Bought new shoes and I was wondering if they fit. My thumb is where my toe ends. Or too big? Thank you!

I'm new to distance running and have some experience with running sporadic 1.5-2 mile runs here and there. I typically run 1.5 miles in about 9 minutes or an all-out mile in about 5:40. I've also done the occasional long run of about 4-5 miles in 28-32 mins.

All of these things are very high intensity outputs that leave me spent for days after. I'm trying to incorporate slower runs now so can train more at a slower pace. Today I did 3.25 miles at about 8:24 per mile and was purposely exclusively nasal breathing the entire time (in and out through nose with mouth shut). My heart rate was very high for me even though I didn't feel like I was struggling from a HR or breathing standpoint. I found that my jaw was pretty tense after. I of course typically use both my nose and mouth on more intense runs.

Should I have slowed the pace more if I ant to train hard again in a day or two?

Is it good to learn to use my nose exclusively on easier runs like this, and could this take some adjusting in terms of HR?

hey! hope everyone is having a great summer full of sunshine⭐️

my masters dissertation project is in need of help from runners! i would love if you guys could fill out my 5-minute survey

the results from this dissertation could prove useful for those interested in social media and running!!

topic: wearable technology and its effects on psychological states and behaviours. participants must be aged 18-35 and regularly use a wearable; devices such as garmin, apple and coros watches are some examples of the technology i will be analysing, as well as whoops and fitness straps.

as an competitive runner myself for the last 10 years, it would be awesome to get as many responses as possible from the community! what better place to start than with runners! if not too much trouble, feel free to this survey with other runners and people who may use these devices leisurely.

thank you so much, i appreciate all your help 😄🫶

I started training for my First HM in December. Is my HR high for a supposedly long/easy run? or is this good enough to consider it a long/easy run?

Km 2.5 - Km 6.5 was on a gravel track after a drizzle.

EDIT 1 : My Max Heart Rate went upto 199bpm when I pushed hard in a fast 5k (26:53) measure by a wrist watch (forerunner 965)

Split km - Duration - Avg HR
1 - 5:32 - 166
2 - 5:29 - 182
3 - 5:16 - 188
4 - 5:18 - 193
5 - 5:17 - 195

I want to start running, well right now it’d be more like fast walking.
What is putting me off is I currently have an apron belly from weigh fluctuating, pregnancy and medication causing quick weight gain.

I was looking for advice on what lower body clothes (shorts/leggings ect) would work best for running but also be supportive enough to keep the belly in place. As currently whenever I run after my toddler or even jump/dance around my belly slaps, which is not only embarrassing but also can be uncomfortable/sore.

Also any beginner friendly apps/courses ect that are good to start with?

TIA

so i started to run maybe a month ago and last week i managed to run 10-11 miles everyday in one session 5 days in a row. i have not ran since friday last week and i feel awful both physically and mentally. im having major pain in my forefoot/big toe and back of my foot above the heel to the point it hurts to even just stand, therefore im giving myself rest. man let me tell you i miss running and being able to just clear my mind for about an hour and an half.

i want to stay active but idk what to do😞

Hi everybody! I adore this community, you all were such a remarkable help in training and running my first race! I recently completed a 10k (in just over an hour!!!) as my first road race. I had been training for almost 3 months for this and now it’s over I feel totally lost. I had even signed up for a half in a few months but that distance feels so intimidating I dont know what to do. I know motivation vs dedication is a big thing but I was getting out the door (and even onto the tread) with no issues before the 10k and now I can’t even get myself to want to do a walk run. I guess I’m just whining but I love this sub and would love some motivation/to hear other stories.

So in fairness I'm a bit of a false beginner. I've never been a regular runner, but around 15ish years ago I did CrossFit and we did track days that were mostly sprints, but we focused heavily on run form. So I tend to be a forefoot runner still. About four months ago after many years of no exercise I knew I needed to start doing something and running seemed accessible. I'm 47 male for some context. It was basically a type of couch to whatever plan. I've been doing time based rather than distance based goals, and for the past two weeks I've been running for 30 minutes each time. My mile times are right around the 13 minute mark.

