Runner FAQ – Part 1
The questions never change!
As an acute observer of human nature, i.e. ‘stalker’, I have been answering questions in Facebook running groups. Why not? At first I didn’t want to because the questions were all so basic and repetitive that I couldn’t take them seriously. But then I thought, “What would a person with actual empathy do?” and decided to take it on as a creative writing challenge.
Why not? I started RunRunLive 20 years ago to share all the running stuff I had learned and help other be successful.
So let’s get to it.
Frequently asked question #1
Any tips on how I can increase my running pace?
Answer:
Speedwork.
Frequently asked question #2
I’m going to Boston for a conference in a couple weeks. Does anyone know some good running routes? I plan on running a portion of the marathon route, but no idea other than that.
Answer:
Boston is a running city. Head down to the trail along the Charles in the morning and you will find your tribe. Alternatively, when I worked in there I found you could run most of the Freedom Trail in about 10K and it’s makes a nice lunch run where you can see the common, the State House, and cross the Charlse up into the North end to Bunker Hill then swing back by the harbor to see Old Ironsides. There is a trail marking on the ground to follow and lots of historical points of interest.
Frequently asked question #3
Hi, so my long runs have now reached the 20 mile mark I’m looking for ways to hydrate other than going to shop half way through my run is it worth carrying a water bag in the back of my running jacket or what just curious for hydration levels I sweat loads as well.
You can do shorter loops that include a cache of bottles that you pass. You can also preposition bottles on your route. You can ask people on your route to leave something out for you.
Frequently asked question #4
Ok the verdict is in I lost fitness. I used to be able to do 10 slow miles during my long run, yesterday I struggled to do 5! What’s the quickest way back into the good graces of the running gods. Consistency? Is that the answer?
Follow up question for clarification:
Not a lot of context. Did you take some time off?
Yes, I took about two weeks where I only ran once a week
Answer:
It’s a single data point. Just ignore it. You won’t lose appreciable fitness in 2 weeks. You probably just had a bad day, or you were so enthusiastic that you went out too fast.
Frequently asked question #5
I’m reaching out for some advice as I’m preparing for an upcoming half marathon. Lately, I’ve been feeling more out of breath than usual during my runs. To give you some background, I recently completed six consecutive half marathons in the mornings. Yesterday, I ran 8.10 miles in the morning and an additional 1.62 miles at night. Today, I did a 4-mile run in the morning.
Despite this solid training background, I’m noticing that I’m getting winded more quickly than I expected. I’ve been tapering my mileage as part of my race preparation, and I understand that adjustments to reduced mileage can sometimes lead to temporary fatigue.
Given my previous training and experience, I’m a bit concerned about how this might affect my race. I’d really appreciate any insights or similar experiences from the group. How have you managed feeling out of breath or dealing with similar situations before a race? Any tips for making sure I’m ready for race day would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for your help
Follow up question for clarification:
Am I to understand that you ran 6 days in a row, 13 miles a day? That seems like a lot of miles and volume for a half marathon. You may be overtrained. If so, the taper should help.
Chris Russell every morning ran a half marathon even more before glute injury definitely over trained but was hitting prs.
Answer:
Your symptoms do sound like over-training. Got to give the body time to recover.
Frequently asked question #6
So I just started training for a marathon six weeks ago. Tonight I did my first half marathon run. And honestly, it sucked. It was a lot of big hills. My lower back is killing me. Does anybody have any tips or advice for this and maybe some encouragement 
I keep thinking that one of these times Im just gonna love it, running
I did run it in 2:20, so I was happy with that time.
Edited to add:
I am following a Runna App marathon plan. It’s only 3 runs a week. I also do strength training 4 days a week.
Answer:
Part of the process.
Frequently asked question #7
Training for my first marathon and feeling a tweak in my right calf. Do I skip my workout tomorrow or push through? I’ve been icing, foam rolling and massaging but I’m so worried about getting injured.
Answer:
Skip
Frequently asked question #8
Illness and Return Question
Ok, got a summer cold (head and chest congestion) which has knocked me off my feet for 4 days and I’m finally feeling good enough to run. However, I’m supposed to run 12 miles tomorrow and wanted some advice on if I just go as far as I can or go for it? My mind says don’t go too far too fast and just go slow and listen to my body. Any tips? Thoughts?
Thanks!
Answer:
Don’t try to ‘catch up’ on your training plan. That’s your ego talking and will get you injured. Reset your plan to add a build week to see if you can assess your fitness. You shouldn’t have lost any fitness in days. But jump back in with something reasonable and see how it feels.
