r/runna

Runna set a 20k long run for this weekend on my half marathon training plan, it's my first plan with Runna.

The longest I ran with previous plans for the half marathon was 18k.

Does it makes sense to go pretty much the entire distance of the run itself?

First post here! Just wanted to share my progress and maybe even motivate some people that started off like me 😁

Last December I downloaded Runna and started using Strava because I was tired of feeling unhealthy and kinda heavy.

At that point I couldn’t even run 2K without stopping to catch my breath.

I’m 190cm and 117kg.

Built more for lifting weights (always did) than running long distances. I genuinely believed running just “wasn’t for people like me.”

Every run in the beginning felt damn horrible.

Heavy breathing. Sore knees. Painful ankles. Wanting to quit after 5 minutes. And honestly, feeling embarrassed seeing other people make it look easy.

But I kept going anyway and slowly, things changed.

The 2K became manageable. Then 5K didn’t feel impossible anymore.

Recently I realized I was running for my mind just as much as my body.

Running became my reset button.

Less stress. Clearer head. More discipline. And even noticed that my lungs open up way more.

And this week I ran my first 10K without stopping.

Not because I’m talented.

Not because I’m naturally built for running.

But because I kept showing up, even when it sucked.

Nobody starts strong.

Start slow. Walk if you need to. Pause if you need to. Just don’t stop trying.

A few months can genuinely change your life. And heck, if I can do it than you can definitely 💪🤣

Wishing you a wonderful running journey 😁

I (27M) have been using runna for a year and was casually running before (a few times a week or something like 5-8km pretty consistently for 5 out of the last seven years).

It's honestly a bit depressing to feel like I've not been improving at all despite following programs (run faster plans) for all the year except the 3 winter months where I just ran close to daily at easy paces.

I honestly don't know what I'm doing wrong. Is this just my natural ceiling? Do I have an underlying health problem?

It's very frustrating because I feel like I've been putting in the work but feel absolutely no progress.

It's been bugging me for a long time and I've been meaning to create a post here for quite some time.

Regardless, I keep at it.

(I've had the watch roughly at the time I finished my first 3 month running program hence the weird improvement at the start as the watch adapts and I was recovering from a very physically and mentally taxing weeklong event).

Also, I never understood runners high, after runs, I mostly feel slightly dissociated in a manner I wouldn't describe as necessarily pleasant. Am I the only one?

Edit: I'added screenshots of my monthly running volume over those periods in the comments. Reddit doesn't let me add images now.

Edit 2: So I've decided to add easy runs to slowly increase my volume because I may have hit a total work plateau.

Hi everyone,

I'm doing the new to running plan to work towards a 5k. I did my last week 4 exercise tonight and just couldn't run 8 minutes straight both times. I probably walked 100 seconds total across both times.

Do I need to not progress and start over from week 1? I know my exercises going forward will be distance based and not time based and even after getting good quality run shoes and insoles I still have shin pain on my left leg during each run.

Up until November 2025 I said I would NEVER be a runner and you would most def never see me sign up for a 5K.. paying to run was a dumb concept for me. For some reason this past November I just had an itch to learn to run. It has been the biggest mental battle ever. And tbh I still hate the act of running but the runners high appears to be real.

I saw a race at a cool location and I spend months dabbling about if I wanted to sign up. The day before they raised the ticket price, I finally just did it. My last run on Thursday I was regretting signing up soo badly. I couldn’t sleep last night with anxiety.

I ran my first 5K on a treadmill in December at a time of 35:52. My last outdoor 5K PB was 31:24. Runna predicted I would finish between 29-31 minutes. I’m super competitive with myself so my man goal today was to go sub 30 (I would have been totally happy with 29:59). I did not think I would do it tbh.

I smashed it! The first mile my anxiety was through the roof. Thought I was going to die on mile 2, don’t remember mile 3 and the whole .1 mile I was begging for it to be over. I couldn’t sleep last not stop smiling.

So I guess I’m a runner now.

I did it. 26.2 Miles.

I really enjoyed using Runna, I found it incredibly motivating ticking off my workouts & even the challenge of upping your suggested time. Yes it wasn’t perfect but for the price of the yearly subscription, im sure it got me over that marathon line.

