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RunDreamAchieve was created in 2011 by 2:19 marathoner and retired US Army Officer, Dr. Nathan Pennington, DBA. The website www.rundreamachieve.com and corresponding youtube channel are devoted to helping people run faster, live healthier and find alternatives to better performances. Run Dream Achieve is about living out your dreams, rebelling against what you have always been taught and minimizing average from your life. It is focused on helping others get the most from their fitness and use leverage to drop their personal best time.
Nate, we’ve spoken a few times via RU-vid just comments and what not and the other day I left a comment on a live video and you answered one my questions. I just finished my half marathon this morning. New PB 1:38! (Was shooting for a 1:30) but, broke last years record of 1:49 I’m 37 about 6’1 and 185lbs. Ran in those new HOKAS Cielo x1. Kept below a 7:30 pace the majority of the time which was unheard of for me. Anyways I watched a shit ton of your videos and you’ve inspired me and just wanted to say thank you for all your help and support you give to all of us! -Gregory
Outstanding work Gregory and congratulations. You chopped nearly another 10 minutes off your old PR which is a massive jump. Yes, you WILL be under 1:30 in due time. VERY well done and thanks for the kind words but YOU did the work and earned it. 💪💪💪💪💪💪
Thank you. Very helpful for me for tomorrow's Cologne Marathon (6.10.24) my second Marathon ever. My personal best for the half marathon is 1:14:00. My first marathon was a catastroph😢 3:02:45. I hit the wall on my first marathon.
Hope you have a great race at Cologne tomorrow and GREAT job having already run 1:14 for the half and 3:02.45. Your half clearly shows you are capable of running FAR below 3 hours, hoping for a much smoother race tomorrow. You are ready!
I'm 10 days out of my goal race and feel so ready, I haven't done a proper taper yet (this is my 3rd marathon), not sure how I'm going to do holding back my pace because of my nerves and excitement. Just one step at a time and have my watch yell at me for running too fast with virtual pacer.
Hey coach. I’m going to be racing Valencia this year, but before that I’ll be pacing someone at NYC Marathon the month before at about 40 minutes slower than my goal time. I’m currently averaging 85-90 miles per week. Do you think that’ll be too much for my body to recover from before my goal race? I’m approaching this as my longest run of the cycle
as long as you MAKE SURE to take it as an easy long run you should be ok 4 weeks out give or take 2 days or so. Good luck at Valencia and NYC, two GREAT races
Hi coach, trying to run a 3:30 marathon and I’m currently 7 weeks out. I ran a 1:39 HM 10 weeks out and last week I went back to speed sessions. You’ve recommended 1 VO2 max workout per week, should I be doing this until the week before the race with maybe a cut back in volume 2-3 weeks out? Wondering how you’d approach these speed sessions. Thanks for all your videos!!
cut back on volume in 2-3 weeks out and your volume of in intervals should be less as well. For example, if you were doing 10x1k, 10 weeks ago, you should do 4x1k but at a faster pace 2-3 weeks out. Do a 10 day taper going into this marathon, 4 days out do a 3-mile run@8:00 mile pace, thats it. Hope this helps and good luck going after that sub 3:30. You are ready to do it.
How long should my long run be one week before my goal 5k race when early season I did around 12mi and now i've cut back to 10.5mi 4 weeks before my goal race? I think about 8-9mi would probably be good.
Hey Coach, loving your videos. My HM is December 1st, and I'm trying to go sub 1:20. I wanted to know when and how long the last hard long run should be and what type of paces It should be run at. Thanks.
last LONG and challenging run should be 4 weeks out, 21-23 miles in length. For example, 10 miles easy, last 11-13 miles@goal marathon race pace. Hope this helps. 3 weeks out (17-18 miles), 2 weeks out (10-12 miles), 1 week out (6-8 miles).
You mentioned a fairly short "long run" for 2 weeks out from goal race. Was it 14-15 miles? But you always say just a 10 day taper. So why wouldn't you do 18-22 miles? Have I misunderstood what the scope of a taper is? or am I making any sense? Thank you Nate 🙌
Hey Lee. If it were me, I would do an 18 miler 3 weeks out, 12-14 miles at 2 weeks out and 6-7 miler 1 week out. Hope this helps. Of course, this will vary from athlete to athlete. Yes, 10 day taper has worked best for me, 3 week taper is still ok though.
When reducing what a runner used to do long run, technically it is already tapering since volume is already reduced. So what is really a 10 day taper? Maybe we did not grasp the context of the 10 day taper. Thank you
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I did the last hard workout before the taper. I’m in the 4 hour marathon and was able to get 4*0.5 miles my legs felt like junk and they will feel tired towards the end of Chicago and nailed it!
