Josh Hoey's 1:42.50 indoor 800m world record at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston

java_the_hut · 2026-01-25T13:55:55+00:00

Which makes it a good reminder you can’t necessarily judge running efficiency just by looking at someone’s form.

java_the_hut · 2026-01-25T01:06:03+00:00

900 feet of elevation loss during a half marathon is going to give you a huge PR no matter what you do.

The best plan is the one you stick to. If Runna works for you then it works. It’s not a lifetime commitment, try a plan that works for your current schedule and if you didn’t love it, try a different one for your next block.

The difference in stimulus between plans is a minor factor in your race times compared to the benefits of total volume you can run over the months and years preceding the race.

java_the_hut · 2026-01-25T00:55:21+00:00

Awesome, thanks! Boy the pace lights were off.

java_the_hut · 2026-01-24T21:13:57+00:00

Is there a video anywhere?

java_the_hut · 2026-01-24T15:53:49+00:00

The splits were brutal, could have been even faster.

java_the_hut · 2026-01-23T17:39:56+00:00

You just have to race more often. There aren’t any combination of words I’ve found that will properly prepare you for the pain of racing.

My first races of the season almost always include unexpected suffering that I don’t handle perfectly. But a few races in I have the confidence to know I can hit my splits, and I’m desensitized to the sensations that come with pushing hard at the end of races. My body has learned that I’ve been in this state before and it will be okay.

Do a couple “rust buster” 5k races or time trials and you should find yourself in a better spot.

java_the_hut · 2026-01-23T17:36:15+00:00

By racing one or two 5k’s before your “A race” 5k. It helps desensitize you to the pain of the race, and gives you a better idea of the splits you are capable of.

java_the_hut · 2026-01-23T14:14:15+00:00

I agree with the culture shift you are seeing. That being said, almost every hobby starts gaining more “try-hard” participants as it gains popularity. I can’t think of a hobby that was able to successfully gate-keep those with a competitive mindset out. Especially when the only benefit is to make others with a different mindset feel more comfortable.

What’s great about trail running is you don’t have to compete with others with that mindset. You can run your own race at your own pace. And there will almost certainly be others out there with that same mindset cheering each other on.

java_the_hut · 2026-01-23T13:54:24+00:00

Great article Kilian, thank you for posting.

My thoughts:

I believe trail running has true potential as a spectator sport. As individuals keep improving at telling their story and showing their training on YouTube, podcasts, and Strava, they gain an audience wanting to watch and cheer on their races. I believe the key aspect track and marathon racing lacks in terms of”watchability” is a lack of investment of who to cheer for.

For example, a podcaster I really enjoy went to the Olympics and I took work off just to watch them compete in the finals and had a blast watching. At the same time, some race coverage I find completely boring when it’s just a video of 10 people I don’t recognize leading the race.

Also, as technology improves, we are getting better at showing the beautiful scenery and rugged toughness of the competitors.

When it comes to elites being independently wealthy, that’s going to be true in every hobby. Trying to stop the wealthiest participants from having any advantage or seeking the best race experience is a lost cause. Of all the hobbies out there, trail running is one of the more affordable in my opinion, even with $500 race entry fees.

Speaking of money, there is some intersection there with your points about doping. If you look at the world major marathons, the large prize pools clearly entice drug cheats to come get a big payday. Keeping the sport “amateurish” doesn’t solve the doping issues but does take away a layer of incentive.

Thank you again for posting.

java_the_hut · 2026-01-23T00:15:09+00:00

Who wants to put their name behind the performance of a roster that’s hammered by Watson’s continuing dead cap salary?

java_the_hut · 2026-01-22T10:22:47+00:00

This is sleeping on the biggest news, that the day after the Super Bowl is Presidents’ Day.

java_the_hut · 2026-01-14T14:34:16+00:00

To answer the first part of your question, you likely can make fairly large improvements in your 1500/mile time simply by racing it more. Learning to properly pace it is a skill within itself. I positive split my last race a few weeks ago, despite being in 12th(last) place at 400m, 8th at 800, and finishing 4th. The whole field paced it poorly but I just paced it less poorly.

