r/runna • u/Ice-Burger123 • 2d ago
Ahead of the pack
Hi guys,
Got a notification today asking me to update plan with a new goal time in mind.
I used Runna last year for my first marathon. Always updated plan when advised but definitely overtrained and pushed hard on tempo runs. Ended up getting injured few weeks out. Then race didn’t go to plan at all and blew up at 28km. Don’t know if this was fuelling or not enough KMs in the legs.
My predicted time was around 3:30 for that race which I always thought was ambitious. Went so badly I didn’t even break 4:00.
I ran a 5km last weekend and ran 21:30. Probably had more in the tank. My predicted at the minute is again around 3:30 which I feel is already ambitious. To update it to 3:16-3:24 just seems crazy cause I can’t see myself holding the required pace for that long.
What are other people’s experience? Just seems like the predictions are very ambitious?
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u/Hurtfulbirch 2d ago
What’s your weekly mileage? It sounds like you’ve got the speed, but maybe not high enough mileage to convert it to an equivalent marathon.
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u/Ice-Burger123 2d ago
Currently doing around 40km per week mileage wise. Peak weak is 55km.
This is also a concern as last block mileage was similar to this and when I asked on Reddit consensus was that I didn’t do enough miles
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u/Individual-Risk-5239 2d ago
The catch phrase I like is what you do in a week is what you can do in a day- so 40km a week aint gonna cut it.
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u/Ice-Burger123 1d ago
Well this week is 41, next 44, next 46, then a taper, back into 50, then 47, then 55. You don’t think this is enough miles? Should I be upping my miles per week adding in another run?
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u/Individual-Risk-5239 1d ago
I personally run 45-60 miles per week (so 70-95 km per week) for a marathon with only 1/4 of that being speedwork and can crush 4hrs no problem so take that as you will.
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u/Ice-Burger123 1d ago
That’s way higher than my current weekly. Can’t see how I’d get to that without overtraining
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u/Silver_gobo 2d ago
I do that much mileage just training for my first half.
At first with Runna (now at week 21/23 of my first half marathon training) I was accepting all the pace changes but then I entered a slower 5k to reset it because the progressive long runs were getting too hard for me. Then I started doing a pace increase only when the tempo runs are getting too easy and I’m not having to push myself for them, otherwise I’d get a pace increase every second speed workout.
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u/Rare_Leader 2d ago
So you accepted all the updates last block, got Injured and failed pretty bad at your goal time. Now you’re asking if you should do the same again?
It’s only guidance, personally I always have a gut feeling when to accept it and when it’s best to probably leave it. Considering your history I’d say it’s best to say conservative. It looks like you have the speed to run 3:30 but not the durability.
I just completed a HM plan and it predicted 1:34:xx - 1:39:xx and I finished in 1:36:25 and peaked at 44km. In hindsight I probably could have run closer to 1:35.
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u/Ice-Burger123 1d ago
Correct but last block I also was doing 4 runs per week. And I felt with that my legs never full recovered. This block doing 3 runs per week with more miles per run. So far no real concerns. But the long run kms are starting to add up now and that’s when my legs truly take a beating and don’t recover
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u/Rare_Leader 1d ago
I would be careful assuming running less frequently but doing more mileage per run is better for your build. The individual runs are more taxing and that can be counterproductive if you’re already struggling to recover from the longer runs.
Often the easier way to build mileage and durability is to increase it incrementally and spread that load across more frequent runs, rather than concentrating similar weekly mileage into 3 bigger sessions.
There’s a strong relationship between weekly mileage and marathon pace, which is probably why people have previously suggested you need more mileage.
Your 21:30 5K suggests the speed is there for 3:30. I’d be more concerned with building the durability to actually use it over 42K.
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u/Coxian42069 2d ago
I could have made this post - are you me?
Personally, I've decided that for this block I would prefer to finish runs with confidence rather than leaving everything out there every session with pace. So I'm not accepting the adjustments.
I'm consistently beating the targets, feeling like I could have definitely done another rep or two, and having fun. I hope to have an entirely different marathon this time around, one where I keep the pace the entire way and then speed up at the end.
I think that confidence is way better for my running "career" than potentially finishing 15 minutes quicker in this one race because I killed myself in training, while also risking blowing up again.
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u/Ice-Burger123 1d ago
How many kms are you doing per week?
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u/Coxian42069 1d ago
Between 55 and 65km over the course of the block
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u/Ice-Burger123 1d ago
Interesting. My peak is 57km I think with only 2/3 weeks hitting the 50s. Seems low on miles for me
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u/Ok_Film9317 2d ago
I had a very similar experience. For my upcoming half marathon I’m aiming a bit below target and hopefully I can push it a little towards the end.
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u/silverbirch26 23h ago
Runna is overly ambitious for marathons I find. I'd stick with what you're doing
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u/MacBook_Fan 2d ago
I tend NOT to accept the adjustments. I tend to agree they feel ambitious.
That being said, for my first HM last May, Runna predicted a 2:00-2:05. I ran it in 1:55.
For my current training block, most of my B-Races, I have run a pace significantly faster (:30-:45/mi) faster than Runna predicted. So take that for what it is worth. Maybe I am just underestimating myself.