Frequently asked question #9
One more question! For anyone doing zone 2 training with the goal of having a lower HR with a solid pace, how long did it take to see improvements?
Answer:
At least 3 weeks
Frequently asked question #10
On my venture for 4 miles in 10 minutes or under I am at almost 3.5 miles. Every Monday, wed, and Friday I run. As of late tho the Wed and Friday workouts are getting very difficult to run that distance each week. I am unsure if it has to do with me never running that much before. Could also be that I lift weights 5x a week. Monday is a non-issue and times are always the best.
I have started running less on those days because I felt pretty beat up. I was just wondering if I should stick it out and keep running that much or if I should have slower days.
The other days last week I ran only a mile but I did it as fast as possible and did end up with a little under 9 minutes per mile which for me and being over weight I was happy with. If anyone could give me advice on the matter I would gladly appreciate it. I still would like to complete my goal of being able to run 4 miles at a 10 minute or less pace for three days.
Answer:
So, my friend, you’re goal is 4 miles in under 40 minutes. So there are two elements to this, 1) being able to go the distance and 2) being able to do it faster than you are doing now. And it seems as if your rule is ‘run 3 days a week’ (and lift 5). Do you have a time frame for this goal? Like ‘by the end of July’ or in ‘in 30 days’? That would help with creating a plan. Back to the training. For #1 part of this, ‘run 4 miles’ you need to build basic fitness. Ironically, as others have undoubtedly noted, you build that ‘base fitness’ with slower training paces. I’m not sure if your gym-rat knowledge extends to heart rate or effort level, but these ‘base building’ miles should be at what is known as a ‘zone 2 heart rate’ effort level. Which, if you don’t have a HR monitor, is a ‘2’ effort on a 1-5 scale. So, you should not be breathing hard or struggling. You should be able to talk complete sentences if you’re running with someone. It takes a few weeks to get the hang of this. But you should have more energy in your W and Fri runs if you run the Monday run at the Z2 effort level. To get up to 4 miles I would recommend spending 2-4 weeks just figuring out the Zone 2 effort at whatever mileage you’re comfortable with. Then you can build mileage in a weekly cycle across the 3 days. So something like Monday 2 miles, Wednesday 2 miles, Friday 3.5 miles. And increase the mileage by 10%a week and do that until you can comfortably run that 4 miles at a Z2 effort (don’t worry about time). Then you can work on #2 going faster. For the 2nd part, once you have the distance and the base, start working in one ‘speed work’ session on either the Wed or Friday. What’s that? you ask…keep it simple. Warm up for 10 min in Z2 then do 30-60 seconds at an 85% effort level (mid-to-high-zone 3) (where 100% is your sprint). Work up to 8-10 of these pickups in one of your weekly workouts. over the course of a few weeks. So in 2-3 months you will crush your goal. (Additionally – you say you are working out 5 days a week, but don’t say whether this is barbells or pickle ball. If you are doing weights, especially leg day, that can be complimentary with your runs. It can also make your legs heavy. So – consider how to make what you’re doing complimentary with your run training. Enjoy your workouts.
Response
Chris Russell I do 5 days of PPL. That doesn’t affect me much at all. I walk everyday for 30-45 minutes as well.
I had recently gotten into running after gaining a ton of weight. I do not have a goal time to achieve this I just want to be physically able to do so.
I have started from just walking to running .25 of a mile and adding a quarter to it each successful week. I have built up to my 3.5 pace at an avg of 11 minutes per mile. As most people say I can talk during this without much effort and its always a controlled slow inhale and a quick exhale.
My question just was for a while I could do the workout each week no issue. Only now at and after 3 miles am I unable to do so. My legs are heavy and I just can’t seem to get enough air by the end of the week. Monday I can do it very efficiently and after I am done I feel I could do it again. By the end of the week I can’t anymore.
I added the Mile at under 9 because I did that instead on Friday and I felt great.
So I was just wondering, should I swap out those other two days for faster, less distance runs.
Follow up Answer:
No. You’re on the right track. It might be the summer weather or some other underlying health thing that’s dragging you down. Forget everything I said above. I think you’d be a great fit for the Galloway training community. Also – go join the Extra Mile Podcast Group. One thing you can do is start checking your heart rate to see if anything is going on while you’re exercising. Measure your HR each morning and look for variation across the week – that could point to an underlying condition, could be as simple as exhaustion. With your history could be something that you could tweak with nutrition. Keep running. 🙂