Wanted to finish a marathon before end of year but could not find any available marathon events near me except this trail one and decided to give it a go, it was absolutely soul crushing run when I had a bad knee pain along the way but I ended up finishing, it was beautiful feeling when I finished though. I started only in January and completed 5k to a marathon now, cut off was 12 hours and I finished in 8hours 30 minutes. I’ll stick to doing maybe 1 marathon a year as this was part of my weight losing journey.

It wasn’t pretty, but my goal was to finish and I did! I ran the Baltimore 🦀 marathon ❤️

I've been looking forward to posting this since I started following this group for the best part of a year, as this group has been a source of inspiration for me seeing so many people provide advice and achieve their goals. I hope what follows helps others.

Today, 18th October, was Abingdon Marathon (S.England, UK).

I gave myself a New Year target to run a marathon in the year, and came into 2026 with a sketchy background of running. Mostly Parkuns in 2025, mixed up with infrequent longer runs up to half-marathon pace. I foolishly thought, with that background I could compete in a Spring Marathon with 16 weeks of training so followed a typical training plan that peaked at ~30km in April. But hell, that broke me .. and I thought there was no way I was ready for a full Marathon. Saw that Abingdon (a local Autumn marathon) was available and reserved a space for October 18th, an Autumn target made more sense.

So, after a further couple of months of base training, I picked up a new Marathon training Plan from June'26 which gave me a new plan over 20 weeks to prepare. I used Gemini AI - entered my details, target pace, background, ParkRun on Saturday, Long Run on Sunday, and a couple of runs during the working week - and it came up with a nice plan tailored to my week and target paces. Typically, I would keep my ParkRun as my tempo run (25min target), two runs in the week (Tuesd/Thurs) and a longer run on Sunday.

As things turned out, training wasn't perfect. I hit a few injuries (Calf strains), family holidays in September (meaning I missed my target Sunday long runs), and then thought I had a catastrophic injury on September 27th when I had a Grade 1 Hamstring Tear just 10km into my final long slow run. That injury gave me 3 weeks to recover, but entering taper thought it was just about possible.

Over the last 3 weeks I focused on strength training on my hamstring, and was able to return to a few short runs in the week leading to the race, but no more than 5km at target pace (5:40/km). Up until the race I had no idea whether I would be able to run 5km or 42km, or anywhere in between.

Fortunately, Abingdon Marathon is a flat race so risk of hamstring strain is reduced a bit. Weather was pretty close to ideal with temperatures around 12C, although Northerly wind picked up with wind in range of 10-16mph leading to a headwind in final few miles. The route weaved in and out of a few towns in a largely rural location, with part that contained a loop that you ran round twice. Marshalling was superb, crowds were cheering on using your name on your bib .. which really gave a nice boost and made it feel quite personal

I set my Polar watch with race pace of distance of 42.5km (allowing for distance errors) and target time of 3:59:00 to give myself a minute margin under a 4hour target. Bone-conduction earphones are a must, disqualification is threatened if ear-buds are used as parts of the route are open to traffic and marshals need to be heard to give instruction. In truth, the traffic was never a problem - the occasional cars that were passed where all considerate and the runners came first. Muse radio channel was my go to music list, which I only used when the crowd thinned out on occasions, most of the time it was nice to hear the crowd cheering you on.

For energy, I planned to use Decathlon +3hr Energy Gels that have 2:1 glucose/fructose (30g carb, 180mg salt) every 4km, so 10 gels carried in running belt with my phone. I also made up a sports drink (250ml, Active Root, 40g carbs, 567mg salt) in a soft hand-carried water bottle. I ended up taking 9 gels, one left unused, I think I missed a gel around 36km mark, in total that's about 340g of carbs and more than enough salt.

Water stations were every ~3miles and a managed to take a few gulps of water at each, and a couple of water stations provided isotonic drinks which I used to refill my 250ml. I tried to take my gels before each water station.

The start was in cracking weather. An earlier rain shower had passed, morning temperature was fresh, probably around 10C, and heart-rate was low after race started, just 124bpm in the first km, and took 5 km to reach 150 which is where I expected to be for most of the race. Those first comfortable 5km's gave me a 2 minute cushion ahead of my target time.

