Tim

@pjjonespat Nope. I think it’s because we sometimes have to cross the street and wait for lights. Some people press pause on their devices in this circumstance. But strava does it for u. Obviously it can be abused.. i saw a dude who had a 19 minute 5k with total time taken being 45 minutes.

Big difference in Strava’s interpretation of the data from my Garmin watch. I guess it’s not counted my idle time? Thanks Strava 😜

@UltraRunner26 I managed to injure myself Saturday doing my marathon time trial (17 miles at mp). I got a hyperextended knee and torn calf/hamstring. No running for me for 2 months now. It’s very sad. By then I’ll probably only he able to run a 5k without resting haha.

🏃Enjoyed a few rest days after the 100 miler. Just a couple easy miles to wake up the muscles a little. Have a good week running, everyone!

@jgoatrunz @HankFrank Awesome!

You never forget your first 20 miler. 4 years ago today I ran 20 miles for the first time in my life. If I could go back and tell that version of me where this sport would take him, he wouldn’t believe it. Every runner has a run that changed everything. This was mine. What was yours?

Thanks for the tip! Ive been running around 40 miles a week for a month or two. Before that i was around 35 miles a week. My biggest reason to not do the marathon is time to finish lol. Id want to shoot for under 4 hours. If i was gonna drop to say 4:50 or something id be incredibly disappointed with myself. It’s not so much a question of completing as completing it how id want to complete it. I know id destroy (for my metrics) the half, but ive never run a marathon so theres a lot of uncertainty.

If the 20 miler went well and you’re already at 1:51 in the half, you’re in a great spot. The question is whether you’ve been running enough weekly volume to support 26.2. If you’ve been consistently at 35+ miles a week, go for the marathon. If not, run the half, PR it, and use the fitness to build into a full this fall. Either way you’re in a great place.

CHUCK NORRIS MEME THREAD TO END ALL MEME THREADS Let's honor one of the GOAT's by dropping your BEST Memes and Chuck Norris jokes! 👇👇👇

@Brady_H Seems like a good way of getting free fueling!

If I’m running next to someone in a race and they tell me “good job” they’re getting an energy gel straight to the face.

@UltraRunner26 You’re gonna need a backpack for all that!

Just dump the fuel bin out and start over. Lets map this all out. 🤣

@UltraRunner26 Hey I’m gonna get more miles than u for the week for once lol. Probably the first and last time this will happen!

Taper week complete. Race is on Friday. Way bigger of a taper than I was planning, but decided to just enjoy my vacation with the family. Been a while since I had a real down week.

@Alan_Couzens I was gonna do 2/3 of a marathon today just to see how it felt. My math was bad and i wound up doing 3/4! But slowly though, not anywhere near marathon pace. I didn’t quite hit as fierce a wall as ive heard. Ill have to try the 2/3 at pace in a week or two!

Ive been running for a year and a half. Ive been on the fence as to whether or not I should do a hm or full in 6 weeks! I do a lot of hm already, like once a week as part of training. It’s great to hear that if u can do your race pace for 2/3 of the target distance, thats what u want. I did a marathon race pace just last weekend for a half and was able to go running again the next day with no problems. Now ive just gotta try that for 2/3 of marathon instead of 1/2 a marathon. Thanks for the info Alan!

How to know you're "ready" for a specific distance: Complete a ~2/3 (Metric) simulation at race-pace as a regular training session with... - Minimal decoupling between pace/HR - No extended recovery needs beyond that of a regular loading day. For a marathon, I think a person should have a minimum of 2 years of progressive training behind them to build to this type of session (26K/16mi at race pace) For the shorter distances, the "complete" phase of the preparation is much shorter. The "compete" phase, however, is similar.

@JohnGoldman Would u be willing to write about all the running workouts you’ve been given at some point? Ive been doing your 135hr capped runs and my vo2max is no longer stalled.

New workout ! 5x5 min hills with a 150 hr cap. First time in this entire project I’ve worked up this high this consistently. Ate it Ready for more.

@UltraRunner26 Yes! I take one day off of running on my apple watch (still do an hour of weights or walking), and my training load goes from steady, to -40%. I agree, these are completely ridiculous.

Lets discuss how ridiculous this is. I have ran 91 miles every week for the last 11 weeks. In that 11 weeks, I ran a marathon every week. Last week I decided to only run 20 miles as my long run instead. Garmin now says my training load is lower over the last 4 weeks and I declined in endurance. No change in weekly miles. Just didn't run a marathon this week. 🤦 This is why you shouldn't listen to every metric your watch or app gives you.

@JohnGoldman You could be like @feelthebyrn1 and just do cardio at a lowered heart rate. This guy is amazing with his 100 avg heart rate during a 9 minute/mile run.

No one told me that as my aerobic capacity improved I’d have to work harder to achieve the same heart rate. My row wattage and calorie burn keeps increasing even tho by hr staying constant. Yikes. It’s work now lol

I hate how apple ranks effort for runs. Time and distance are irrelevant. Ive had 2 mile runs where the effort is much greater than today’s 15 mile run, according to apple at least.

@UltraRunner26 Yep! Just set my mile pr yesterday. And my hm pr about a month ago. And, I finally graduated to “high” on my vo2 max according to my apple watch. Getting to high was the best of all these.

I know we are only about 7 weeks into the year. But has anyone set any running PRs this year?

@JohnGoldman Hey I hit 40 miles last week for the first time in 6 months. Let’s go!

Just got word from coach - we go to 40 miles per week next week.

@tiga_style Theyre pretty heavy though aren’t they? Is the weight noticeable?

