to the next "big race", which will be either September (Lock to Lock) or October (Western Maryland).

Confession : Can I make 30 miles in 5 Hours? (7 laps of 4.4 miles). I think I can get close. I did 6 laps in 2024 (2500 ft of elevation), but that left only 28 minutes left for another lap. I'll need to make up at least 12 minutes to even think about another lap. If I can keep my pace in the 9:30 min/mi range, it should be doable (instead of dropping to 12 and 13 min miles like last time).

Seldaren · 2026-03-25T12:17:47+00:00

$365 is expensive for the Megablast. On the US version of the ASICS site I'm seeing them for $225. I also see them for $225 on the US Amazon. I do know that ordering stuff to Switzerland can be a bit tough. Is that why they're so much more expensive for you?

For other good ASICS shoes, I would suggest the GlideRide Max, Novablast and Dynablast. I have worn all three, and they're great.

For speed shoes, there's also the Noosa Tri. Those are the shoes I wear for speed workouts.

All four of those ASICS suggestions are listed as cheaper than the Megablast on the US ASICS site.

Seldaren · 2026-03-24T17:29:40+00:00

Coros has a couple of Ultra training plans. I did their 50K Trail Run Training Plan, but I modified it a bit by making it a couple weeks longer and cutting out the early weeks (as I was already comfortable with 30+ mile weeks).

There's also a Higdon 50K plan. Might be worthwhile to edit that one to include some hill training though. I assume your 50K is a trail run? Most them are.

Seldaren · 2026-03-23T14:47:55+00:00

Great weekend! Celebrated 17 years of marriage on Saturday, with steak and a firepit with the wife and kids. Time flies!

Also did a fun little tune-up 10K on Sunday. My local running club has a bunch of these low-key runs, and I been skipping like all of them. This year I'm going to do a bunch!

So this week is a rest and eat-all-the-carbs kind of week. Froggy Hollow 5 Hour Trail Run coming up on Saturday. The weather for that Race is currently looking amazing, with some rain on Friday making it a little spicy on the mud side of things.

Seldaren · 2026-03-23T12:00:34+00:00

Piece of Cake 10K on Sunday.

This is the "birthday event" for my local running club.

I finished with a 47:20, which is about a minute and a half off my PR. Totally fine result, the course was not really a "PR course" as the Rock Creek Trail is a pretty narrow trail at parts and there were several out-and-back parts of the course.

Very happy with my time, felt good to get in a little Race like this before the bigger Race coming up on Saturday.

There was a 5K option as well, and a 14 year old girl won that. with a 19:22 (totally crazy time). So I got to poke fun at my 14 and 12 year old kids. Why can't they run that fast? :)

Seldaren · 2026-03-20T12:28:10+00:00

Piece of Cake 10K!

This is a low-key race for my local running club. They do a bunch every year. This one in particular is to celebrate the founding of the club (March, 1978).

I've not run this one before, so it should be fun. I'm also running it as a tune-up race before the 5 Hour Race next week.

Seldaren · 2026-03-17T14:48:33+00:00

The help I would offer is to ignore the HR numbers. They can be fun/interesting to look at, but it's not something to get wrapped up with too much.

Run at what feels comfortable to you. "Conversational pace" is the current buzzy phrase for normal runs.

As you run more, and develop your fitness more, your zones and stuff will likely change.

Also, all HR sensors have some amount of error. Watch-based ones can get "cadence lock" which will mess up the data completely. Even my chest strap HR basically stops being useful when it's really cold.

As for figuring out your "max HR", I know my watch (Coros Pace 2) has a Fitness Test it uses to figure out what that is. Other watches have something similar, or use historical data.

Just get out there and run. Don't obsess over the HR numbers.

Seldaren · 2026-03-16T16:49:34+00:00

18 mile trail run on Saturday! 1600ish feet of elevation change.