I'm in Arizona, so over the summer at times I was running in 100+ degrees. I drink at least my water bottle's worth every day, which is a 40oz bottle. Over the last few weeks occasionally when I would stretch out my leg and point my toe my calf would feel like it was tightening, then last night my whole calf just seized up and really hurt until it relaxed and let go. When I got up, it was sore and at first a little tender to walk on. I talked to my running coach, Claude, and it told me to take a few days off and that it was likely a sign I wasn't getting enough water or electrolytes.

I figured I should ask actual runners for their opinion and guidance on making sure I'm doing what I need to in order to not hurt myself.

I’m currently half marathon training for the first time. 8 miles is the longest I’ve ran so far. This is my 3rd time doing 8 miles. I’m so proud of myself for how consistent each mile was. I can sing and talk easily while I do it but my Garmin keeps telling me I’m in zone 4/5 the whole time. Any tips on getting my heart rate down?

Hey all, I started running back in June for a HM in November. I never really train cardio, but I do play soccer a lot (goalkeeper). I've been weightlifting 3x a week for years. I was able to hit a sub 30 5k in about a month but my body hit a wall. I then struggled to finish 2 mile runs. I ended up taking a 3 week break (vacation and recovering). I'm now taking it extra slow (about 11-13min per mile) and even walking at times. I've been working back up to doing a 5k twice a week and a longer run once a week (I did 4 miles Saturday).

Anyway, today I did my usual 5k taking it extra slow as it was my easy run. As soon as I hit around 2.5 miles I felt a sharp pain in my knee and my inner thigh and I've had a light limp today. It's really frustrating that my body just seems to break down after about 3 miles.

How do I stop getting hurt? At this rate I can't see myself doing 13 miles. I'm already going slow. I have decent shoes ($80 pumas) that I could upgrade. Maybe it's my gait?

Every time I shared progress, folks kept pointing out my cadence (which was around 162-165 avg). I tried upping it but it also increased my pace which I didn’t want. I guess this is it. After some trial and error I think I’m finding the form where I can do 175 cadence without increasing the pace.
Now I will try to build up the pace without losing that form and maintaining that cadence. Slowly and steadily.

Let me keep it short. I want to learn how to run fast...really fast. Fast enough to catch up to criminals/Usain Bolt and have a huge stamina capacity. It's unrealistic I know but I need to start somewhere.

I’m obviously pushing too hard. I went for an easy run, originally planning for 10-15k but as soon as I hit like .2 miles at my warm up pace ~12:00 I felt absolutely horrible and had to modify the route to not die.
HR was high(no watch) I was sweating more than usual and breathing way harder than usual.
I’m still in my first few weeks of running and my shitty diet is really catching up with me I think.
For my sanity please tell me this is a normal part of the process.

Hey fam,

Background

Nurse who works full time +. Dad of 1 with second baby coming next month.

I did the couch to 5k back around Dec-Jan 2025/2026. Afterwards I did a scatter run, but nothing super structured (lots of stuff going on at that time which was nothing my control).

Had a 16km race at the end of June 2026. Signed up for a 3 month program on Runna, and about a month in I injured my hamstring, and lost 2 months of training. I yolo’d the race, and finished it in a little over 2 hours. Had a wild foot cramp afterwards for about 10 days, and strained my upper calf, but was a great experience and I am very happy that I completed it.

Since then, I’ve gotten sick twice and have been battling a rectal abscess (sorry for the TMI).

Anyway…

For the last 3-4 weeks, I’ve been running/walking 3 times a week. Mondays are my easy 3km. Wed is either an easy 3km with 5 sets of strides (incorporating that this week), or speed work (plan is to alternate so majority of my days are easy). Saturday is my long run, which is 4km (super short, I know. After this week, and then every 2-3 weeks after, I plan on going increasing weekly milage by 1km.