First run in the Vomero Plus. Have to say… this might be a new favorite daily trainer. Everything I liked about the base 18 is still there, but this feels lighter underfoot and noticeably more responsive. Soft enough for true easy mileage, but not mushy (like the invincible 3 which I still enjoy). It actually has some snap if you decide to roll into steady pace. Midsole feels a bit more energetic, and the transition felt smoother at quicker turnover compared to the standard model. Definitely a solid option for easy days that can be slogs to moderate pace, and likely everything in between. Nike has quietly done a really nice job with the “Plus” line overall (I rotate the Peg Plus too). Outdoor track session on deck tomorrow, trying to sneak one in before another winter storm hits the Northeast 😔

@KoslingPhil @hjluks I used to have psoriatic arthritis. I’m now in remission. But i was on enbrel for 15 years. So i have no idea how much damage that did. Anyway, my other knee is perfect, so i doubt thats the cause. For that reason, i equate this to an injury i had climbing a 14er 5 years ago.

@timdoke @hjluks Work on mobility, stability (!!) and perhaps leave out some plants high in oxalates. Perhaps there are other plant compounds attacking the joints, don’t know. Leaving out plants is the easiest move. For stability and mobility simply look on YouTube or IG.. plenty of inspiration.

Yesterday’s post about heart rate and base building triggered a number of responses from experienced runners saying, “But I run at 145+ HR, and I’m fine.” That reaction actually highlights how poorly understood the distinction between cardiovascular fitness and aerobic fitness still is, even among dedicated endurance athletes. Let's explore this a bit... Most runners run too fast on their slow days and too slow on their fast days. Cardiovascular fitness refers to the delivery system. It reflects how effectively the heart pumps, how well blood flow is distributed, and how efficiently oxygen is transported to working tissues. Aerobic fitness, however, is primarily about utilization. It reflects how well the muscles use the oxygen delivered through oxidative metabolism, including mitochondrial function, fat oxidation capacity, lactate handling, and overall metabolic efficiency. These are related systems, but they are not interchangeable, and one can be well developed without the other being optimized. It is entirely possible to have strong cardiovascular fitness and still operate with relatively high metabolic cost during steady-state efforts. This is particularly common among recreational runners and even among experienced non-elite endurance athletes who have spent years training at moderate intensities. They are durable, consistent, and capable, but their “easy” work often occurs at a higher fraction of their physiological capacity than they realize. When an athlete reports that their easy runs consistently sit in the mid-140s (above 75% of maxHR), it does not reflect poor fitness. In many cases, it reflects a well-trained cardiovascular system paired with a habitual training intensity that sits near or above the first lactate threshold. The effort may feel subjectively easy due to years of adaptation, but metabolically, it is not truly low-intensity work. The body relies more on glycolytic pathways than on oxidative metabolism, even during easy runs. This matters because the full development of the aerobic system is driven by sustained training below the first lactate threshold. While higher intensities absolutely stimulate mitochondrial biogenesis, the adaptations associated with metabolic efficiency—improved fat oxidation, expanded capillary density, lower lactate production at submaximal workloads, and reduced sympathetic strain—are most robust when a significant portion of training occurs at genuinely low intensities. In other words, intensity can build fitness, but extensive low-intensity volume refines efficiency. When most training time is spent at or above LT1, athletes often become very good at tolerating moderate metabolic stress rather than minimizing the cost of aerobic work. At elevated hr intensity, oxidative stress per session is higher, sympathetic activation remains elevated, and the recovery burden accumulates over time, even if the athlete feels subjectively comfortable. RPE can remain low while physiological strain remains moderate, particularly in experienced runners who have adapted psychologically to that level of effort. In my office, it is clear that there is also a practical clinical layer that becomes increasingly relevant in midlife. The cardiovascular system adapts relatively quickly to the stress of training. Connective tissues—tendons, fascia, cartilage, and bone—adapt much more slowly. When moderate-to-high metabolic load is layered onto repetitive impact before true aerobic efficiency and tissue resilience are established, the total recovery demand rises. This pattern is reflected in the training errors I see routinely in clinic: Achilles pain, plantar fasciitis, patellofemoral symptoms, and lateral hip or gluteal tendinopathy. They are usually mismatches between the distribution of training intensity and our recovery capacity. This changes with age... and it will catch up to you. None of this means that running at higher heart rates is inherently harmful, nor does it suggest that intensity should be avoided. Threshold work, tempo runs, and even high-heart-rate sessions are valuable tools. The issue is distribution. If most weekly mileage is performed at a moderate metabolic intensity, the athlete maintains cardiovascular fitness but sacrifices some metabolic flexibility and efficiency. Easy days are no longer truly low-cost, and recovery between harder sessions is less complete. What is often given up is range. An athlete with a well-developed aerobic base can run at a lower heart rate for the same pace, oxidize more fat, produce less lactate at submaximal intensities, and accumulate more total training volume with less physiological strain. Their easy runs are genuinely easy at a metabolic level, allowing higher-quality work when intensity is introduced. They are not just fit; they are efficient and durable. Base training, therefore, is not about avoiding effort or running unnecessarily slowly. It is about lowering the physiological cost of work so that training becomes more repeatable, recovery becomes more predictable, and long-term durability improves. The heart remains strong, performance is preserved, and the metabolic system becomes more efficient. For lifelong runners, especially after forty, efficiency and recovery capacity often become the true limiting factors rather than motivation or discipline.

@Brady_H Unless u can only do zero, which means you’re dead 😅. Then it would say something about your health.

How much you can bench press says absolutely nothing about your health.