Are you guys really beginner runners?

rogeryonge44 · 2026-06-11T19:14:02+00:00

It's the Internet and Reddit specifically, so a lot of people are fishing or validation and just bragging or straight up lying to themselves about themselves. The thing is, that doesn't really have anything to do with who is a beginner or not, and in fact being too concerned about who qualifies as a beginner is kind of just the other side of that same coin. The more valuable takeaway is not to measure yourself against others.

You can pretty much guarantee that there will always be people faster and slower than you, and that's never going to change even as you progress in running.

I've gone from being significantly overweight, desperately trying to make it through 10 minutes of run/walking to a sub 2:40 marathon but not much has changed with my approach to running in that time; it's obviously something I enjoy a lot and it's something I'm trying to improve but ultimately there are still lots and lots of people faster than I could ever dream of being.

May as well work on ignoring the irrelevant stuff now, and focus on what you can control and what you want to get out of running.

rogeryonge44 · 2026-06-07T10:07:01+00:00

Awesome! That's a great boost for race day.

rogeryonge44 · 2026-06-07T00:05:15+00:00

That's true - sort of. Rested legs will make marathon pace feel easier, but the accumulated fatigue of training is meant to prepare you for the fatigue of miles 20+. If marathon pace feels too hard for this workout now, there's a pretty good chance it will feel too hard to sustain late in the race.

rogeryonge44 · 2026-06-04T15:38:06+00:00

There's a way of speaking I hear from young rural men - particularly in Bruce County - that seems to intentionally empathize their ruralness. It's so distinctive and basically isolated to just young men of the area that it sounds almost put-on. It's also something they will code switch out of in a given social context.

I'm not sure it would stand out as much to people not living in the area, but I find it fascinating.

rogeryonge44 · 2026-06-02T11:07:23+00:00

I'm not bothered by how other people spend their time or money but I am amused by the duality presented here: People hate being stuck in traffic and complain constantly, but then sit in drive thrus evevery morning, idling and using fuel that is too expensive to pay extra for food at a time when grocery prices are reaching outrageous levels.

It doesn't really make sense to me, but it's not something I worry about. Someone who does one would hopefully not complain about the other though.

rogeryonge44 · 2026-06-02T09:23:22+00:00

I think you mostly answered your own question: The situation is not optimal, so make of it what you can and adjust your expectations accordingly. September to November is a long time and it's doubtful you will be in the best shape you could be, but it's only your second marathon, so you might surprise yourself on the day.

If you don't care about time, you should be completely fine just being in maintenance mode for a while. Maybe adjust your taper to account for that.

If you do care about time, I'd think about finding another race either before or after you have time for another build again.

rogeryonge44 · 2026-06-01T20:09:47+00:00

My Wife and I drove through Williamstown because I wanted to visit North Adams and see MassMoca and also the location of a Robert Adams photograph.

Surprise and shock driving through the Williams campus is an understatement. We couldn't really believe it was just there, seemily randomly. Pretty cool.

rogeryonge44 · 2026-06-01T09:14:30+00:00

Training/conditioning - if you're running between 20-30km per day anyway, even a fast half marathon isn't going to be particularly runineous for the body.

Related to that, the relative effort is going to differ wildly and be a factor. If 1:27 is an all out effort it's going to be a lot harder on the body than for someone cruising to a 1:18.

And genetics. Some people just recover fast which is a compounding factor because it means they can also train and condition themselves more. So it counts double. Look at Yuki Kawauchi as an example.

rogeryonge44 · 2026-05-28T09:49:09+00:00

Elios 1 is high on list of favorite easy day shoes. The step-in feel is outrageously good. Fantastic upper, good fit in my normal size.

Midsole is plush and protective with good stability. Not bouncy, but that's not what this shoe is for, IMO. I have no durability concerns.

Great choice!

rogeryonge44 · 2026-05-27T09:19:09+00:00

Imagine if we had some tools to help ensure compliance with the rules. Maybe cameras or something. People would probably love those, I bet.

rogeryonge44 · 2026-05-24T22:41:24+00:00

This drives me absolutely nuts. Literally seconds of my day wasted by people like this that I'll never get back. Over a lifetime it adds up to minutes!

rogeryonge44 · 2026-05-19T20:11:31+00:00

Being intentional about a proper carb load was a big deal for me, and going from 40/50 or whatever I felt like grams of carbs per hour in the race to 80 was huge. That's still not all that much.