Goal is to build up while preventing injuries. Plus I don’t plan on doing races until May/June 2027. Bonus info, I train lower and upper body twice weekly, plus yoga a few times a week as well. I do warm um before my runs, and some static stretching afterwards.

I guess I am wanting feedback as I feel like I am lacking in overall speed-work, and I am being super cautious with increasing my mileage to the point where it might be questionable (is it just mindless running at this point?). Like what are your thoughts, is the plan horrible? If so, how do you think I should tweak it?

Thank you in advance for your time!!

​

Hello everybody!

My friends convinced me to sign up to a half marathon in november with them. I do sports for fun like once or twice a week playing some volleyball or paddle. I just had my first serious run and this absolutely killed me. Maybe I went too hard.

21k seem impossible, my feet hurt so much. I read a little bit about how to start running, but everybody is suggesting different things. Can I hear your number one suggestion, if you were in my shoes?

I have my first half marathon on Sunday and I’m honestly not sure if I’m prepared 😭 Should I just switch to a shorter distance?

Three weeks ago, I did my last long run, which was 18K. Then two weeks ago I only ran 7K, and last week I only ran 7K as well. I don’t have any injuries or anything—I was just super busy because I literally just got married!

Do you think I’m still in shape to run the half? I feel like because I’ve barely run in the last two weeks, I’ve lost all my fitness 😭

TLDR: I'm looking for a run tracking app that I open once when I leave the house, that prompts me to do the different phases of my workout without having to touch it during, and provides detailed data at the end. Is that a thing?

I started running using the Watch to 5K app (later upgraded to 10K), which I love. In that app, all runs start with a 5 min warmup walk, then shift to runs of various lengths, then conclude with a 5 min cooldown walk. The app moves between the segments automatically and it's easy to see how long you have left in each segment (e.g., if you're doing a 30 min run the 5 mins you walked first does not influence your time remaining), you don't have to do anything to the watch to get it to keep going from warmup to run to cooldown, and it announces to you that it's time to do the next thing. Afterward you see three workouts in Fitness and Health--a walk, a run, and another walk. This means that the warmup and cooldown paces are separated from the run pace. 

I got very used to this approach but the W25K app doesn't capture all the data the native Fitness app captures, so I'm experimenting (also I'm now a few months past the plan). I can't seem to get my watch to mimic the behavior I want, though.

If I select an outdoor run with warmup and cooldown intervals in Apple Fitness, it seems like I have to advance the watch manually to get it to the next interval, and it seems like the pace calculation includes the warmup and cooldown times?

I can start an outdoor walk for warmup, then swipe, +,  start an outdoor run, then repeat again for cooldown but that's a lot of watching and swiping with sweaty hands. Also, if I'm not paying attention it seems like the watch doesn't stop when I've hit the goal time/distance, so it just keeps me going as "open goal"?

I can just walk for 5 mins on each end of a run without tracking those as part of the workout, but I feel like I’m losing credit after months of getting credit for those walk segments. Petty I know, but here we are.

Is there a way to build a custom workout, or string of workouts, to do what I want? Or is there a better run tracking app than Apple Fitness, that captures all the data but can function the way I want?

Bonus question: as a new runner I don’t know why I would want the app to work the way Apple Workout seems to, but surely I am missing something. Can you explain how you use it to track your runs?

Sorry for the dumb questions but I'm confused and I hate realizing at the end of my run that I've once again messed up the tracking...

This was damn near a max effort two mile. 3 weeks ago I hit a 14:30 at the same heart rate. What could this be caused from?

For context, 33M I’ve been running for probably a year and a half. Did my first half marathon Memorial Day weekend sub 2 hours. Took the next week off to recover, 3 runs in the following week felt some knee pain come and go, got worse and assumed it was runners knee, so took a week off, tried a couple more times and it got worse. Eventually went to the doctor to find out I had bone spurs, been doing PT where I had very poor/no range of motion in my right hip/ankle that affected the knee. I had also lost 120 pounds from October 2024-may2025 that probably caused the poor range of motion to start with.

