I’m actually jealous you currently have a cold!
I was away with my extended family last weekend and my sister was full of cold… now both my small kids have it… I’m currently eating ALL the vitamin C and zinc I can find 
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Hopefully that cold stays away until after Sunday!
I’m running Manchester too. My first marathon. Hindered by Achilles issues 7 weeks out, so just aiming to complete rather than any particular time.
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I’m running our city’s marathon the weekend after next. Probably pretty backwoods next to those big UK races, but we pull out a bit of fanfare and I’ve always really loved that course.
Was actually training for the 10k, but felt like I needed something different and some fun/lower stakes racing coming off track season. No real long runs recently so… we’ll see. I think I have not done enough dumb races lately
I was going to ask that too, but already assuming too much that you might be in the UK(!)
We’ve got a bunch of runners up there too, also a few ran Paris recently. Have a great time!
I’m sticking with 5-10k this season
Good luck to all you 26.2ers this weekend.
Just. Keep. Running.
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3h29m46s to sneak a sub 3½hr Marathon at Manchester. It was really hot (for the UK this time of year) which probably cost about 2 - 2.5 minutes
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Great work and brilliant time!
It sure was a hot day for this time of year.
My Manchester time was 4:59:32. My goal was just to complete it after suffering with the achilles 7 weeks out and missing all long runs above 28km in training.
I’m supper pleased with a sub 5 hour for my first ever marathon (previous longest run was 28km), especially in the conditions.
A huge well done to everyone who ran a marathon at the weekend!
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Well, I got my Pumas. I jogged across my living room and my first impression is that they should be banned.
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I got mine yesterday too, but they were too baggy.
Need to size down.
I will do lab testing with these and my other 3 favorites later this year, very excited.
They are generously sized for a racing shoe, but that’s how I like it
I’m injured again after just building up to a few hours running a week following another long-term injury (midfoot stress fracture). I’m treating the new injury as a tibial bone stress injury and going to try and manage it myself based on evidence-based guidelines. I’d been increasing mileage gradually and hadn’t introduced any harder running yet. I’d also done all the other rehab elements well: increased energy intake and introduced heavy resistance training and plyometrics. Very frustrating…
Yes. Suggestion: do more cross-training. More bike, more swim, more strength. Keep the volume of running lower for a while. Increase more slowly than you’d thought. You need to get past this and STAY uninjured for a while.
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Curious of your age and sport background?
The fastest way to get fit is to stay healthy, which often means training less. I struggle with this a lot. Hope it goes quick.
Up the protein while the body is working on repairing.
Also, ensure that you’re eating enough! Bone is a calorie-governed tissue! 
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Yesterday was our local running event. The longest distance was 11.16 km, but the shorter distances were on the same course during the same time.
After following a very fast guy for 1.5 (of 4) laps he pulled away from me. I lowkey hoped I could win, but apparently he was just faster. I also didn’t want to follow his acceleration this early - especially with it being rather warm (24C). I continued at my own pace and got a little closer towards the end of lap 2. And then, he stopped…
Ah, he raced the 5.6km…
Well, from then on out, I was leading the race comfortably with no one else in sight. I had to zigzag through many other runners - but hey, there are worse feelings.
I hadn’t really trained for the distance, so I just wanted to be faster than my 4 months old PB (3:40/k pace on 10K).
I was running at 3:30 the entire time and it really didn’t hurt. The last straight was just amazing feeling with zero pressure and completely dominating the contest.
The clock stopped at 38:44 - for 3:28 average. My first sub 36 and 35 10k.
There were many dark moments during running intervals, feeling sick, feeling like quitting. To continue running during these moments, I envisioned myself winning this race. It always gave me a feeling of excitement. And yesterday I made that a reality.
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3:28 average for 10k! This pace sounds like flying to me. Great job 
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Anybody still running? Finished my Tris for the summer and building mileage for marathon in September. I’ve been capping HR at the top of Z2 for non speed workouts and just plodding along getting miles in. Recovery has been great with this approach.
Coming from the variety of multi sport training over the last several months, i’m missing the bike. If i’m going to do a single 1.5hr structured workout each week on the bike, what would you guys do to complement running?