I checked in on myself regularly .. how was I feeling, could I keep up the pace, hamstring check, heartbeat .. and at half-marathon I was feeling quite strong.

When I hit 30km I feared the wall, but other than increasing fatigue it didn't really hit me and I mentally convinced myself it was just another 10km to go, just 2 park-runs at an easy pace.

I kept the focus on small distance targets, next water-stations, fueling, and avoiding over-stretching that hamstring. Heart rate increased to mid 150's by 10km, to low/mid 160's from about 30km. With about 5km to go, I felt my 2 min cushion was enough to ensure I could complete within 4 hours so slowed a little to ensure I didn't injure my hamstring, but was fairly confident I was going to complete. By this time, I was overtaking others who were walking or holding their own hamstrings and tried to give support where I could. The finish is a lap of running circuit at Tilsley Park in Abingdon leading to the finishing line opposite a grandstand.

My Polar Flow tracking had landed on a Training Index of 51 before the race, with a predicted time of 3:57:00. From the beginning of Feb to race date in Oct I did 141 runs, a total distance of 1540km (also cycled about 1300km from a daily easy work commute of about 13km day). For the last couple of months I'd also been using Runalyse which I wish I'd discovered earlier, and that had estimated I could also do a 3:57:00 based on my training up to the end of August and before my lack of training and injury in September kicked in which led to it predicting a slower outcome of around 4:10:00 due to the lack of long runs and distance training.

And that was it.

Rather chuffed with myself as I've dreamt of doing a marathon for decades and have been in awe of those that finish London and other marathons that I've seen on TV. And at the not-so-young age of 57 I finished with an official time of 3:56:27 - pretty much spot on with Polar and Runalyse predictions, feeling quite emotional with myself at the end.

Hope you too meet your dreams and targets and good luck with your training.

I was supposed to run my first marathon tomorrow, but my son woke up with the highest fever he’s ever had and basically has not been able to do anything besides cuddle me or his mom all day. There is just no way I can be away from him right now when he needs both his parents, but i feel incredibly sad. I’m telling myself I’ll run 26.2 in the coming weeks (i raised money as part of this) but i still feel disappointed and sad even though i need to be here for my son.

I don’t see people talking about this. Anyone else go through something similar?

Advice and Realistic Goals for First Full

Hi All, I’m looking to run my first full marathon next year, and this seems like the place to go for advice. What I’m looking for are people’s thoughts on when to run, training, and realistic goals.
Background: I’ve been running sporadically the past two years, with most of my cardio coming from Peloton cycling workouts. I ran my first 5k with a friend in April, after having run about 3 mpw in the three weeks leading up to the race, and finished in just over 27:00. I started running 15-20 mpw after that and ran a couple more 5k’s this summer, finishing in 24:00 and 23:00. Decided to train for a half in mid September. Injured my hip about four weeks in and had to take a month off. Came back and ran about 9 mpw for three weeks, then 20 mpw for two weeks, and took a week off (because my wife was away and I couldn’t leave my kids home alone to go running). Decided to run a half over Columbus Day on a whim and finished in 1:49, only ever having run over 10 miles once. I was pleasantly surprised with that time. Now I’m considering a full.
I’m located in the northeast usa, so our summers are fairly hot (85f/30c), but I usually run in the morning. The winters are cold (25f/-5c) and snow can accumulate and stay, making running difficult. How do people train around these obstacles/what is the best time to run a full? Also, based on the times I’ve run, what is a realistic goal to set for myself provided I complete the proper training? I’m thinking 3:40’s, but I can’t help but wonder if I could push that lower. Finally, I’ve looked at a few training methods and Higdon novice 1 seems very manageable, but Hanson novice intrigues me. Suggestions on this end? Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this and comment, I really appreciate the help. I haven’t become part of a running community (yet, at least) so I’m sort of wandering around with all this.

