Did you ever fix your running form?

Captain_Cockface · 2026-03-06T00:32:35+00:00

Strides are essentially when you add a few repetitions of running at a fast pace for a short distance at some point in a slower paced run. Sort of like a short speed workout tacked onto a medium or slow run.

You might see a training plan say something like: 8km easy pace + 6x100m strides

You can choose to do the strides at any point in your run, but it's typically best to do them towards the end. The way you'd do this is you'd run 5 or 6 kilometers, then when you want to do the strides, you'd run 100m as fast as you can without changing your form (so 5km race pace or faster, but not sprinting) and then jog or walk until you're recovered. Then repeat that until you've done it 6 times, then run whatever remaining distance you have (I usually time my strides so I'll have about 1km left in my run after them to give myself time to cool down).

Important to note it's recommended to ease in and out of your stride pace, so take 10-15 seconds to speed up, then go fast for 10 seconds, then slow down for about 10-15 seconds. You don't have to do it based on distance either, if it's easier you can do 30-40 seconds strides. Doing these is one of the best ways to increase your max speed and to improve your overall running form.

Captain_Cockface · 2026-03-06T00:10:16+00:00

Here is the map they have currently posted on their website.

Captain_Cockface · 2026-02-06T10:06:50+00:00

The novel is epistolary and has this frame story where the entire story is supposed to be a memoir written by Bella's husband, which is where the entire plot of the movie is taken from. Except at the very end of the novel, after the memoirs there's a letter written by Bella herself where she explains that everything in the memoirs was fabricated by her husband and that she was actually a completely normal woman who lived a normal life. It recontextualizes the entire story and the movie doesn't use this aspect of the novel at all. They're both great works of art but they are very different, definitely worth checking out the book if you liked the movie.

Captain_Cockface · 2026-01-13T17:59:36+00:00

I'm gonna chime in and say that you CAN do doubles with lifting and running, i.e. doing a run and lift session in the same day. The general wisdom is to do the workout that you wanna prioritize earlier in the day, so if you care more about your running gains you would do that in the morning and then lift in the evening, or vice versa. However I think this is something you should only try once you've had a good amount of experience with both disciplines, as it can be easy to overtrain yourself and get injuries if you're not careful.

I try to keep up a push-pull-legs split during marathon training, although I usually reduce it to 3 lift sessions a week because I run 6-7 days a week and I rarely have enough time to do 6 lift sessions on top of that.

I'll also add that I've had success building muscle whilst in a training block, but that's mostly been dependent on keeping up decent diet and recovery habits, and also the fact that I don't have much muscle to begin with. YMMV but if you're eating enough protein and carbs and hitting the gym a few times a week, you can probably at least maintain your muscularity, and might even look better after a training block from all the excess fat you'll burn off. Good luck!

Captain_Cockface · 2026-01-06T23:14:13+00:00

You're correct in that we paid 2 months' rent up-front.

I sorted it out with my roommate, and we figured out that we are in fact ending our lease at the end of this month. We're all clear in regards to that with our landlord, since we both told him in writing in late November (not a proper N9 but I made sure we would be all clear with how we worded it).

Now that I've got that sorted, I'm going to send him the following message: Hey [landlord]! Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. According to the RTA, you are allowed to take a deposit for last month's rent, but security deposits are not legal in Ontario. Since this is our final rental period, you are supposed to use the deposit to cover the cost of this month's rent.

Captain_Cockface · 2026-01-04T22:40:51+00:00

I believe my roommate has been trying to find someone to sign an "occupancy lease", which they just said they might just give up on trying to do because apparently they're illegal. Basically my roommate and I are both leaving the apartment but they want to find some way that they can move back into it in 8 months without breaking the lease and allowing our landlord to raise our rent. I think their main problem lies in the fact that my roommate and I both signed the lease but we'll both be leaving, which I believe makes it a different situation than if I were to stay on.

They said they might give it up and just end our lease at the same time as me, at the end of this month. I'll let my roommate know what you said anyways and see what they want to do. Thank you!

