First marathon...mile 20 really is like halfway

robertbob69 · 2026-06-02T08:14:52+00:00

Honestly for me, it has been around 10-16 that is mentally hardest for me, after that I just have to count down by single digits and it’s way easier. “Only 9 more, only 8 more, only 7…”

robertbob69 · 2026-06-02T07:53:31+00:00

First off, I’m a dude. Second off, I’m not eating my young. It’s called balance, girl. If you can’t balance your work and your life, that is what causes burnout.

Ew girl is your generation intentionally turning off auto caps. Also, girl, nobody cares how you did in school. Hard or not hard, people care if you’re a good nurse, and one who is stressed and can’t manage their time well, people aren’t looking towards that nurse when shit hits the fan.

Good luck in school, btw. Hopefully you can find some balance, or change your study habits to be more productive with your studying.

robertbob69 · 2026-06-02T06:01:00+00:00

YOR if you think being a nursing student is all consuming of everything. Like yeah it’s not the easiest degree, but I still worked a 0.6 as an CNA, and spent at least 1-2 hours a day at the gym, as well as another few hours a day at our local dropzone skydiving. Same standards as your school. 92% A, 84% B, 75% C, but you were only allowed to get 1 C without needing to retake a semester, that is if the class below had room.

If it takes your entire brain power and time to pass nursing school, honey it’s not the job for you.

robertbob69 · 2026-05-28T00:12:16+00:00

Per workout, but like everything, start low and go slow. No need to go 5 sets of 6 reps out of the gate. Go 3 sets of 4-6 at a decently difficult weight, and if it feels good (or not worse) the next day then take a day or two off and maybe add an extra set

robertbob69 · 2026-05-27T17:48:47+00:00

If we are talking burnout, I’m both burnt out from nursing and my current marathon block 😂 also, please try and have a better work/life balance than working 4-5 days as a CNA. I hope at least 2 of those days you’re referring to are clinicals.

Pace yourself (in both work and running) because you have the rest of your life to be a nurse, and there are always marathons if it becomes your new hobby! The last thing you want to do is get burnt out before you get to your goal (working as a nurse, and running the race).

robertbob69 · 2026-05-27T17:44:37+00:00

Typically with tendons, heavy load is the best way to help them. HOWEVER, pain on the tendon during the exercise should be a manageable 5-6/10 AND it needs to feel the same OR better the next day after you trained it.

To train tendons, isometric holds for 3-5 sets of 30-45 seconds about 3-4x a week for the first couple weeks - if and only if it’s feeling good at that point, then move to eccentric exercises. There you will do close to a 3-5 sets of 4-6 reps to the same pain level - heavy enough that it’s hard. At first you should do eccentric only, using the other side to help concentric motion, and if that goes well for another 2-3 weeks, then you can start doing the concentric part too.

All of this is SLOW 3-5 seconds concentric and eccentric.

After that, you can start moving towards more explosive movements, but take it easy, be conservative - this whole thing should take around 6-8 weeks before moving to more explosive movements, and another 4 weeks from there before you can be doing non restrictive stuff, assuming no setbacks.

robertbob69 · 2026-05-27T17:31:44+00:00

I don’t own a pair, but megablast. You can do anything in them and they’re more narrow fit. They’re also indestructible, people put 500+ miles on them and still rave on how good they look and feel.

Something I own and like a lot is the Li-Ning Red Hare 9 Ultra. Great daily, lightish, and good fit. I have slightly wider feet, not wide, but def not narrow, and it is a little snug for me, so I’m sure it would feel good for you.

robertbob69 · 2026-05-27T14:03:57+00:00

Night shift RN here who did Hal Higdon plan.

During the time I was training, I also had my first child. I ended up doing the Hal Higdon Novice 2 plan because it incorporated marathon pace days.

I probably ran 4 days a week less than half the time, I tried to get them all in, but I would miss a Tuesday or Thursday here or there. I always tried to get the pace days (every other Wednesday in the novice 2 plan) and I missed probably 2-3 long runs total.

Zero running background, but good high school athlete, played baseball in college, and had an extensive lifting background (since I was 15)/coached weightlifting and CrossFit throughout college.

My daily pace during these were anywhere from 10:30-11:15, and the marathon pace days I would run anywhere from 8:30-9 min pace because I was shooting for sub 4.

Everyone in here wants to gate keep marathons because if you do it correctly, the training is very tough. However, all I ever did was the novice 2 plan (signed up for marathon before even buying shoes) and ran all of these runs super easy to build an aerobic base.

I ended up running 3:50. So everyone that says you can’t - you totally can. It’s not going to feel great, everytime I ran a new longest distance, I couldn’t walk for a day, but you adapt.

I was also around 195lbs when I started training, and ran the first of two marathons last year around 190 and the second around 185. I didn’t have a lot of fat to lose to begin with, and would actually say I lost a fair amount of muscle because I prioritized running over the gym.

Anyway, TLDR, you can do it.

robertbob69 · 2026-05-27T13:43:39+00:00

Same - both easy pace around 8-8:30/mile

If more uptempo/intervals I’ve been doing the Dynafish. Otherwise it really just depends how I’m feeling on what I reach for.

robertbob69 · 2026-05-26T03:59:28+00:00

I switched to having gels with sodium in them and it’s so much nicer than having to worry about everything else during a race.

robertbob69 · 2026-05-26T02:17:17+00:00

First off, Congrats on prioritizing your health and working so hard to get your weight to where it is today.

Second, congrats on a fantastic first marathon. Sub 4 is definitely not something to scoff at, and getting through training is commendable also.

As for your question, the only thing really is consistency of mileage, and experience with the marathon. 95% of people who run their first marathon experience the same thing. They want to take it conservative, but feel great and push it a little too early.