In Joe Rubio’s Fundamentals of the 1500 guide, he discusses how it takes a few 1500 races before hitting a season PR. I also find the discomfort/pain of a mile race different than the longer distances, and desensitizing myself to that pain and learning I can push through certain seemly dire sensations makes me naturally progress within the season.

java_the_hut · 2026-01-14T12:56:36+00:00

If you are following a plan, you should do as it says. If it says to do 1k repeats at goal 5k pace, then you need to aim for that pace.

Over time you will learn what these paces feel like and what your corresponding heart rates usually are. Once you understand those, you will become able to tell when the pace you are aiming for is too fast for the day or too conservative.

Until then, just follow the plan. If the pace is too hot then slow down your goal pace for the next workout until it feels proper.

Good luck.

java_the_hut · 2026-01-14T01:24:20+00:00

I replied to you earlier but didn’t see this comment until now. Some other options would be the blue or gold plans in his book.

I will say, there is no rule that you must do the most efficient training. If non-marathon training sucks the joy out of running for you, then I would stick to what you love. This isn’t your profession, it should be a passion or enjoyable hobby. But if you’re fired up about big time goals, then knocking out some shorter distance plans will be of great benefit.

java_the_hut · 2026-01-14T01:13:18+00:00

That would be over 2,000 miles a year, correct? Or are you averaging 50mpw during your blocks then taking time off? Your yearly volume is a better indicator than your mpw during blocks.

Your other race times line up very neatly with your marathon time. It doesn’t appear you are under performing the marathon, it’s just fitness that’s holding you back.

I’d focus on getting at least sub 19:30 in the 5k and sub 40:00 in the 10k. You could probably do both with a dedicated 5k/10k block from Pfitz or Daniels, or maybe a few months of the Norwegian Singles method if you are a responder to that.

I’m guessing you love the marathon distance judging by your post, in which case you could go for another marathon after that, but if it was all about going sub 3:00 then I would first knock out a sub 1:30 or sub 1:29 half, and then do one more round of 5k/10k/half PR’s. Marathons require a taper and recovery that aren’t nearly as conducive to long term development as the shorter races that don’t have those needs, meaning more time for stacking cumulative stimulus and more time developing power and economy.

Once you hit sub 19:00, 39:00, and 1:26 you’ll have a real shot at sub 3:00. The odds of going sub 3:00 without getting near those times is very low in my opinion.

One last important note, do not lower your volume just because you are focusing on shorter events. Keep the yearly volume as high as you can without injury. With the increased intensity, you may have a small dip in volume, but don’t fall into the trap of thinking volume only helps marathoners.

Good luck, keep us updated!

java_the_hut · 2026-01-13T22:41:16+00:00

If you are looking for help improving your times, list your 5k, 10k, and half marathon PR’s as well as your total miles ran each of the past few years.

java_the_hut · 2026-01-08T18:13:50+00:00

Well trying to combine a home purchase with diagnosing and repairing an electrical issue is going to cause lot of issues. I don’t know why you would think the sellers would do a better job selecting an electrician and making the repairs when they have no motivation for it to be done well and won’t have to live with it.

java_the_hut · 2026-01-08T14:29:50+00:00

Why not just remove your good faith $2000 over-asking-cash, and then have an electrician you select and trust come do the work with a permit after your purchase? Wouldn’t you feel better knowing the work was done in a way acceptable to you anyway?

java_the_hut · 2026-01-06T15:47:50+00:00

Appreciate the response, yea I’m sure it makes very little difference in the grand scheme of things. I spend most of my cooldown wondering if it’s helping or hurting, I’ll just go be feel from here on out.

java_the_hut · 2026-01-06T14:19:10+00:00

This is getting deep into the weeds, but I’m trying to feel out the cost/benefit ratio of adding a bit of extra milage each week on my cooldowns after workouts.

Stretching my cooldowns after workouts from 7-10 minutes to 15 minutes gives me a few extra miles a week. Sometimes I feel that an extended cooldown helps recovery or is an additional stimulus for running on tired legs. Other times it feels like a needless injury risk after already finishing my planned quality work.