Hi coach. Goal race is November 2. I got a 25 mile long run 3 weeks before. I was wondering if I could run a half marathon at marathon pace as a part of the 25 miler and maybe throw in some faster paces after the half before cooling down
I just did my first 5k a week ago as a freshmen in highschool with a time of 20:06, its my first time running any distance above a mile. Gonna start training with my school XC team, I have another race tomorrow and aiming for sub 19!
Hey man just stumbled upon your content and love your methodology on training. Got a question for this. Just ran a half marathon at 1:25:44 the other week avg 6:32 pace. I have a hard time figuring out my tempo run pace but also providing the right stimulus for the workout (tempo). I currently run around 60-65 miles per week. I guess my question is how should I feel during this workout? Should it feel like race discomfort or ?
Tempo pace should feel somewhat uncomfortable, definitely not a moderate effort. Congrats on dropping that 1:25.44 for the half marathon, NOT an easy time to achieve. VERY well done. Keep up the great work and wishing you continued success in your upcoming training and races.
Whats your thoughts on threshold work ? Lt1/ lt2, i find your risking injury around the corner if your going to the bottom of the well on every session , you improve lactates by consistant training within them over months , just wonderin your thoughts on that
I have a 12:07 as a 12 year old and my coaches put me in something that I never wanted to do and im always getting 2nd against this boy that gets 5 Seconds before me EVERY race. Thank you
Hi,I'm training for a 1km race, how many interval or threshold workouts should I do per week and do I need long runs in general, and finally can you give me the speed work for 1km if you don't mind I've just never trained for medium distances like 1km
I wouldn't do 1km EVERY week, mix it up. One week do 4--5x1k, next week 8-12x400m, following week, 10x500m etc. Keep up the great work and keep training below your goal race pace to get the goal race pace you are aiming for to feel more in control.
What advice do you have for target paces for someone who hasn’t ran a marathon before? I’m 4 weeks out and have no clue what time I’m aiming for…. Debating 3:30 or 3:45 but I’m just not sure how to decide
For some more context I’ve been training for about 2 months, did a 16 mile long run 2 days ago at a 8:06 pace and I felt pretty good trying to take it slow but my hear rate averaged out to about 170 Been aiming for 30-35miles a week
Awesome job having run that 16 miler at 8:06 pace, very close to 3:30 marathon pace...I think if you can go in tapered correctly (do a 10-day taper), run the tangents in the race and hydrate well throughout you have a solid shot at breaking 3 hrs 30 minutes for the distance. Run a negative split. 1:45/1:44, NOT 1:35/2:20 lol You got this!
Hey coach, running my goal marathon this Saturday. Averaged 55-60 mile weeks for 16 week training block. Last week did 41 miles. The goal this week is 4 today, 5 tomorrow (3 at goal marathon pace), 4 wednesdsy, 4 thursday and rest Friday. Does that look good or should I do even less mileage this week before the race?
I always hit a wall after the first few laps.. i find it very hard to push past rhis without stopping and breathing.. how do i improve this? How do i increase speed/mileage safely?
Be patient with your training...get that long run out to around 10 to 12 miles, continue to develop your leg speed and don't try to win the 2 mile in the first 4 laps, negative split the race if you can. Continue to stay consistent with your mileage, the 2 mile distance WILL get easier for you in due time. Keep me posted on your progress.
It's crazy how much my pace has increased while keeping my HR at the top of my zone 2. I'm just coming up on my 1 year mark of running regularly and my pace is 90 seconds faster per mile at the same rate! I never really noticed the small changes until looking back at my runs from last year. It's wild! Feeling strong, thanks for the advice.
It's an interesting topic - personally I don't run with a Heart Rate monitor as I could easily see myself getting too caught up with all of the stats and figures. I love to analyse my pace and cadence etc for runs but HR data is something I have never given much attention, and instead go based on feel. But that's just me. Different people try different methods, it's just a case of what works best for you.
I set up a BPM threshold alert on my Watch (Apple Watch) for my easy run so whenever I was above zone 2 I had to slow down, it was especially useful under hot weather or on hilly courses where I even had to walk sometimes. I went from a 6:45 min/km when I resumed running post long term injury 2 years ago to 5:25 min/km for my zone 2 today. However it took several months before really starting to see a drop so I would say be patient and trust the process!
I don’t mind the pace on my recovery day, just running by feel, so that I can recovery well, in order to get the highest quality on the next hard workout. Great video sir ❤❤❤❤
I’m a 2:36 marathoner. Just coming back from a torn MCL. I pretty much haven’t ran in 18 months bc of the injury. I’m setting a lofty goal to run London in April ‘25 in sub 2:20. I figured it would take the level of commitment you’ve expressed here. Thanks for the insight
OUTSTANDING work having dropped that 2:36, an insanely fast time. Wishing you continued success, health and also going after that sub 2:20. I will take everything you have but it is not an impossible goal. Keep me updated on your progress. Don't let up!