20 Weeks training with Runna. Running 4 Times a Week. Previous Running Experience was two 10 Mile Races (1:27/1:19) & a Half Marathon (1:51). The Faster 10 Mile result was achieved mid training block. Peak week was 60K, longest run was 33K.

I had always wished for a Sub 4 but would have been over the moon with just getting across the line. Runna suggested 3:40, Garmin was 3:53, Strava 4:09 & RunAlyze 4:04.

I did get injured Mid Block around 6 Weeks out, I had worn brand new Alpha Flys for a B Race & strained my right calf, 3 weeks missed & physio to try & strengthen it. This really affected my taper & effectively cut my two peak weeks short.

I decided very quickly to forget about the Alpha Flys for this marathon & go back to my Vomero Plus which I had been training in.

I decided to go with Garmins suggestion of a 3:53 & set up a Pace Pro plan with this time & the Course. I did slip off pace a little in the second half but at the halfway point I was only 8 Seconds Ahead of pace. I had read so much about not going off too fast & made sure after the first 5K I could lock into my goal pace for 20-25K. The hills came at 28K & slowed me a little, I managed to fight the last part of the race as hard as I could. Coming home in a 3:59:09. Im super pleased with that.

Nutrition was 90G Carbs Per Hour, SIS Beta Fuel Gels every 30 Minutes, 2 Salt Stick Chews every 30 Minutes & a few haribo sweets.

It was my first & probably only marathon, I loved the day but the brutality of that second half is not to be sniffed at. Massive respect to anyone who attempts the distance. Overall an incredible few weeks of my life, im really pleased with how race day went but boy will I be glad to get back down to 10K Races.

Hello,

I’ll be running my 3rd Marathon next Sunday in Denver Colorado. This is the same exact marathon I ran my 1st marathon last year. To say the least, I was totally unprepared and hit the wall / bonked / whatever you want to call it. Was super dehydrated, underfueled and could hardly stand due to the quad, calf and hamstring cramps that were causing my leg to lock up. However, I refused to get a DNF and hobbled across the finish line pretty defeated. I am trying to avoid that happening again at all cost.

I did my second marathon in the fall of 2025. I basically did the opposite of the first, went out incredibly conservative but finished strong. I only cramped up once the race was over. I was pretty proud of this outcome but did feel I left a bit of time on the table.

For this third marathon I decided to give Runna a try. I initially set out to beat my Colorado Springs time of 3:26. After a couple of weeks of training Runna kept suggesting lowering my goal time. From 3:26 to 3:15 all the way down to 2:57. While this would be great, I have heard that Runna is pretty ambitious and makes its predictions with little elevation & sea level in mind. While I live and train in Colorado, and the training in altitude would benefit me at sea level, I feel like it’s a moot point in Denver. Meanwhile Strava has me at a 3:06. It was around 3:05 pre taper but I’ll ball park it around 3:05 to 3:07 by next Sunday.

Training Breakdown:

First Marathon was a rushed plan. 10 weeks. Prior to the plan I had only ever ran a half marathon. Peak mileage was 47.5 miles in a week. Longest distance run was 22 miles 2 weeks before the marathon. Knowing what I know now, I was drastically underprepared.

Second marathon I decided to try an actual program and went with the Hanson advanced marathon training plan. 18 weeks. Peak mileage was 63 miles in a week. Longest run was only 16 miles which is how that plan is structured. I did find this program was solid but did lack the 20+ mile long run.

For this third marathon, I went with Runna. Training volume - progressive. Difficulty- challenging. 5 to 6 runs a week. Longest run. 23 miles. Peak mileage - 71 miles. I did enjoy this program for the most part. As a former track mid distance runner it was great to have some speed work incorporated. The long runs were a slog and the progressive / race practice long runs were the most daunting and toughest runs of the program by far. The multiple 20+ milers also had me gassed. But I do feel much faster than I expected.

Reddit Mod Checklist of info:
Weekly Mileage

- 51 miles average. Peak 71 (a few lower mileage in there)

How often have you hit your target race pace?