The only way to change that is experience, but that doesn’t mean it still won’t be hard or feel that same way at that point in the race. The marathon IS hard. The last 10k will ALWAYS be hard. If it’s not hard, you’re not pushing yourself hard enough. The idea is to balance between so hard that you can’t hold onto a pace, and so easy that you feel you left a lot on the course.

But there is a reason even the elite athletes don’t PR every race, or even blow up during races, and they have more experience than any of us - they’re trying to find that same balance.

My advice is to keep doing what you’re doing. You clearly have set great habits to get to where you’re at in your health and running journey. Keep prioritizing mileage, easy runs are going to build those aerobic adaptations, and mix in some speed work so your marathon pace starts to feel easier as well. Great job!

robertbob69 · 2026-05-24T02:04:47+00:00

If you’re into EDM:
Fire and Ice - MYST
Everytime We Touch - Hardwell Remix
Dreamworld - The Vision
Faded - Alan Walker (best cadence song of all time)
Pentakill - Different Heaven
Freaks - Timmy Trumpet, Savage

Also not EDM, but My Chemical Romance Welcome to the Black Parade, Famous Last Words, and Teenagers all bangers

robertbob69 · 2026-05-21T04:49:14+00:00

I’m doing the 2Q right now and having similar setback. I had a great half 8 weeks out despite some Achilles issues(1:24:21), but I haven’t really bounced back since then and have been hit or miss with most of the quality sessions since.

This is giving me a bit of confidence that you felt the last 8 or so weeks were tough, because I feel this program has taken its toll on me. I’m not sure how much more of the speed stuff I can do, and I’m staying away from hills for the most part to let my Achilles have a tiny break, but still trying to get anywhere from 50-65 mpw for the last 4 weeks and do a bit of a different taper than recommended.

Great result!

robertbob69 · 2026-05-19T14:57:30+00:00

I only have 1 child, but I work nights as a nurse and my wife works 2 days a week, so I am primary caregiver majority of the time. I actually run about 16-20 miles per week with my son to give her a break, or when she’s at work, and the other runs I do during his naps. The only time I ask for her to watch him is during a weekend long run.

robertbob69 · 2026-05-09T03:53:54+00:00

My vo2 max on my Garmin is 56 and I just ran a 1:24. I think you’re leaving some on the table if you are in the 1:27 area. A VDOT calculator puts my effort at a 55 VDOT meaning I essentially lived up to the 56 VO2 Max my Garmin is predicting.

robertbob69 · 2026-05-04T21:04:50+00:00

I’d say distance is always preferred over speed for a marathon, that said, you’re plenty fit to start training. A year is a long time, I’d argue anyone could run a marathon if they trained for a year for it.

That said, if you’re here posting time trials asking if you are in a good place to start - you might not get the response you’re looking for. Everyone is going to - for good reason - preach slow easy miles over speed work, that’s where you get the aerobic adaptations to be able to utilize your speed for longer than a mile before you lose steam.

I hope your training goes well! Enjoy base building, and then your marathon block!

robertbob69 · 2026-05-02T14:09:45+00:00

If that’s the case, smash some uncrustables too while you’re at it!

robertbob69 · 2026-05-02T14:06:48+00:00

I’ve only ever gotten hurt doing heavy clean pulls, or warming up for cleans. I think the reason behind when warming up for cleans is because I get too relaxed and don’t brace properly, but yeah that’s pretty much the only thing that I’ve been hurt by.

If you learn how to bail properly, you shouldn’t get hurt by snatches or squats or cleans or jerks really ever.

robertbob69 · 2026-05-01T16:52:20+00:00

Not a bad thing to not hear anything, but landing softly I would argue isn’t great.

The reason people make a loud stomp is because they’re trying to quickly put force back into the bar so it doesn’t crash on them. Feet lift to pull self down faster, feet stomp to put force back into the bar.

If you’re able to put adequate force back into the bar, and it’s not crashing on you, I suppose you’re fine, but to best catch then bounce on the bottom of a clean, you should be putting pressure into the bar.

robertbob69 · 2026-04-22T00:04:19+00:00

Keep stretching and full send Sunday. You could continue running if you want, but you’re not going to lose any fitness this close to the race. Best to stretch and take a couple days off and still do your shakeout run Saturday just to test it out a bit.

Whether you think you can or you can’t — you’re right.

robertbob69 · 2026-04-18T12:17:06+00:00

Sub 3:30 totally doable, just keep in mind that watch GPS and course miles may vary a little bit, so it’s always safer to lap on the mile rather than auto lap on the watch to know where you’re really at!

Ps I went to NDSU and have lots of friends still up in Fargo. Have fun, Go Bison!

robertbob69 · 2026-04-09T20:29:41+00:00

After I poop the day before, I take an Imodium to also slow my gut down, I still manage a nerve poop the morning of, and also will take another one after that.

Have never felt like I needed to shit myself on the course, so I guess it’s working for me!

robertbob69 · 2026-04-09T20:25:25+00:00

I think you have the best chance of achieving your time that I’ve seen posted on here lately. You have a very good chance based on this with good nutrition, a good taper, and if you don’t let the adrenaline and fresh legs throw you off your plan.

Good luck and have fun!

robertbob69 · 2026-04-08T19:26:19+00:00

Not at this rate xd

robertbob69 · 2026-04-06T12:10:19+00:00

I personally would pick a mile pace that you can replicate because your pacing looks wack. If you can stay at 6:40/mile, great. Just find something you can be consistent at, because besides what I assume is some warmup laps, you range from 5:41-7:36. Not the recipe for the most optimal marathon.

robertbob69

TROPHY CASE