@sirpoc - do you reckon you could run a sub 2hr30 marathon in that Parma shirt from the video? Did moisture wicking exist in the 90s?
I could have run in a football shirt at London and ran sub 2:30. But, it would definitely slow you. I ran for the first two years in football shirts only. Then I started buying running only gear as it is definitely more comfortable. I couldn't run a sub 2:30 right now I doubt, whatever I was wearing 😂
Do you have an FPL team? I bet you’ve gone and hacked that too
I do the Sun Dream Team. Old school, came out before FPL and have done it every season from even when it was just printed in the paper. Finished in the top 50 last year funnilyy enough ha ha just missed out on the money slots.
It's all about the algorithm and cumulative gains and gaining funds over the season, then overtaking everyone in the second half. A bit like the training method, you'll catch everyone up who is focusing on the short term, in time. That's a good a stretch as I can link it to, before people get angry at off-topic chat again ha. My team is always called the same "NorfolkEnchance". If you can't do a northern, British accent this will go way over your head.
Do you have an FPL team? I bet you’ve gone and hacked that too
I do the Sun Dream Team. Old school, came out before FPL and have done it every season from even when it was just printed in the paper. Finished in the top 50 last year funnilyy enough ha ha just missed out on the money slots.
It's all about the algorithm and cumulative gains and gaining funds over the season, then overtaking everyone in the second half. A bit like the training method, you'll catch everyone up who is focusing on the short term, in time. That's a good a stretch as I can link it to, before people get angry at off-topic chat again ha. My team is always called the same "NorfolkEnchance". If you can't do a northern, British accent this will go way over your head.
Its a cycling thing. Which is typically 2 x 20 min sub threshold (defined percentage of FTP) twice per week. It's about building Chronic Training Load (CTL) via Training Stress Score - so what you can sustainably build week in, week out
Can you recommend any good aliexpress running gear? Also if the book sells well would you consider a Bakken-led altitude camp for your next marathon, that could be all you need to dip under 2:20?
Can you recommend any good aliexpress running gear? Also if the book sells well would you consider a Bakken-led altitude camp for your next marathon, that could be all you need to dip under 2:20?
Go back a few pages and you will have links to good chineese running shoes.
Nice interview Jimmy .. It's always nice to hear James talking.
If you ever get a second chance of doing another. which I hope you do then may I request going beyond the basic and getting into specifics.
Like for example:
Why 30-40 min of threshold 3 times a week and not 60?
Is it just the mechanics of running that make it an issue or are there aerobic issues too .. Seems like the former since James contemplates sitting on his bike for a second session instead of just running doubles. Do cyclist spend much more time in the threshold zone?
James said a zillion times .. "If you know your fitness then ...", but how exactly do you know your fitness well enough to go "Oh ok .. I'm going to aim for a 2:27 marathon today!". Is it just experience or does it entail calculations? There is calculation involved, isn't there?
What is the upper limit of easy running ... How do you deal with mechanical stress other than just hoping for the best and pull back, if you start to feel pain? There was off course that one comment, where he asked for someone to be crazy enough to just run easy for ages, wasn't there?
Or like a zillion posters here and on reddit tend to go "you need to keep a 75-25 ratio", but that is only if you're running 7 days a week, right? .. If you're at a point where life for some reason or other for a while only allows you fewer days, then it's probably optimal to remove easy days instead of removing a mix of ST and easy?
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Or you know what ... Just ask James the following:
"You've been on several podcasts where you talked the host thru the basics of the NSA approach. Is there any stuff you would have loved to talk about that beyond the basics?"
Cheers!
Just about all of that is covered in the book. I'm happy to help out Jimmy if he wants to chat again or FOD (or both), it's not like I'm going to become a YouTuber myself, the book alone has taken up an unreasonable amount of my time.
Ultimately, if people are interested going in and ask the right questions, I'm' usually happy to do podcasts. Why anyone is that interested, I still quite can't work out. But, happy to help. The one issue is usually you can only touch on a fraction of the subject in hand and it often raises more questions than answers. Again, coming back to the book, I hope that'll close a lot of the gaps. It's hard to even remember what I've posted here, I may well have left gaps on things, or it's scattered across various platforms now. Some stuff I have changed, some stuff from the 2023 posts stand the test of time.