Hi, everyone! It’s been a week since my first marathon, and I successfully ran a sub-4! However, I still haven’t gone for a run or hit the gym. Is this normal? Is it okay to take this much time off? I can’t help but feel guilty.

Hello,I am running a marathon on December 6. I’ve been using a Garmin training plan, but at this point I’m nervous about whether or not I should even complete or attempt the marathon. I’m averaging about 30 to 35 miles a week over the past few weeks, but my longest run has only been 10 and a half miles. At this point, I don’t think I trust the plan anymore. I feel like I should have more mileage on my long runs by now. Has anyone had an experience with this? I am thinking of adding one and a half to 2 miles per week to my long run, and decreasing some of my weekly mileage prior to taper. If I don’t feel I am making adequate progress safely, I may postpone or see if I could change it to a half. If anyone has any thoughts on this, I would appreciate it.

Running my first marathon today and I’m honestly super nervous. I’m going for finish. Not time. So I’m fully expecting a 6+ hour race. I’m 6’4 270lbs. Only been running a year. I’ve spent the last 21 weeks training and this time last year I couldn’t run quarter of a mile. Had a couple unproductive runs in my block but managed to stay injury free and kept showing up. I wanna have fun and not kill myself. Wish me luck!

I've decided to pursue a half or full marathon hopefully in 2027 but now that I'm upping my running I'm confused on how to schedule it all. If I run 3 days a week and need at least 1 rest day, that leaves 3 training days. Is 3 days enough to build muscle? Should I lift on running days too? What if I do legs the day before a run and now I'm at risk of injury??

I’m running NYC in 2 weeks and it will be my first marathon!

My daily trainers are ASICS Gel Nimbus 28, I’ve been wearing this model for over a year and have used them for my half marathons.

My long run and planned race shoes were gonna be ASICS Superblast 3. I did my longest runs in them and liked them a lot. BUT, in the start of my taper this week my left ankle felt super unstable in my superblasts and I felt like in my runs following I was bracing with my left leg.

I am not sure whether this is just mental (taper tantrums and anxious about my first marathon) or if this is an issue with the shoes??

Basically I’m not sure if I should stick with the superblasts and see if the problem resolves or run in my Gel Nimbus which isn’t as light and bouncy but I know it works (have not run more than 13 miles in these shoes though). Any advice would be appreciated cause we are so close to race day and I gotta decide!!

Also my Superblasts have 120 miles on them (I don’t notice any major wear), and my Gel Nimbus have closer to 250 (if I choose these I will probably get a new pair before November 1st).

I’m running my first half marathon soon and will be running alone, so I would welcome some advice from people who have experience with race day!

1. Breakfast, fuelling and bathroom logistics

My usual routine is - get up, stretch, drink some water, eat a banana and a peanut butter sandwich, use the bathroom a few times, then head out for my run — all within about 20–25 minutes.

But race day will be different. It’s an A-to-B race, and I’m staying near the finish, so I’ll need to take a shuttle to the start - I’m not actually sure what time it gets me there - must check!

I’m not sure how best to manage breakfast, timing my food - should I eat before I leave, on the way, at the start point? Eat twice?

And what about the bathroom? I’m assuming there will be bathrooms but I’m also assuming they will be busy?!

How do you usually handle this? How much time do you leave between breakfast and the race?

2. What should I expect when I arrive at the start?

As I have never done a race before, I have no idea what to expect.

What does the pre-race process typically look like? Registration, bib collection, finding your starting pen or pacer, warming up and getting into position. How early do you arrive?

Any good tips?

3. Bag storage and what to wear

Because this is an A-to-B race, there’s a service where I can hand over items before the race and have them transported to the finish.

Do people generally use this service? I’m wondering whether i will need a warm layer for the journey to the start and the waiting around beforehand?

4. Pacing: should I run with a sub-2-hour pacer?

My goal is to finish under two hours (although I’m borderline at the moment).

My target average pace is around 5:40/km, but I tend to need a little time to warm up, but usually finish fast and strong - I’ve done long runs of 18km, 19km and 20km, not at HM pace but close.