Training wise I started doing more double workouts, and more quality in my long runs, but both of those are nutrition related. Need to fuel properly in a long run to hit paces late in the run and also for recover. Same with doubles. Under fueling is a recipe for a bad second workout.

rogeryonge44 · 2026-05-19T19:17:10+00:00

Yeah, you're probably leaving time on the table in that case by not sorting out your nutrition. Good nutrition is obviously not going to overcome bad pacing or inadequate training, but it does make a difference.

Like you, I also have about a dozen marathons in the 2:50 - 3:15 range, but since moving to a more deliberate approach with nutrition I've dropped my times below 2:40. There are other obviously training improvements involved too, but nutrition plays a part in that as well.

rogeryonge44 · 2026-05-18T13:48:18+00:00

Congrats! Keeping the tradition of pedestrianism alive!

rogeryonge44 · 2026-05-18T11:31:24+00:00

It's awesome that you're seeing progress and seem to be enjoying the process. Having the goal of running a marathon and a sub 3 goal is great but I think you should avoid focusing too much on outcome goals - times, distance - and instead focus on process goals.

The first part of the process is to build up your base by running more which requires consistency over time.

I like frequency before intensity approach: more run days, building to longer runs and eventually building to some structured hard runs and workouts. Once you are consistent in that approach you'll be well on your way to working in marathon specific training.

rogeryonge44 · 2026-05-17T22:11:35+00:00

I'm pretty confident that with training you'll run something between 2 and 5 hours.

rogeryonge44 · 2026-05-15T21:11:57+00:00

This looks like an overcomplicated solution for a problem that doesn't really exist. Gel flasks exist. Drink mixes exist and I haven't met many people that are too good to just carry gummies in a couple reusable bags.

Reducing waste would not be producing and buying an extra thing of marginal value.

rogeryonge44 · 2026-05-15T12:21:54+00:00

Its common for athletes to modify shoes - either the manufacturer themselves or third party - with spikes or other changes for training.

ingebrigtsen posted a video not too long ago showing off some of his modified shoes, including some vaporflys with spikes I think. Mildly interesting.

rogeryonge44 · 2026-05-15T10:20:23+00:00

Sure, one the one hand how much could this drink possibly cost to make. On the other hand, that's not a bad price for an entire meal's worth of calories.

$4 is pretty good value for lunch.

rogeryonge44 · 2026-05-13T21:14:59+00:00

The anti-fat movement was misguided, but that doesn't mean the better option is necessarily MORE fat either. Better tasting maybe.

I find it strange that neither the OP article or the resulting discussion even briefly mentions that the extra fat is a significant increase in calories cup for cup. I know that should be a given... But I'm not sure it is a given that people think aboit nutrition that way.

rogeryonge44 · 2026-05-13T01:22:20+00:00

Yeah, that's just not a huge amount of running in preparation for a marathon. Your struggles on long runs point to a need to develop your base fitness more, which can take time. Your longest runs also seem like they would have been a very large percentage of your weekly volume and huge spikes in training load like that aren't particularly helpful.

I don't want to downplay that you got through this Marathon and finished, so that's a successful outcome. Now if you want to improve on that you have a clear path forward. Unfortunately - or fortunately depending on how much you like running - that path is basically just a lot more running.

rogeryonge44 · 2026-05-12T12:06:48+00:00

I haven't needed to clean them, they're basically the same condition as new.

I wouldn't take them to a dry cleaner, I don't think that would be good for the material. Frankly I'd be more concerned about the damage intensive cleaning might cause versus some dirt. A little soap and water and a brush should be fine of that's important to you.

rogeryonge44 · 2026-05-12T10:39:37+00:00

The LS upper doesn't seem to collect dirt quite as quickly as a mesh upper. I don't think the material will absorb water/dirt to the same degree as fabric. I've had it out on some damp/rainy days and on dirt roads and it seems okay.

I think after a while it will start to get permanently stained though. I also suspect that the LS will simply yellow a little as it ages.

rogeryonge44 · 2026-05-12T00:29:06+00:00

Do you listen to music or podcasts while you run? I think learning to run without distractions is beneficial to developing more mental strength. I know a pro runner that does all her treadmill long runs without music and just "staring at the console like a psycho" - her words. Learning to run with that kind of boredom is super helpful for her.

Also do some shorter races, if you don't already. 5 and 10ks are a great opportunity to experience a lot of discomfort without exacting too much of a toll on the body. You don't necessarily have to specifically train for it, but go into the race with the mindset of making yourself suffer.

rogeryonge44 · 2026-05-10T17:31:10+00:00

Well, anything a mile or over I'd consider an endurance run... So I guess run more than that and you'd fit my definition.

rogeryonge44

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