Update: Second Professional Performance Diagnostics (Mid 2025)
Did a second round of testing with the same coaching group as before. This time it was a two-day protocol:
- Day 1: Standard metabolic and lactate step test + ramp-to-exhaustion
- Day 2: Shoe efficiency testing at Marathon Pace (15.0 km/h = 4:00/km) with my 3 main race options
Fitness Progress
A lot has changed in 5.5 months:
- Threshold pace: From 3:45 → 3:40 min/km
- VO₂max: From 69.7 → 73.3 ml/kg/min
- I made it one step further. Last time I collapsed on 3:00 pace at 1% grade, now same pace at 2% grade.
- FatMax: Still at ~4:15 min/km, but now fat oxidation remains active even at 16–17 km/h (3:45 to 3:31 pace)
- Lactate response: Still very low — I hit 2.99 mmol at 16 km/h and just over 4 mmol at 17 km/h
- Energy use @ 15 km/h: 1,329 kcal/h (so still inefficient… but improving)
- Fat burn @ 15 km/h: ~55 g/hour, which is really solid. Huge carb-sparing benefit.
So: Still a huge engine, still a relatively “thirsty” chassis, but a faster one now.
Shoe Efficiency Testing (Day 2)
Tested 3 race day options at 15.0 km/h (Marathon Pace) on the treadmill:
| Shoe | Weight | Running Economy (ml/kg/km) | VO₂ (ml/kg/min) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puma FAST-R 3 | 196g | 220  |
55.12 |
| Asics Metaspeed Edge Tokyo | 176g | 221 |
55.19 |
| Nike Alphafly 3 | 247g | 223  |
55.86 |
(For comparison: Adidas Prime X3 Strung on Day 1 = ~225+, @ 311g)
The Puma and Asics were significantly more efficient than the Alphafly, and clearly better than the Adidas I used in the original test.
Substrate use at 15.0 km/h in Puma/Asics was about the same as in Adidas at 14.5 km/h, meaning ~5 min longer until fuel depletion over a marathon. That’s real value.
Big Picture Takeaways
- VO₂max is no longer even close to limiting
- Lactate response remains absurdly low (long event advantage)
- Running economy hasn’t improved much despite strength, plyos & volume → still the #1 limiter
- The shoe test validated what I felt: lighter carbon shoes help me more than maximalist ones
- Still a “diesel with afterburner” – I just need to make it sip fuel better
For now, I’ll go with the Puma for everything that is 5k to HM, and the ASICS for full marathon. As a borderline heel striker, the Puma shouldn’t work at all for me… but they do.
The ASICS are a lot more stable in the heel and have the most comfortable upper. They are so close to the Pumas (.5% at race pace), that there is no point in taking the risk.
Also interesting, these Pumas just work.
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What’s been the overall methodology of your training the last 5.5 months? Really interesting info that i’ll revisit with more time to learn about each test.
What’s the 1% vs 2% incline test supposed to tell?
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Not easy for me to really break this down briefly, but ultimately, it was:
3 weeks of building up, 1 week deload.
A typical week had 4 runs, 2 bike, 1 lifting and one short core session.
2 runs were intense (one hit on more threshold based), the other runs and bike mostly LIT.
To build endurance for running, we started with runs immediately followed by bike.
Total mileage was between 60 and 70k per week.
The focus over the past couple of weeks after my 10k race has switched towards more volume and more Marathon specific sessions on the weekend (like 1h LIT + 30 or 40 minutes at M Pace).
I am currently in week 2 of a block, where we eliminated the short (90min) bike ride and added in another run.
Goal mileage will now be increased to 70 to 80k this block, and 80 to 90k next block (which is the last before the marathon).
Regarding the incline.
The treadmill is set to 1% incline by default, which they do, because they’ve found it more closely resembles the effort for running on the flat outdoors, than running at 0% on the treadmill.
The protocol for the ramp test had me start at 12kp/h (5:00) at 1% and increased .5kph per 30 seconds.
So after 8 minutes, I reached 20kph (3:00 pace). After that, the speed doesn’t increase anymore, but the incline starts to increase by 1% each 30 seconds.
At 2% (which probably is closer to 1% outdoors) I lasted for like 10 seconds and was done for.
A pro triathlete did the same test recently and he made it to 7%. Quite incredible. But his threshold is 3:12…
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