I was considering starting conservatively and gradually increasing the pace - for example :
0–5 km: 6:05/km
5–12 km: 5:45/km
12–18 km: 5:30/km
18–20 km: 5:20/km
20–21.1 km: 5:00/km or faster if I have it in me.
This should bring me in just under 2hr.

BUT a more experienced runner I know suggested starting with the sub-2-hour pacer, so I can switch off a bit mentally and let them manage the pace. He felt starting slow with the wrong pacer was a bad call.

My concern is that a sub-2 pacer might start too quickly for me and I might burn out quick as I usually start slower.

Would it make sense to start slightly behind the pacer and catch up gradually, or is it better to stick to my own pacing plan?

EDIT - these are the starting groups

Expected finish time
1:20
1:20–1:35
1:35–1:45
1:45–2:00
Over 2:00

Thoughts on where to start?

Any other advice welcome!

I(36M) started running almost 3 years back. Got a bib NYC through a charity last year and broke my ankle a couple months prior. Got deferred successfully so I’ve been super focused on training post recovery.

Set a goal of 4 hours and have seemingly been on track. I went out for my last long run before taper this week and as I approached mile 18 I started feeling some pain under my knee cap. From what I understand it sounds like it’s a mild case of runners knee/pfps. I’ve had it once before, but worse, and remember it taking a good couple of months to heal.

Being 2 weeks out from my race… what would you all do during that time to keep up with training while being careful to not exacerbate the problem. Elliptical milage? Stationary bike? Any tried and true exercises you suggest?

Marathon is 2 months out. I'll readily admit I am doing a marathon just to prove to myself that I can after saying "I could" for a while now. I'm a relatively active person, run recreationally and I'm on my feet a lot so I had a decent base to start from.

I was on my 20 mile run yesterday and felt fine and curiosity got the better of me and I just kept going until I hit 26.2. Finished in 3 hours, 50 minutes. I felt the usual soreness afterwards but nothing dire. Emotionally I thought to myself "cool, I did it".

I had two goals before starting my training: finish a marathon and a stretch goal to finish it in under 4 hours.

Now that I accomplished it, albeit it during training, I don't feel a desire to actually do the marathon itself anymore. I think I will just because I registered for it and people want to come support me but honestly my motivation isn't particularly high.

I don't know if anyone has ever known or been in this situation before but I guess....I did it? I don't have much of a desire to go faster or train harder but maybe I need a new goal to keep myself motivated until December.

Ill be attempting my first marathon next week and would like opinions on which shoe to run in - the options are either Asics Novablast 6 with 76km on them (I've had no issues with these), or Asics Superblast 2 with 581km on them.

Im torn because I know the SB2s are more long run suited, but the NB6s should in theory be fresher and ive done a HM in these with no issues.

Target pace will be 5:25/km, its not a race format, im just going out to do the distance and ive been running for a couple of years now (most my miles in NB5s), just never got around to FM distance.

Thoughts welcome 🙏

(58M) I ran my first full marathon on Sunday. I had done 5 half marathons in the 18 months before the race and I trained for the marathon for 5 months. At the peak of my training I was running 55 miles per week , running 4 times per week. My last long run was 24 miles, 3 weeks before the race. On that last training run I kept my desired pace constant for the first 12 miles and then slowly got faster, I ran the last mile 25% faster than the first one. 

I reduced my weekly miles for the 2 weeks before the race and increased my intake of carbs for 2 days before the race. I was injury free, I had a fuelling plan, I had a planned pace, I had been training in my chosen shoes and they felt great. I had my playlist and clothes decided. I was ready, nothing could go wrong ...

I was so excited the night before that I only slept about 2 hours. I got out of bed and I stretched too early. I skipped parts of my pre-race fuelling plan, did not eat enough real food for breakfast because I did not want to have stomach issues during the race. I decided to not bring my hydration vest so did not hydrate properly during the race, I drank less electrolytes than I used in training. Once the race started, because I was excited and feeling great, I ran the first half much faster than the pace I trained / planned for.