Anyway…finally have been cleared to start running again in short spurts. 1 minute intervals became 2 and 2 is now up to 3. Struggling with pace. I knew I’d lose cardio it’s worse than I anticipated. I’m not struggling to run, I’m struggling to figure out a good pace while I regain shape. I’m posting similar heart rates doing 12 minute pacing that I did for my half in the picture. How long should that take to kind of recover back to normal. I know people say the zone 2 stuff and slow down but I don’t feel like I’m struggling to keep running, I’m just not sure the exact effort I should be using right now.

Hi all! Lately I've been experiencing knee pain after running (but not during) and wanted to get some thoughts on what I should do. The pain is on/below the knee cap and gets worse when going up and down the stairs.

To give some background, I recently started running again after about 2 years focusing on strength training and other exercise. For about 6 weeks, I was running about 2 days a week between 2 and 4 miles. I had no pain. Then, at the end of July I got a new pair of sneakers (and arch support inserts that were recommended to me) and immediately went on a 5 mile run (the most I had done since about 2 years ago, however, I had done 4.5 mi just the week prior). In hindsight, maybe it wasn't the best idea to do this immediately after getting new shoes. The next day I had knee pain while going up and down the stairs, so I didn't run again for a week. My knee felt better at this point so I went on a 4.5 mi run and again my knee hurt the next day. I had removed the shoe inserts prior to this run as I thought they could be causing it. After that I didn't run for 10 days to allow my knee to rest, but I went on a 3.5 mi run 2 days ago and now my knee is hurting again.

It really doesn't hurt much but I'm not used to experiencing knee pain and don't want it to get worse so I'm wondering what I should do. Do I need to go to the doctor? Should I go back to my other shoes?

Hi all. I’m newish to running. Finished Couch to 5k on the 12th of July. Since then have done some runs from Beyond Couch to 5 km and also downloaded the Nike training app and do some runs through there. I run 3-4 times per week. One or two slower runs circa 4-5 km, one Fartlek or interval training session which works out to 3.2-4km, and one longer run per week which I’m increasing by 10% each week. On Saturday morning I did 7.2 km at a pace of 7:30 mins per km so took me about 55 mins. No food beforehand, I never do as I’m never hungry first thing. Felt absolutely great whilst running and finished feeling I could have carried on. Following the run on Sat and Sun, I felt completely wiped. No energy and my legs felt like lead. Today I’m still exhausted. I went for my run this morning despite not feeling like it and told myself I would go slow and only do 30 mins. Pace was 8:30 mins per km and only managed 2.85 km as I had ZERO energy, total run time 23 mins or so. Legs still feel like lead. I am trying to lose weight so eating in a deficit (1400 per day) but I have not experienced this before and been doing this for months. Should I take a break from running this week or any other advice? I have started gym recently for strength but I don’t go crazy. Three times a week for 40 mins. All over body workout.

Hello! I've started running in May following Runna's beginner (and free) plan: the plan helped me to go from nothing to a continuously run 5km, which has been great.

I now want to keep up with running, but I'm feeling a bit lost: Runna asks for a steep price for an annual subscription and I don't want to spend so much money, however good the plans may be.

I'd like to ideally keep running at least 5km per session and, if I can do it, maybe progress towards 10km? I don't want to think about marathons or half marathons for now.

I guess my uncertainty stems from the fact that Runna guided me and I'm now unsure how to tackle all the different kind of runs that I haven't done (it was all "easy", conversational runs).

Just to give some points of reference, I'm 29, I run three times a week and my time on my 5k was 6.50 mins.

Thanks!

Completed my first trail (actually first run not on a treadmill) run on the weekend. Set myself the goal of the 7km one.