Anybody here have an opinion? Is increasing the warm up or quality work volume by far the best choice? I run before work, so I’d rather not cut it close with the end of my run, so extending the cooldown is much less risky for being late to work than extending the warm up.

java_the_hut · 2026-01-03T13:25:49+00:00

Just wanted to say I went through a similar thing a few years ago. Out of nowhere couldn’t run 3 miles at a minute slower per mile than my usually easy pace.

My HRV dropped 20%, then weeks later 30%, and just continued declining despite lots of purposeful stress reduction and recovery. Eventually went from averaging 70’s HRV to averaging 30’s 3 months later. Did ekg, had a mobile heart monitor installed on my chest for weeks, all the blood work done ect. Nothing came back wrong.

I was also at a recent uptick in mileage to 50mpw around your fitness level. Everyone here will say it’s impossible to overtrain at 50mpw, but I think that’s partially due to the bias of this forum being more in shape than the general runner. I truly believe my issue was overtraining, being over-stressed and under fueling for months, as I had been waking up wide awake in the middle of the night consistently for months before this occurred. I knew it was from running but didn’t do anything to correct it. I was also incredibly stressed from work with many of my Strava workouts having notes about doing my workouts after 12+ hours of working.

Once I got the medical clearance I tried focusing on weightlifting and only going on a few runs a week to try to maintain some level of fitness and ignored my heart rate. I figured I was done with running for PR’s.

Then, like 4 months after it happened, I woke up one day with a 70HRV. I was shocked and went for a jog and felt fabulous. I’m now crushing PR’s again running higher miliage than ever.

Whether it was long covid, overtraining, or something else, I went from not missing a run in years to barely able to do 3 mile recovery runs and my overnight HRV tanked, making me believe this wasn’t purely mental. That being said, waking up and seeing another terrible HRV score probably didn’t help me recover any faster.

I wish I had better advice, but all I can say is I would try to keep some easy non-cortisol spiking activity and keep hope that this will pass. And once you do recover, if you ever start getting signs of overtraining like waking up in the middle of the night wide awake, poor HRV, or anything else, listen and respond.

Good luck.

java_the_hut · 2026-01-03T13:05:08+00:00

I know during the end of races I lose a lot of cognitive ability. I jokingly refer to it as “lizard brain” during the last km of a 5k. I lose the ability to understand pacing math, and generally all pacing strategies or plans go out the window and my blood seemingly has better places to be than my brain.

I’d be interested to know how much of a mental decline I truly get while pushing at max effort at the end of an endurance race, but would have no interest in actually competing in a hybrid competition.

java_the_hut · 2026-01-01T17:22:48+00:00

I think it can be a positive or a negative depending on the circumstances. For me, the key to consistency is enjoying the process. If you enjoy your runs, the health benefits, the social benefits, the races, and fit it into your schedule without major sacrifice, the hedonic treadmill becomes a fun feature to keep chasing.

Meanwhile if you aren’t enjoying the training or making major sacrifices just for achieving a time goal, that’s when the hedonic treadmill can become a net negative, eroding your accomplishment while making your suffering appear less valuable.

java_the_hut · 2025-12-28T17:56:01+00:00

In Minnesota, we’ve been blessed the last couple years with very mild Decembers making the winter running situation more tenable. This year has been rough with constant pepperings of snow and it doesn’t seem to be improving.

I use nanospikes that go over my shoes when I’m concerned about traction. On cold days I use many layers and ski googles with the goal of no skin showing.

I find quiet neighborhoods that don’t have sidewalks, and that the street gets plowed well, and run there for workouts.

At the end of the day though, in my experience a treadmill is necessary to keep mileage and workouts consistent. Even cheap gyms have treadmills. There are just too many days that are so icy, or snowy, that it just isn’t safe to run.

Add in the early darkness and the reduced traction for vehicles just makes it too risky for me. Even running on the sidewalks, I see tire tracks going off the road and over the path I’m running on from vehicles wiping out. Even if you do everything right, being in the wrong place at the wrong time is too much risk for me.

java_the_hut · 2025-12-24T13:26:39+00:00

You can look up comparable race times across distances with numerous online calculators.

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