FREE 7 DAY COACHING TRIAL: www.run4prs.com We are doing a different format of podcast today. You may be used to the standard 1 topic podcast where Jason and I chat in depth about 1 topic but today we are asking YOU to bring your questions & we answer them. We talk about a variety of topics. We ask the audience on IG what questions they have and we answer in a podcast forum allowing for a greater discussion of the question than on an IG story. We love to help runners achieve their goals and grow a better understanding of the sport. 1- HOW WILL I EVER BE ABLE TO RUN MY HM PACE ON RACE DAY? She is running her first half marathon & worried that she will not be able to hold the pace. Doing a race in training to see where you are at Learning experience Setting a speed limit Remembering that it will feel easier on race day 2-AFTER 2 YEARS OF DOING ALL MY LONG RUNS EVERY WEEKEND, I HAVE GOTTEN SLOWER. TIPS FOR IMPROVING SPEED ON LONG RUNS Do not judge your fitness based on your long run pace Doing a VDOT time trial to get an accurate read on your fitness Allow time for training between fitness tests 80% easy running + 20% workouts In a 40 mile week this is 10 miles of workout pace work Retest in 6-12 weeks and set goals 3- DO YOU THINK ATTEMPTING A BQ AT FIRST MARATHON IS UNREALISTIC? It may be a really realistic goal for someone who has been running for years and has a VDOT time equivalent of running a BQ time or faster. Coach Ben ran 2:40 in his first marathon which was a 25+ min BQ. However, this was done after 10+ years of competitive running. 4- CAPPED LONG RUN AT 3 HOURS.. RAN 5.5 HOUR TIME.. STOMACH WENT HAYWIRE. We recommend capping the long run at 3 hours to allow for a reduction of injury. When we run over 3 hours the risk for injury increases. However, as the races get longer, there can be issues that creep up such as fueling! The longer the race, the more room for things to go wrong.