But there's large chunks on how you determine fitness, why 30 mins and why that is better than longer, or straight tempo. Just about everything is not just "do this" but asks "why". I think that's important, so you can make up your own mind of how to train, perhaps you don't want to train exactly like this, it can guide and help make your own decisions. Subthreshold is a tool most likely to make the most of your training long term, but certainly isn't the only way.
Again, 75/25 and how that ratio might change is in there. The bike, why I might do that. I think most of your bases covered but it just got to the point I cannot answer all these questions all the time and if nothing else, whilst there's no going back the book might calm things down for a while ha ha I read it cover to cover at the weekend and thought it was pretty good and I assumed I would hate it. My only goal was, if I had this book after 6-12 months from when I started running, would I have wasted less time. The answer is yes.
I guess that was the main idea of the book, to have everything in one place. Doing the book properly was my main motivation, it certainly isn't going to make really any money, or certainly a fraction of what I had as offers from other people to do it or even collab with them. But for me it was more important to answer all the questions like this and stay true to what you guys want or need to know, to help you as much as you can.
Anyway, a bit off topic but the point being , I think if anyone is thinking "what about this" it's probably covered, somewhere between the covers.
I find it hard to believe you can't work out, why anyone is interested? :D
It's the perfect training form for the stressed and time restricted guy with long job hours and kids. Last thing you want to do is add to much stress and/or go thru some elaborate ballet of x types of work outs.
And once you done that you need to stretch, foam roll, cross train and what not everyone one is trying to seem important
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Anyways ... I was hoping that you'd answer exactly what you did .. That it is all in the book!
Looking forward to it :)
Don't forget to post once the book hits Amazon and thanks for being so forthright and open towards random strangers on the internet .. Still after all those years!
Rumor is, that there is a nice pub at the corner by the tower bridge ...
You know you'd always be welcome to have a beer with me one day, mate. To be honest the best thing about all of this, is connecting with people from all around the world. (Yes even lexel, he's genuinely a really nice guy! Ha ha).
in 2026, Hard2Find will be making an appearance at that Pub during the London Marathon, meeting and greeting in his Mickey Mouse costume, creating spreadsheets and balloon animals for the kids, and biting unsuspecting YouTubers who blow up in the second half of the race
One aspect I am interested in is pushing training beyond 8 hours per week. Sirpoc, sees the NSM vanilla as fitting for up to 8 hours, but beyond this he believes extra spice, such as double threshold is needed.
Double threshold is always going to be a step too far for the majority of recreational runners.
10 hours per week, is probably the safe upper limit for weekly running. Why not just fill up the extra 2 hours with an increase in easy running, and maybe increase the S/T to 3*40 mins?
One aspect I am interested in is pushing training beyond 8 hours per week. Sirpoc, sees the NSM vanilla as fitting for up to 8 hours, but beyond this he believes extra spice, such as double threshold is needed.
Double threshold is always going to be a step too far for the majority of recreational runners.
10 hours per week, is probably the safe upper limit for weekly running. Why not just fill up the extra 2 hours with an increase in easy running, and maybe increase the S/T to 3*40 mins?
For savely increase the easy running, I would do 2x40 mins in the morning and evening, and then you have the same problem, like with double threshold days. I dont think my body can handle just 80 minutes of easy running every day and recovering enough from the threshold runs.
As we are now in freezing weather in the UK I've noticed my max HR is around 10bpm lower than it is in normal 10-20 celsius weather.
For people who have ran to HR with this method in previous winters, have you found you have needed to run at an even lower percentage of HR max on easy runs in frosty weather or sub-threshold sessions? My easy run this morning was at 60% of HR max on the same pace as before, though I suspect this is closer to 65% of my "cold-weather HR max".
This weekend I plan to run a Friel test, ideally in close to sub-zero temperatures to find out my LTHR in colder weather, just to make sure I'm not overcooking it over the winter months, I was wondering if others had experienced this before.
There's no such thing as cold weather HR max. Just keep working at the same intensity and your HR will be a bit lower for the same effort. Don't overthink it.
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