Great colour, thanks for that! Those sessions look pretty challenging…probably more intense than my prep!
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Bob Revolution. We’ve got 1000’s of miles on ours and still use it weekly. It’s still as smooth as the day we bought it. We bought ours new, but regularly see them used on FB/Craigslist. Given how ours has held up, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a used one.
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Highly recommend the Bob stroller. Though I got the Ironman as I took it on trails off road. It doesn’t have the swivel that prevents a wobble when off road.
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Did my first standalone half marathon last weekend after failing my first attempt at doing one on the tail end of a half-ironman this summer.
Those running races just have a completely different energy and feel. I have to relearn how to pace myself around other people it’s bonkers how much faster i get and how much lower the RPE is with others around.
Enjoy the short read
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Well, did my first ever (and likely last!) marathon today. Always been a cyclist…then past 3 years started running to take on duathlons’ but always focused on sprint duathlons and 5k or 10k running. Pb is 18:20 5k, 38:20 10k and did do a half in 1hr24 last year.
However this year thought try a marathon and set myself the goal of sub 3hr but if honest thought 3:10 more realistic.
Did v low volume running plan really, never more than 3 runs a week - 1 long one, alternating between 16/17 miles and 20ish miles (did 4 twenty mile runs in total), then one more speed focus (v02 max/5k pace intervals) and one tempo/10ish k pace. Both the shorter runs usually about an hour. Think my max week was about 35 miles. I also did 2 bike workouts a week, mainly sweet spot/tempo/threshold for one and either the same or a longer endurance ride for the other.
Well today was the day (in Abingdon, UK - nice and flat) and it was torrential rain and thunderstorms for first 75 mins, just horrid! Managed to hold sub 3 pace, going through halfway in 1:29:30…however wheels came off about 18/19 miles in and went to damage limitation. Last 10k/6miles bit of a death march but determined never to walk. Crossed the finish line in 3:04:45 so really pleased I hung onto sub 3:05… actually v pleased given I wasn’t prepared to cut cycling down any more to increase running mileage and was told by MANY people/runners that would never get near 3hr on that low a mileage. Anyway legs feel destroyed but wine and pizza is flowing and very pleased.
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Congrats!! To run that time in such poor conditions off three days a week is amazing. Sub 3 in better weather was a real possibility.
My marathon days are long behind me but they say it’s always the last one until you forget how painful it was. 
Well done!
Congrats! Great time. I’m intrigued by people doing fast run times on what would be traditionally considered “low” mileage but supplementing with cycling work. Seems to be a trend.
Actually, have a group of triathlete friends here that only run 3x/week, two days at the track (~1hr) and one long. The track days when in a build are typically intervals one day and tempo the other. Long day is 20-30km depending on time of year. Long run can be super slow or incorporate a lot of race pace. They all run 2:50-3:00 for the marathon during run season. The rest of the week, they swim and/or bike.
Last year, I did exactly what you did, three runs and bike. After a month, I added a fourth run and dropped a bike. For me, that fourth run day made everything feel better for lack of a better description. Maybe it was mental 
as I was used to running 6d/wk when run focused w/random bike sessions thrown in.
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I subscribe to the idea of using a variety of shoes as a way of not developing issues from running solely in any one particular type (ie minimalist, super cushioned, carbon plate). That being said it’s purely anecdotal based on my N=1
Right now I rotate between:
Saucony Endorphin Speed (fairly cushioned and has a nylon plate)
Altra Escalante (zero drop and moderate cushion)
Merrill Bare glove (no cushion whatsoever)
I think ultimately what combo I would like would be:
- A big cushion shoe for slower recovery runs and when I feel banged up
- A zero cushion shoe for shorter runs to work on form and foot strength
- An all-arounder with moderate cushion and no plate to do the majority of my runs in
- A carbon plate shoe for racing
I’m still trying to figure out what I want to use for the all-arounder. Lately I’ve tried the Hoka Mach 4 and the Saucony Endorphin Speed (on my second pair of these) and both have just been meh for me. I’ve had numerous pairs of the Altra Escalante and like them a lot, but as I near 40 years I think I might have a limit in terms of how many miles per week I can do in a zero drop shoe. The one shoe I loved was the Nike Pegasus Turbo 2. But unfortunately Nike killed it off and the rebirth that came recently isn’t the same as the one they killed. My next trial will be with the Brooks Hyperion Tempo
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I had a hand me down BOB Revolution and I thought it was fine. But decided to replace it with a Thule Glide 2 (different from the Urban Glide). It has a locked front wheel, bigger diameter front and back wheels and sleeker, stiffer, lighter body. This all makes it faster (not sure how much faster) but the locked front wheel means it’s not as great for tight turns (ie going on windy trails or navigating a city). You kind of have to pop a wheelie of sorts to make a good turn.