The first half of the race was amazing, I passed the 13 mile marker at 1:59. Better than I expected, I was thinking I could finish at 4:00 ! Then my pace started dropping, I was surprised and not prepared for this since it had never happened in the shorter races or in training. By mile 16 I was going slower with every mile. Then at mile 19 my left adductor muscle suddenly cramped up. This had never happened in training but I stopped, stretched it and kept going. “No problem” I told myself, "it was a temporary cramp". By mile 21 both adductors were killing me and it was getting harder and harder to keep my legs going. Hello Mr. Wall. Even when I dug deep to increase the pace, my adductors were in too much pain to keep it up. By mile 24, my legs were totally done and I wanted to walk SO BAD. I kept running. I sped up a bit as I crossed the finish line but apparently very unstable because the paramedics wanted to help me.

My time was 4:44. I expected to finish at 4:20 so I felt that I failed. I was disappointed and for a couple days I could not stop beating myself up for the mistakes I made with my fuelling and pace. Today my perspective has changed. I was so terrified of hitting the wall but now I know what it feels like and I know what I did wrong and that is a good thing. I remember how much pain I was in and how hard it was to keep going  at the end and I feel proud that I actually finished.

I want to thank my friends who put up with my obsession and constant running talk for many months. And my family who came out to cheer for me at multiple places on the route. This first marathon was a great learning experience and now I am super motivated for my next one in May.

First marathon - MCM marathon - next weekend, but in classic form life has gotten in the way and I have in no way sustained my planned marathon training (top mileage was 10 miles last weekend around 11min pace, averaging around 15-17 mi per week for the last couple months.

I'm planning on sticking with the Beat the Bridge group to keep around the 14min/mi pace, but wondering if they use run-walk-run or it's a consistent pace? I saw post about pacers last year, but haven't seen anything this year and won't be able to go to the expo.

Do u recommend strength training? What’s the benefits? Ty

Hi all. I have my first competitive 10km run tomorrow morning. The anticipation is making me excited, nervous, and made me wake up in the middle of the night. I have been running for the past 4 months. But in short distance of about 1.5km on average, 4-5 times a week. So one thing is for sure that i have been consistent. Longest i have run is about 3.5km non stop. I run to stay healthy. But decided to join this run not for competition, of course, but just for fun. Also i have never run on longer routes. I ran in my front yard, concrete hard surface of about 50m, on one end i could make a small circle but other have to turn back 180⁰, So speed would be different on open road, not intending to run faster. I am on leaner body weight around 60kg, male and 5"8' tall. Haven't had any injury during those small runs other than slight pain on the knee, calf, not on every run though. But ok the next day. I wonder if i will be able to complete this run, if not comfortably but without any injury. Haven't run yesterday, should i run today or take a rest as the run is tomorrow Morning. I usually run in the evening.

I am running my first marathon in January (Miami) and I really want to run sub 4 hrs. I’ve been running since I was young (8 yo and I’m 26 now) but until marathon training I probably have only been running 10-25 miles per week, with my usual run being ~4 or 5 miles a few times a week. My last competition run was a 15k at the end of last year where I ran just under 1:13:00. Is the novice 1 plan enough to help me run my goal or should I switch to novice 2? I’m trying to do everything the right way so that I don’t get hurt before or during the race. Also picked novice 1 since this will be my first marathon and I haven’t done a recent half, but I really want to make my goal! Please give me your thoughts !