- initially struggled to hit the initial goal of 7:20 but based off my last practice long run (20 miles, 9 at convo pace. 11 at race pace) I was able to hold about 6:50~ for 11 miles but was completely gassed at the end. 7:28 pace overall. 463 feet of elevation gain. 156bpm.

What race are you training for, what is the elevation, and what is the weather likely to be like?

- Denver Colfax Marathon. Minimum elevation 5,172 feet. Maximum elevation 5,533. 693 elevation gain. 694 elevation lost. Net -1 foot. Though my watch said 1002 feet of elevation gain. Should be partly cloudy. 50-75 degrees fahrenheit based off the latest forecast.

On your longest recent run, what was your heart rate and what's your max heart rate?

- Besides the 20 miler mentioned above, 23 miles. 155bpm. 7:46 pace. Elevation of 429 feet. I started unconsciously running the last half faster and out of control and it was all in the sun (Denver has little shade). 188bpm

On your longest recent run, how much upward drift in your heartrate did you see towards the end?
Have you done the distance before and did you bonk?

- No bonks this training program. Did bonk / hit the wall / whatever you wanna call it last year during this marathon and in a 20 mile long run a year ago leading to that marathon. Major delayed cramps after the 20 and 23 mile runs during this program though (6 long runs 18 miles or more). On the race practice long run my heart rate when from a controlled 143 bpm all the way to 176 bpm but average around 170bpm in those 11 miles of race pace. For the mostly controlled 23 miler it went from 150 and started to really creep up starting at mile 17 all the way to 172 at the very end. I think part of that has to do with the run being completely in the sun. The other part, me running a bit out of control in all honesty. A bad habit I’m trying to fix.

On top of the runna training I do lift 5 times a week for about 7 hours a week. (Push/Pull/Legs/Upper/Lower). Do the stationary bike for 30 minutes on the days I don’t run. Not sure how relevant weight lifting is but just to give a picture of my entire training load.

Apple currently has my VO2 Max at 64. I’m a 32 year old man. 163 pounds. And based off the heart rate rule of thumb my max heart rate should be about 188. Hit that only once during a pretty difficult hill workout of all things.

I have a few approaches I’m considering:

- Run with the 3:15 pacer. If I feel good, push the last few miles

- Monitor heart rate and stay between 150 (80% HR max and 170bpm (90% HR max) with some allowance to get a bit beyond that at the end.

- Try to hold a steady pace between 6:50 and 7:06 based off Runna and Strava but this feels like the most risky option.

At the end of the day I’ll be happy with just a PR, but 3:15or better is a nice even number I do wanna hit (Boston someday baby!) need to try racing out of altitude lol.

Thank you for any advice / wisdom you are willing to share.

(Just need to vent a bit I guess)

Marathon prognosis before the plan: 4:16

Marathon prognosis after the 26-weeks plan: 3:36-3:42

Actual result: 4:08

Ngl, I feel super bad. The training went fine I guess. Hit the wall at around 25-28km during my longer training runs but I had extra gels with me on the actual race, with plenty of water and electrolytes, so nutrition was not the issue. I "trusted the plan" and the fact that you generally perform better during that race day high.

I was perfectly on pace for the first 25km but the conditions were really bad. Pouring rain the entire time, and about 15km of the course was unpaved. I started feeling downright miserable, despite my legs still not hurting all that bad. But my hat was wet, my shirt was soaking, my socks and shoes were muddy and heavy. I took a mental sledgehammer to the face and all I could think about from that point onwards was "fuck it" as I saw my time drift further and further away from my 3:40 goal. "I'll just go 3:45 then". Then the 3:45 pacer team overtook me. "Ok, 3:50 then". Started walking more and more often, a total of 35 minutes I just spent walking trying and failing to convince myself that running would actually be better. Then the 3:59 pacer team overtook me, trying to encourage me to pick up with them but I just couldn't. The last 2K I tried to overcome the burden and finished the race running.

Lesson's learned? Fuck if I know. I can't control the weather and I've always been a glass half empty kinda guy which obviously isn't very constructive during these situations. Not sure where to go from here. Either this was my first and last marathon ever and I'll just stick to HMs from now on. Or I'll get over myself and try to look a bit brighter at the future. Time will tell. For now the focus is on recovery.