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Continue to train once per week at sub 5:30 mile pace, be patient..you are making good gains..a sub 5:30 may take another 6 months to a year to achieve. You can do this.
One of the things I picked here was a longer build up with a cool down week in there (is that 2 things 😂) Anyway, typically 1 week I run track 800s with a 30/32k slow long run, the next week a 40k long run with 3x10k at MGP. Thats now 3x12k today, and is now my fastest 40k long run for my build up to Valencia in dec'24. Took a week or so to come good as also had a small bout of covid (nothing serious) The cooling off week helped alot I think, could actually feel the strength in my legs. I'n between these 3 key workouts it's basically easy Aerobic running. The regular 40k long run workout isn't for everyone but I'm seeing the benefits (copied it from Japanese runners, they're not that shy with mileage 😂 Thanks Nate !
Outstanding work RTP. Yeah, the Japanese, to me, are even more impressive than the Kenyans and Ethiopian runners, they really are consistent with the training. You are definitely going to run awesome in Valencia.
Sure, many people could train only 35 miles per week for a marathon, to at least complete it, BUT then they end up like yourself needing 1-2 weeks, or more, to recover from the effort. Is that a good way to treat your body?? What are you trying to prove?? If your goal is to run a marathon and not have it push your body to extreme and unhealthy limits, then you must train more than that. You must focus simply on increasing your max distance run up to at least 20 miles and being able to recover from it within a couple of days, not more than three. Such a run should be a thing you can handle twice a week This will take a lot of time...consistent progressive overload + recovery...probably for at least a couple of years, but what's the rush? If you're going to something, do it right, as the old wisdom says. If you'd rather not spend that kind of time, then don't plan on running a marathon...Do a shorter event.
Greetings coach! 1st overseas HM. 1 hour 20mins half marathon 3 months ago in Australia (AUS). Starting your sub 1:18 - 1:17:59HM 16 week training block in 2 weeks time (pdf purchased on your website) . Goal pace is 5:57 per mile(3:42min/km). What would be the estimate Tempo pace and AT pace required to begin with & peaking in this 16 week HM block? Tq for your kind response. 🙏
Hey SS, congrats on dropping that 1:20 half marathon. VERY well done. Tempo: 6:04-6:10 mile pace, AT pace: 5:54-6:02 mile pace. Hope this helps. Good luck to you in your build up. I know you are going to get it.
Hey, not sure if you remember me, but 6-7 months ago, I tore my lower back muscles doing accelerators. I felt a pop, which turned out to be the tear. While injured, I did consistent aqua jogging and physical therapy, and now I'm back to running 4 miles a day. I recently ran a 5:42 mile in P.E. with no pain at a mid diff effort and i did 200s at my 3-mile race pace today without issues. My back only hurts when twisting or in awkward positions. Tomorrow is my first race after missing a few this season. Any advice or strategies to keep me safe an healthy? Last year, I PR’d with an 18:44 but burned out toward the end of the season not tapping into my full potential.
Great to hear you have been healing up well and are back to running. GREAT job running that 5:42 mile and 18:44 5K. I would advise talking to a Physical Therapist and have dry needling done on your back regularly. Keep up the great work and wishing you continued health and success.
@rundreamachieve UPDATE: I ended up running a 17:31 PR today with no pain at ALL! Only feels a bit painful when twisting. I'll try to get some dry needling done if I can. Sadly, the insurance won't cover the PT anymore because my MRI came out fine a couple of weeks ago, just trying to strengthen it while also keeping my core strong. Any advice next week I got a pretty flat meet on Tuesday and a very hilly one on saturday. Today was a win, but I also don't want to over do it
Outstanding work FSR!!! THAT is what I'm talking about! I would run easy next week and start you build up into faster workouts AFTER those 7 days IF you can, smarter move than trying to continue to push hard. Well done in that 5K. Dry needling is usually anywhere from $35 to $70 per procedure. Keep up the great work
Hi coach is ok to do tempo runs and speed workouts on treadmill because winter is starting and I see same of the best Athletes like ingebrigsten and Mo Farah uses to train treadmill
Absolutely! I have done many tempo runs on treadmills too. Nothing beats outdoor efforts though but sometimes it is best to jump on a treadmill, you'll still get a legitimate workout on those for sure.
If I can run 10x800m at 3:14/average reps or (5 miles at 6:26/6:27 a mile pace) do you think a sub 90 minute half is soon to come? I’m thinking about running one in 8 weeks and I have a 10k coming up in 2 weeks