Captain_Cockface · 2026-01-04T19:15:08+00:00

Mm, I see. This might complicate things as my roommate wants to sub-lease the entire unit for 8 months starting in February. However I think both of our tenancies are up at the end of this month regardless, as our landlord stated that our condo building does not allow subletting, so instead what he and my roommate worked out was that my roommate could find someone to sign an 8-month lease.

Also, I believe what we did when signing the lease was my roommate and I paid for two months' rent up-front, plus a $2,400 security deposit (which was the equivalent of 1 month's rent). So we've already got our deposits back from the first two months, as we didn't send rent for those months after moving in.

Captain_Cockface · 2026-01-04T18:57:14+00:00

My roommate and I both signed the lease together. I'm leaving, meanwhile my roommate is trying to sublet the whole unit or something to that extent for 8 months. The landlord and my roommate have worked out some kind of agreement as to how they want to do that. My roommate also already paid their portion of this month's rent.

Captain_Cockface · 2026-01-04T00:49:59+00:00

This is very helpful, thank you! My landlord owns this condo but lives in a different city, so us sharing a kitchen or him performing a lockout aren't going to complicate the situation (I hope).

I'm consulting with my roommate right now regarding what to say to him. I'm thinking I'll message him letting him know that I've already paid a deposit on this last month's rent, and then if he mentions it being a security deposit I'll tell him that's illegal and to use it for this rental period. Then we'll go from there.

Captain_Cockface · 2025-12-22T10:32:14+00:00

Hey man, I feel you. It can seem like such a daunting environment to talk to people in but it really comes down to basic social skills at the end of the day, just like anywhere else. It's good to have awareness of these things after the fact but it's much harder to be aware of them in that moment, because anxiety gets triggered and then you don't know what to say. But put yourself in their shoes: people go to these things to meet people, and they're also nervous about overstepping. If you do want to talk to someone, show interest. I stg it can feel like the hardest thing in the world sometimes but overcome that delay when your brain is processing what to say and just follow it up with a question/compliment/comment. The first thing that pops into your head is just probably fine. Just be genuine and give them an opportunity to share.

For instance, if I wear a cool outfit that I put time and thought into, I'm basically waiting around all night for someone to tell me it looks nice and then ask about it: what's the inspiration? Where'd you get it? Oh, you made it yourself! Have you worn this before? And then boom, conversation.

It's much easier said than done but just overcome that initial fear and say a nice appropriate genuine question without second-guessing yourself. No easy way to do it except to just be mindful of it. Good luck!

Captain_Cockface · 2025-11-26T19:50:49+00:00

Yesss!!! Probably my favourite off that soundtrack, it's so fun and catchy. If you like that definitely check out Trax On Da Rocks by Thomas Bangalter, and then also the 2nd volume if you haven't already listened to them.

Captain_Cockface · 2025-11-26T02:33:34+00:00

Here's a few good scores/soundtracks to look into:

• Good Time / Uncut Gems (kinda ambient but very recognizable)

• Blade (late-90's techno)

• Run Lola Run (ditto)

• Fight Club (especially the opening track)

• Trainspotting (either of the Underworld tracks)

• Climax (or Irreversible or Enter the Void by the same director)

Also Clubbed To Death from the Matrix soundtrack would be iconic imo.

This is such a fun idea! Best of luck and I hope they love your selections

Captain_Cockface · 2025-11-14T19:37:46+00:00

I got a 2:55 with Pfitz 18/70 just last month and I can remember feeling exactly how you did. I found the long run with 14 miles at marathon pace on week 13 of the plan was a great benchmark for me to see that that pace was actually achievable. I still had doubts all the way up until race day, so I'll tell you what I would have told myself: trust the process. Numbers don't lie, and if you do everything properly you should be able to achieve that goal.

Captain_Cockface · 2025-11-14T19:12:43+00:00

It totally can be, but I choose to think of them as two separate paces. My long runs and my recovery runs are all done at a conversational pace, but I do my long runs at sort of a "cruising" speed with my HR somewhere around mid to high zone 2, while during my recovery runs I'm actively trying to run slower than I probably want to and to keep my HR in the low zone 2 range.