(56F) I’ve taken a few days to sort out my thoughts regarding finishing the Chicago Marathon this past Sunday. It was both amazing, and mentally challenging, for me. I kept to my goal, sub 6 hours, for the 1st 12 miles. But things started to fall apart then, and I switched to a party pace (stopping a few times for things like meeting Coach Bennett who trained me through the NRC app and taking a beat with my family whenever I saw them on the course)—Completing the distance at 6 hours 35 minutes 8 seconds, not making the official cut-off. I have different feelings about not making the cut-off. The vibe of the Chicago Marathon is incredible. The crowd support/volunteers were amazing and so fun. It really carried me the second half when I needed it. At mile 3, my watch went rogue. The time reset to 4am. The pace time never came back. I had to stop relying on it for any feedback. I then latched onto a pace group but by mile 12, I was feeling disoriented. I’m guessing that was from the heat. I made the choice then to stop chasing the time and run like I ran during the training block. I think that was the right choice, but it cost me that five minutes. I had my fueling down (1/2 a Maurten 160 every 20 minutes). I stopped at every water refill station the course supplied and made sure I was hydrated. Drank Gatorade the course supplied too. Took salt chews every hour. I have Achilles tendinitis which flared up at mile 22 but I knew how to manage that from training and adjusted my pace accordingly. All in all, it was a positive experience. I think my mental game needed to be a little stronger. When things started unraveling, I wanted to quit. I had the reasoning all set for when I saw my support group at mile 13. I spent a couple miles coming up with excuses. But after I saw them, I just kept going. Deliriously (haha). But kept going. This is when the crowd support really picked up and carried me through. I think I could have benefited from more running during my training block. I ran 3 days a week, due to my responsibilities at home, it’s all I could fit in. Maybe I need to get a treadmill in order to build on that. (I really prefer running outside.) I want to try Chicago again. I’ve already put my name into the lottery. I’ll never forget this experience. It was truly a life-altering day. When they say you run that last few miles with your heart, they’re not kidding. I don’t normally run races. I like to run to clear my head. But I have a 5k, 10k, 1/2, and now, a marathon medal. The marathon medal doesn’t feel official (even though I completed the distance). Can you tell I’m type A? Haha I think I’ll be back. I learned the lessons of the first marathon. It was the perfect day for that. ❤️

I can’t figure it out!! My long runs average from 10:37-11:06 range. I usually seriously slow down/have to walk towards the end of all my long runs. I can do short runs like 7miles in the 9:50 range and feel good. chat gpt is telling me marathon pace will be 11min miles because of how slow I get at the end of my long runs, but I really wanted to push for 10:30s. Another online calculator told me 12min miles 🙃

Hi everyone,

Looking for some advice from experienced marathoners as I approach my race this Sunday (Baystate Marathon in Lowell, MA).

Background & Training:

• Started running seriously at the beginning of this year.
• Followed Pfitzinger’s base building plans from Faster Road Racing to build from 15 to 30 mpw, leading to a 22:19 5K PB.
• Built base again from 30 to 45 mpw before launching into Pfitz's 18/55 plan (4th edition).
• Executed almost 100% of the plan—only missed 3 runs during one week early on due to illness.
• Trained through the hot and humid Boston summer; all MP workouts were done in heavy heat/humidity.

The Current Situation (Taper Flare-Up):

• On Wednesday of this taper week, I wore a cheap KN95 mask to avoid getting sick before the race. It felt awful/scratchy, and by Wednesday evening I developed a runny nose, dry throat, and sinus congestion.
• Switched to a standard N95 on Thursday and felt much better.
• Current status (Friday): Runny nose is completely gone, throat is painless (just slightly dry), and congestion has cleared significantly.
• Zero systemic symptoms: No fever, no body chills, no muscle aches, and no chest cough. Vocal cords are fine.
• I suspect this was acute contact/chemical mucosal irritation from the mask rather than a systemic viral bug, and direct steam + saline rinses cleared it right up. However, I cannot know for sure if it was just the mask or combination of mask irritation and a mild virus.

The Dilemma: My goal was originally ~3:40–3:45, but at this point, I would be completely fine running ~3:55–4:00 just to finish strong and execute the cycle.

Should I go ahead and race Sunday as planned, or is it better to hold off and race another race in 3 weeks? Mentally, postponing feels like forever and I really want to wrap up this 18-week block.

Appreciate any thoughts or advice!

Having never run a marathon, I set a goal to run a 50k trail race for my 50th birthday. I've been struggling with ITBS so couldn't really do as much training as I should have, with a proper safe and steady increase in distance. Here are my long runs leading up to the race:

Four weeks out: 14 km long run

Three weeks out: 5k + half marathon (Army Run Commander's Challenge)

Two weeks out: 30 km long run

Six days out: 40 km long run

Race day: 53 km official race distance 783 meters of climbing. Marathon split was 5:15-ish

Ouch.

