Training plans look neat on paper. Real life does not always behave that politely.

In this episode of Distance Dr Daily, I talk through what to do when you are following a marathon, half marathon, triathlon or running plan and suddenly things change: you feel run down, you get sick, or an injury starts to niggle.

The big question is usually: do you catch up on missed sessions, swap things around, take a break, or just jump back into the plan?

I break this down into three common scenarios: fatigue or feeling run down, illness, and injury. We talk about when it may make sense to swap a session, when to reduce intensity, when to rest, and when symptoms mean you should stop and seek medical advice. I also cover why suspected bone stress injury is different, why altered gait matters, and why jumping straight back into hard sessions after a flare-up can backfire.

The goal is not to follow the plan perfectly. The goal is to make smart decisions so your body can actually adapt to the training.

In this episode:

• What to do if you wake up exhausted on interval day
• When to swap, reduce or skip a session
• Why you usually should not “catch up” missed runs
• How to modify training when you are sick
• How to return after time off or altered training
• How to think about pain during running
• When injury symptoms need medical advice
• Why your plan needs to bend before your body breaks

This is a practical episode for runners and triathletes who want to keep training moving without forcing the plan at all costs.

Easy Runs Are Not Junk Miles

Easy runs are one of the most commonly misunderstood parts of a running program.

They are meant to be easy, yes, but that does not mean they are throwaway runs. In this episode of Distance Dr Daily, I explain why easy runs matter, what adaptations they help support, and why letting them creep too hard can interfere with the rest of your training.

We cover how easy runs contribute to aerobic development, running load tolerance, fat oxidation, plasma volume, capillary and mitochondrial adaptations, and why doing them too fast can leave you carrying fatigue into the sessions that are actually meant to be hard.

I also explain how to use the Talk Test to check whether your easy runs are actually easy, plus a few simple signs that your easy days may be drifting too hard.

If your intervals, long runs, or key sessions are starting to suffer, your easy runs might be the first place to look.

In this episode:

• Why easy runs are not junk miles
• What adaptations easy running supports
• How to use the Talk Test
• Why easy runs creep too hard
• How “too fast” can affect fatigue, injury risk, and key sessions
• Signs your easy runs are no longer easy

Easy means easy, but easy still has a purpose.

On today's episode of The Distance Dr Daily with Dr Kate, she discusses how long runs are the cornerstone of marathon training, but most of the questions runners actually have, how far, how often, how hard, when to peak, and what to practise, don't always get answered clearly in a generic training plan.
I walk through five evidence-based considerations for getting your long run right, drawing on recent research and applying it practically for runners building toward a half marathon, marathon, or longer.
I cover:
How often to do your long run, and why every 7 to 10 days can work better for some athletes, particularly those who are injury-prone, postpartum, or new to marathon training.
How long your long run should actually be, based on what research shows works across different weekly training volumes, and why staying under 25 km may cost you on race day.
Where to place your peak long run in the training block, and how far out from race day it should sit.
How to progress your long run distance safely using the 10% rule, which applies specifically to your long run rather than your overall weekly volume.
How hard your long run should be, where marathon pace work fits in, and why it shouldn't be every week.
What to practise during the long run, including fuelling, hydration, cadence, and biomechanics under fatigue.
This is for runners who want to train smarter, not just harder, and who want to understand the why behind the long run rather than just ticking off the kilometres.

Study references:
Fokkema T, van Damme AADN, Fornerod MWJ, de Vos RJ, Bierma-Zeinstra SMA, van Middelkoop M. Training for a (half-)marathon: Training volume and longest endurance run related to performance and running injuries. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2020 Sep;30(9):1692-1704. doi: 10.1111/sms.13725. Epub 2020 Jun 3. PMID: 32421886; PMCID: PMC7496388.

Knopp, M., Appelhans, D., Schönfelder, M., Seiler, S., & Wackerhage, H. (2024). Quantitative Analysis of 92 12-Week Sub-elite Marathon Training Plans. Sports medicine - open, 10(1), 50. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-024-00717-5