BQ Goals, 100-Mile Weeks, and Fixing “No Top-End Speed”

It’s 2026 and the Mind Your Miles boys are back. Nick and Will kick off the year with some real goals: Will wants to BQ at the Colfax Marathon in Denver (hills, altitude, vibes), Nick wants to run a marathon build using a classic, traditional structure, plus they both want at least one 100-mile week and, finally, a legit running book club.Then we get into the main topic: what do you do with athletes who just do not have top-end speed, the kind where their 5K pace is uncomfortably close to their marathon pace? We break down why this caps performance (mechanically and metabolically), how injury history and fear can lock athletes into “governed” running, and how to rebuild turnover without turning every week into a misery fest of doing only what you suck at.We talk practical solutions like drills, strength work, low-level plyos, accelerations, hill sprints, and how to coach effort and form so “running hard” actually makes you faster, not just more tense. We also debate the big question: do you need a true speed block where mileage drops and the focus shifts hard, or can you blend speed work into a marathon build and still move the needle?Links:https://mindyourmilespodcast.substack.com/https://www.runbaldwin.com/