Hi all! As the title says — I’ve been having pain radiating between my knee and hip. Feels like it’s directly on top of kneecap and right at my hip joint (medial, not anterior or posterior). Started ~2 days ago, but I was able to run my week’s runs just fine. Pain with weight bearing and when knee/leg is bent. I’m able to squat with no pain. I’d say pain like a 2-3/10 and I don’t really feel it when sitting. Am still able to go about my day, it’s not debilitating.

Subbing my long run tomorrow for a bike or elliptical session. Any ideas what this could be? Running NYC in 2ish weeks, worried about worsening and also worried I don’t have time to see anyone to diagnose. Will this go away with rest or should I be seeking help??

I’m about 2.5 weeks out from the NYC marathon, which will be my first. My second peak week was last week, with a 22 mile long run and 54 miles total. The first peak week was 50 miles total with a 17 mile long run with 13.1 at marathon pace. My week is usually 3 easy runs (1 with strides), a midweek workout - sometimes intervals, sometimes tempo, and a weekend long run. My midweek workouts had come up to 10-11 miles at this point, and my easy runs between 6-10.

Going into my first peak week, my workouts were going well and I was handling volume just fine and felt great and confident. My easy pace had gotten faster and marathon pace felt easy. My first peak week went great as well, I hit all my mileage and paces and felt like a superhero on the 17 miler. Second peak week started out well too, but on the last easy run (7 miles with strides) before the 22 miler I felt slightly off and more fatigued, but managed and didn’t feel too bad overall, figured it was just a warmer day and due to the calf strain. The 22 miler, I had a little bit of GI issues/cramping since I tried a new energy drink but overall fine.

My plan after peak week was my first taper week (this week) at 40 miles with the long run at 14 with 5 at marathon pace, midweek workout at 8, and easy runs 6-8 miles for a total of ~40. I decided to play it safe and just go 4 miles Monday morning in case I was still recovering from the 22 miler. I noticed my running suddenly felt more labored - my easy pace had slowed down like 15-20 seconds per mile with a small increase in heart rate of 3-5 bpm (maybe thats negligible). The last few weeks, I had no issue recovering from my saturday long run to maintain my usual easy pace/HR monday (even after a disastrous 18 miler a couple weeks ago which drained me a lot more than this 22 miler) and monday is usually my longest easy runs at 8-10 miles. So I was a little worried but not too much. Tueaday, I ran 7 miles easy and felt similarly, but they were both warmer days so I tried not to panic. Wednesday I decided to push my mid week workout and do some light strength and mobility in case I needed more time to recover. Yesterday (thursday) I went for 8 miles easy and it was a cooler day, albeit windy, and I was just still running at the same slower pace and it felt more tiring. Today, I just did 4 miles with 2 at marathon pace and felt a little more normal but still at a slower pace.

I was feeling really confident during my peak weeks about being able to run the marathon well, but I’ve now lost all that confidence since every run this week has been a slower pace at the same effort as before, or even a slightly higher effort. And I was handling the training load/fatigue well this whole training block and suddenly it feels like that’s all gone. I’m worried my body like “peaked” too early during my peak weeks or something. I tend to decline rapidly after races (not sure why, I’ve been trying to figure it out, but basically my paces plummet after a half marathon race and it’s like I have to build my fitness back up from scratch or something) and I’m worried my body like treated one of my workouts as a “race” and is in that declining phase now, if that makes sense. It makes me feel really powerless, like my body just gets worse at running against my will.

It’s really getting to me mentally, hopefully I’m overreacting and it’s just because of regular things (for example, weather or my menstrual cycle or slight congestion I’ve been having the last week). I really hope I didn’t compromise my ability to run the marathon or anything. I have the 14 miler planned for tomorrow and next week is ~26 miles (8 mile long run), and the week after is race week with ~14 miles before the marathon. Has anyone else experienced this or have any advice?

Edit: I mentioned some calf pain I was experiencing but removed it since I’m not entirely sure what it is yet and don’t want to ask you guys to play doctor - but I have a doctor visit soon and will ask about it then :)