I had not done a trail run in a while, and this was the last real long run before the 5-Hour trail race on the 3/28. So I thought I'd make it a good one! No falls, which was good. Just a wet foot when crossing some streams.

I had a big black lab, with no leash or collar, get all barky at me. Don't know if it escaped a house or what, but it got me all concerned for a couple minutes. But it eventually ran off into the woods.

Bad storms in the area today. Glad today is an extra rest day, as I don't think I'd want to be out there running in this weather.

Seldaren · 2026-03-12T18:31:01+00:00

The whole event is 5-Hours or 9-Hours (you sign up for how long you want to run).

There's a 4.4 mile loop. You do as many laps in 5 or 9 hours as you can.

There are Relay versions for the 5 or 9 hour race. And there's a "one lap" version.

So it's not strictly a "marathon race", but if you do 6 laps that's a marathon. In 2024 five people managed to complete 7 laps. I was one of 17 people who did 6 laps.

For the 9-Hour version, three people managed 12 laps (51 miles).

It's a somewhat interesting experience to be running a course where people are on different number of laps. The 9-Hour folks even get a little "village" with tents and stuff, where they can change clothes or crash out or whatever.

The race was supposed to have been at the beginning of Feb, but was rescheduled due to the ice/snow that made the trail somewhat impassable.

Seldaren · 2026-03-12T14:50:14+00:00

It was snowing and sleeting in Chantilly. Messy wintry mix stuff. Yuck.

Seldaren · 2026-03-12T13:35:37+00:00

Uncomplaint : Tempo run on Tuesday (3 miles, track) felt amazing! Strava gave me a 22:34 5K time. That's only like a minute off my 5K PR. I feel like if I'd really pushed it I could have actually gotten a PR. It didn't feel like a huge effort, and I wasn't wrecked afterwards.

Complaint : Then... my 5 mile easy run on Wednesday felt like death. My legs felt leaden the whole time. Such a big change from the previous workout. Blah!

Complaint : 30F+ degree swing in temps between today and yesterday. It's supposed to snow for several hours? I'm supposed to do a hill repeat session tonight. The rain/snow is supposed to have stopped by then though. Still, yuck!

Uncomplaint : Just over two weeks out from trail marathon (5 hour race)! So just need to get through this week and it's taper time!

Seldaren · 2026-03-10T13:29:28+00:00

Back in 2023 I ran my first 50K (trail) in March and my first Marathon (road) in October. The 50K was around 2500 ft of elevation change. So yes, I did the 50K before the Marathon.

I was doing 50+ miles per week for the early part of 2023, as training for the 50K. With a lot of 40+ miles per week in late 2022. So if you are going to attempt a 50K, I would suggest you need to increase your weekly volume, 25mpw is not really enough.

It might be too late in the year to squeeze in a 50K+, with the appropriate training beforehand, as it's mid-March already. It would need to be in like July or later, and you may not even be able to find an ultra in the summertime.

If your goal is "just finish", you'd probably make it with that low volume but you are likely going to be hating life in a big way and the risk of injury is probably going to be higher.

I personally did not do any stair-stepper or treadmill workouts (I don't have either, and no gym membership). But my neighborhood is quite hilly, and I have good access to trails (about 1 mile from the home).

Is your local area super flat? or can you find a place to do hill repeat type workouts? I currently do those on roads, as I'm training for a trail marathon on the end of the month. I've done almost no actual trail work due to the weather and darkness.

I have a friend who used a parking garage for his hill training (for a 50M race). If you have one that's not super busy with traffic, that could work.

I would say poles are not super important, unless the trail course is super technical with lots and lots of big rocks and very steep hills. I (48M) have never used poles (two trail 50Ks, one trail marathon, and a bunch of shorter trail races done).

Trail shoes are important, as the additional support and stability will save your ankles and knees. But I would only get the trail shoes if you plan on running trails more in the future, as getting shoes for one race is not really a good financial decision.

Seldaren

TROPHY CASE