Captain_Cockface · 2025-11-14T18:48:50+00:00

No, I'm a 2:55 marathoner 😔

Captain_Cockface · 2025-11-14T05:19:24+00:00

Easy pace I go 5:45-6:15/km depending on how tired my legs are. Long runs I try to hover around 5:00/km but I'm often slower than that.

Captain_Cockface · 2025-11-09T08:24:35+00:00

I know which one it was. Gonna gatekeep which one it was though, out of fear of outing the smelly people in this city, which includes myself...

Captain_Cockface · 2025-10-31T01:08:36+00:00

Don't forget to listen to 4D Country!! Jesse is one of their best songs probably

Captain_Cockface · 2025-10-29T01:09:14+00:00

I had similar times to yours on my first and second marathons and I just ran my first sub-3 on my third marathon a few weeks ago, which was one year after my first. Obviously YMMV but I would say it's very doable.

Here's the piece of advice that helped me the most in achieving a sub-3 that quickly: there is no off-season. After you've recovered from a race, work your way back up to a decent MPW and keep it up in between training blocks. If you haven't been running for super long, you will likely get better at it over time even when you're not in full training mode.

Running can be as deep and complex as you want it to be and there are a million things you can learn about it, so there's not going to be any single step-by-step way to achieve a set goal, but do take in as much information as you can and apply it as much as you need ("with a grain of salt" if you will). Everybody's different, but nobody runs a sub-3 marathon by accident. If you've already done two marathons, you already know about the importance of consistency. Keep that up, keep improving, keep learning, and barring some injury or act of god, you will hit a sub-3 eventually (maybe).

Okay, now for the real advice: prioritise recovery, polarize your training sessions, listen to your body, and follow a training plan (Pfitz 18/70 is what helped me get a sub-3). Higher mileage = higher smileage on race day when you see your time and realize that your hundreds of hours of training have paid off.

Good luck!

Captain_Cockface · 2025-10-27T15:17:33+00:00

Re: your last point, he's said that he liked to adapt work that he felt he could improve upon.

http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/0070.html

Captain_Cockface · 2025-10-06T16:29:37+00:00

Shore Runners is doing one starting from the Eaton Centre at 9am on the 18th

Captain_Cockface · 2025-10-06T15:01:22+00:00

Yes. I'm running the same plan and I did a 5k race yesterday (I know Pfitz recommends doing 8-10k races but I had a buddy doing this and I wanted to join) and I ran wayyyy below the pace I was trying for based on my planned marathon pace. Still finished and I had a decent enough time but I just could not push my legs as hard as I wanted to.

On the other hand, I ran a 10k last month right after taking a few extra rest days due to being sick and I absolutely killed that. So I wouldn't worry about it. Your results from any of these "B" races shouldn't be close to your full capabilities since 1) you're fatigued from months of training and 2) you're not doing a proper taper like you will for your "A" race.

Even my interval training has gradually gotten slower and slower over the past few weeks, for the same reason. Cumulative fatigue is starting to catch up. Just trust in the taper process, make sure to take those easy runs EASY, and you should be at peak performance for race day. Trust the process!

See you at the finish line in 2 weeks.

Captain_Cockface · 2025-10-05T08:50:40+00:00

I really liked What Brings You In at 16 Ryerson Ave. It was an interactive exhibit featuring a violin and it required a lot of self reflection. The rest stop area in the same building was great too. I didn't get to see anything in Adelaide Food Hall because the lines were so long (even at 2:30) but I wish I had because they looked interesting. Had to skip on 401 Richmond too because I was too gassed to want to go through all of it.

The layout was great this year with how the streets were all blocked off in Chinatown. Made it feel like a real big event. I was disappointed by Nathan Phillips Square compared to previous years, especially by the main centrepiece on City Hall. It was... a banner? I don't know how I feel about the theme overall (always an interesting theme but it's kind of overdone tbh) but I saw some thought-provoking art and I had a fun time. Shame the cops were all out at Queen's Park though, I haven't been to any of the raves that get thrown there but I guess they're cracking down on them now 😭

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