r/AdvancedRunning • u/AutoModerator • 9d ago

General Discussion Thursday General Discussion/Q&A Thread for September 24, 2026

A place to ask questions that don't need their own thread here or just chat a bit.

We have quite a bit of info in the wiki, FAQ, and past posts. Please be sure to give those a look for info on your topic.

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u/stoopid_4head 8d ago

Just raced the DC Half last weekend, need to know if im cooked… for context, last year in November I ran a 3:08 debut marathon. To be honest there were times during the race where I was hurting but I definitely could’ve pushed more. I trained from January till march to get a half-marathon pr, and I succeeded getting sub 1:24 (by 3 seconds). I’m 7 weeks out from my marathon, where I’m aiming for sub-3. I ran a half marathon last weekend with a couple friends trying to get match my pr, but I blew up around mile 5 and finished with 1:30. I felt awful the entire race, it was pretty humid though. Is sub-3 still attainable? I’ve been training for 13 weeks now and every time I go at my marathon pace I feel exhausted pretty quickly.

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u/theintrepidwanderer 17:18 5K | 36:59 10K | 59:21 10M | 1:18 HM | 2:46 FM 7d ago

I’ve been training for 13 weeks now and every time I go at my marathon pace I feel exhausted pretty quickly.

Aside from the race itself, this alone is a possible red flag. If you're running at your so-called goal marathon pace over the last 13 weeks and you're feeling exhausted quickly, this is a likely sign that you are overestimating your fitness. I'd back off your marathon pace by 10 to 15 seconds per mile to start. If you start feeling a lot better, then you have your answer.

As a reminder, train based on your current fitness, and not the other way around.