Jakob "feeling strong"

Hmm total guess but it seems like a "sharpener" session before an upcoming race, running through the gears etc.

Classic John Mcdonnell workout that we started doing once a week during indoor. Rhythm and increase in pace at the end covers all the bases. I posted earlier this AM- the entire workout was done in flats. Achilles must still be a problem if no spikes. Though, that Chiavenna track is a bit hard- maybe just precautionary?

Josh Kerr just punched a hole in his wall.

How important is it to train in spikes actually? Is it bad news, if he doesn't do that before worlds?

Unless you were there in person, you have to assume the photos on insta were from this session - he wore the custom alphafly 3's, not flats.

In his shoe rotation video from a few weeks ago, he talks about saving spikes for strides. He wears alpha or vaporfly's on the track to save his legs but still hold threshold or race pace.

Blood lactate meter in frame showing he's taking readings during standing recovery. Probably a threshold session. He's in Chiavenna, so probably wanting to confirm his improved fitness from running at altitude the past month to on the track at sea level.

The question I have is why is he in Chiavenna? Is that a typical summer training location for him when not at altitude?

it's an hour trip from St. Moritz.

maybe the closest track that's not at altitude.

Ah ok. I was hoping that it might be due to the proximity to Zurich…

the odds are obviously against it, but im sure if he wanted, he could get a non-DL 1500 put together with guys like Kessler, Ciatti and Hoare who will not have qualified for the final.

In my era, "flats"= racing flats= Alphafly 3, Vaporfly, etc. JI 100% absolutely uses spikes for sessions like this in the past. In addition, he's most certainly not doing 8/6/4/3/2 at threshold. Like I said, Chiavenna's track is a bit harder than most as well- hopefully, just a precautionary measure.

Correct. Many people in STM will drop down to this track for more specific sessions. In addition, the track in STM is literally visible from the dorms/apartments where the majority of athletes stay, so a bit of privacy when doing a harder session to see where his fitness is at might also be welcome.

Same track with a sharpening session in spikes last summer. Doing a session like this in season in Alphaflys is not his usual.

Jakob needs to stop wearing carbon plate shoes so often. I'm convinced they're creating/exacerbating his achilles injuries.

What are you even arguing about? 4 weeks ago he posts an in depth interview into his current shoe rotation and the purpose for each shoe. Jakob states that "spikes" are for strides on the track. Alpha/vaporfly are for intervals and threshold workouts.

I would take what he's saying in 2025 about his training and equipment at face value. I wouldn't go digging into the annals of youtube for a 9 second video of him running in spikes, with no context of the session recorded, as somehow definitive proof of his current injury status or fitness level.

It wouldn't be the plate but the foam around it. Think about it, for the foam to "spring" back (which everyone seems to like) it needs a lot of compression (why the shoes are 35-40mm stack). Each impact that foam is deforming 15-20mm (about half it's uncompressed height) - that is a lot of movement. Now when you are nice and fresh and making super efficient footstrikes, that might be okay - but what about when you get fatigued and you aren't coming down perfectly on top of the midsole, that exaggerated movement (vs resistance) can start putting a lot of stress on things like ligaments and tendons.

Runners in general these days doing far too much running in soft "springy" shoes - from casual runners through to pros. Yes there are definitely some benefits in terms of impact fatigue due to the new foams, but some shoes are dangerously high off the ground. I don't know if this contributes/has contributed to any of his issues specifically but you might not be wrong.

I’m arguing against misinformation. Jakob uses spikes quite often on the track during his racing season, both indoors at Sandnes and outside wherever he might have his training camp. 10x300m, 8x400m, 3x1000m, 6x800m: you can have your choice. His sko video explains what is often used for the double treshold period that people know so much about now. However, believe what you will.

I would agree with this. I think that was also the basis for all of Jager's lower leg injuries.

(over the last 2-3 years)

Post your split times Jakob, we don't care about pics or emojis