I did 8k race with my daughter this past spring and averaged 6:20 per mile. Probably could have gone ~5 or so seconds per mile faster but I wasn’t sure what type of shape I was in or how hard it was going to be pushing her. For comparison sake a month earlier I did a solo 10k at 6:00 per mile 4 weeks earlier
There’s a fair amount if material supporting that, and the reduced injury risk but I think the premise is that you’re a fairly decent runner already and you’re refining a few minutes here and there off your time. 
I’m not seeing any material on making huge leaps and bounds in your running off short mileage though 
.
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I don’t know. I see people getting injured on 3d/wk here in my office, mostly because they overdo it. Even at 3d (3.5-4hrs) all easy, you need to build up to it, especially if starting from zero, out of shape, or injury prone. Build up the time. Then slowly add minutes of intensity once your body is used to the time on the feet.
I wasn’t able to finish my experiment with 3d/wk due to a bike accident. It’ll be a year in Nov since I ran. If all goes well, I should be able to start again sometime after Feb 
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I managed 2:48 on 30 miles/week plus 2 weights sessions of 90 mins and 4 hours of cycle maintenance over the winter in 2016. That said I was a runner before that and that helps. Now I’m much better at TT and can still run 18mins/37 mins for 5/10k but a marathon is ancient history now. I think actually it was the 2 weights sessions that really helped as my legs still felt strong near the end even on the low running mileage. Gym work helps in all sports if you can fit it in. I went for the first time since lockdown yesterday and really enjoyed it, but I have got really weak so I’m going in twice /week again until the TT season.
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I’ve just run a decent Beachy Head marathon (3.42, which most reckon to be around a 3hr road marathon), plus a sub 18 parkrun, all off 2-3 sessions a week. Have only been running a year but have a decade of bike racing and riding under my belt.
At a guess I’d say i only average 10-20 miles a week and that’s seemed about right. Not prepared to get overuse injuries. Am 48 btw
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Great running!
My point though is that you weren’t the average 30min+ parkrunner getting to sub18 on 3/wk?
No. My first parkrun was a 21.30. Turned out that fitness was fitness and a lifetime of being active served me well.
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This is just speculation, let me be clear, but the Norwegians discussed running a max of 40 miles per week and doing 2:30 at Kona. Now I’m the first to admit that we shouldn’t try to train like the pros, but in the marathon world that would break people’s brains where it is pretty accepted theory that mileage and times have a linear, indirect relationship (low mileage, slow times; high mileage, fast times). Hal Higdon, whose plans call for a pretty traditional approach, states it explicitly - certain mileages lead to certain times. FastTalk podcast recently released an episode with an athlete that wins 70.3’s on large swim/bike volume and just two runs/week. The whole Niels van der Poel discussion also probably comes in here as well. It seems to be a thing now that building fitness on a bike, then taking that and adding run specificity can be successful.
Just food for thought. I’m excited to try it. It seems that a big limiter for long-course triathletes is running injuries. Maybe this approach would improve that 
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Welp, I avoided this (running) as long as possible, but this weekend I blew my tire off the rear wheel twice in one CX race. I had the awesome experience of running almost the full course since the blow outs where on opposite sides of the pits.
I officially need to add running into my training. Based on this thread (thank you all) my plan is to add in a 20 minute walk every day, and on days when my legs don’t hurt I’ll run 1 minute, Walk 4 (repeat 4x). On days my legs / back / etc. do hurt, I’ll just walk the full 20.
If anyone cares, I was running the stock alloy Roval’s that came on the 2018 Crux with tubeless PDX tires. I’ve already bought a new set of 303s with Challenge Limus tires and raced again on Sunday without blowing the tire off.
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Yep - Simon Lessing was triple world triathlon champ and a sub 30 min 10k runner with a 45min long run…but he did 30 hours of swim/bike training though!
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2:36 is impressive in an IM but its not very quick in the running world. It makes sense that you can run less if doing a large volume in the other two sports.
Max 40 miles per week, I find this hard to believe given that in four days Iden covered this distance, I can’t believe he then didn’t run for three days.
And then there is this…
On the subject of subbing in other aerobic work i.e the bike, that might work for some people that have room to develop their aerobic base (and up to a HM distance) but if muscular damage in a Marathon is your limiter, as it is mine, you cant just substitute other aerobic work (more weights might help though.)
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