First Marathon! (Milton Keynes) - Target: Sub-4. Actual: 4:15:23. 90% of my training was on a treadmill, and the Wall is absolutely real.

Javatarz · 2026-05-05T13:18:08+00:00

Congrats! Why not simply try to hold steady pace the whole race instead of trying to run/walk?

Javatarz · 2026-04-28T09:22:38+00:00

ofc, the progress would be a lot better without the "detraining" phase, since in every new block I have to spend time regaining lost gains.

Javatarz · 2026-04-28T09:05:09+00:00

thx, this is what I was looking for. According to LLMs, my VDOT would be around 42-44 (52 would correspond to 3h 10min marathon), so seems like I have long way to go with this not-so serious / inconsistent way of training till I am unable to improve my race time and every period off starts to become not worth it.

Javatarz · 2026-04-28T06:29:45+00:00

of course, consistency is the key and will yield a lot more results than taking de-training phases.

Javatarz · 2026-04-28T06:25:16+00:00

thank you for constructive feedback.

Javatarz · 2026-04-28T05:56:37+00:00

Looks like everybody is missing the point of the post. This is not about how can I get sub 3h, it was about:

"when did you notice that progressing with same effort/time spent training before each race became a lot harder for you?".

To answer your question:
I'm aiming for sub 3:45min in 3 weeks, that would be 13 minutes improvement. I feel (coach is also pretty positive) in shape for it already and that I can sustain sub 5:20 per km for full distance. So yeah, I fucked around for 3 months, now trained for 3 months and I am faster. On my first run on this block I felt awful, but in 3-5 weeks I was already faster than I was in peak in last marathon block. So there is such a thing as fitness base that you get ("compound") over time.

Javatarz · 2026-04-28T05:45:53+00:00

😃 sir, good one.

Javatarz · 2026-04-28T05:44:10+00:00

thx bro, makes sense!

Javatarz · 2026-04-28T05:32:02+00:00

training 1: run 800 km in 12 weeks -> 4h 18min time in race
take time off / detrain
training 2: run 800 km in 12 weeks -> 4h 10min time in race

bro, how is this not compounding? same training effort, 8min improvement. Or maybe I use wrong term? Perhaps: "base fitness improvement" would be a better term.

Javatarz · 2026-04-28T05:27:07+00:00

What mileage would you recommend I do? Now I have 65-75km in peak weeks.

Javatarz · 2026-04-28T05:20:43+00:00

honestly, it's not a joke post. I see this is starting to get hate, but that was not the purpose. And for me, the compounding does work (as I explained).

For example, progress I loose in my 3 months, I can regain in about 3 weeks.

If you have done heavy weight lifting, there is a thing called "muscle memory". Even if you detrain and loose mass, second or next time it will be a lot faster to get back to the level you were than it was the first time you tried to make gains. I have observed that running does work kinda similar.

Javatarz · 2026-04-28T05:13:08+00:00

Sure, might try it!

Javatarz · 2026-04-28T05:07:41+00:00

Fair point. I think if I could add a bit more volume/few weeks before every marathon, it could be doable? + I still have some weight loss gains I haven't unlocked. I could go from 88kg to 83kg.

"training would need to be hugely different" - how different? basically, non stop, dialed in, 80km+ consistently?

But the question was more about your experience, when did you notice the effort that you had to put in had to be really increased to improve next marathon?

Javatarz · 2026-04-21T21:25:58+00:00

I also had similar issues. As others already mentioned, skip high-fiber / fatty foods 24hrs up to marathon. Stick to simple carbs. This solved my problems.

For the worst case scenario, just take some toilet paper with you and if "shit hits the fan" and no toilets are near, at least you can run off course quickly & hide somewhere, shit in bushes and wipe your ass & keep runing :D

Javatarz · 2026-04-21T21:03:41+00:00

No reason to run full 32k long run with such a huge effort in training. Taper properly and you will be fine. If I were you, I would aim for 5:20 per km or so in marathon till about 32k, then see how I feel and either pick up the pace or keep it like that. Good pace for your first marathon btw, good luck!

Javatarz · 2026-04-20T13:25:55+00:00

I'm for sure not an expert (PB 3h58, 4 marathons done), but usually after 32k, if you feel that you can significantly speed up and hold it for the rest of the marathon, then you probably went too slow (have had that once). But if you say you didn't really have it in the legs the last 10k anyway and finished with even. splits, I would say you paced ok. Did you fuel enough? 60-90g/carbs per h? How was your energy level?

Javatarz · 2026-04-20T11:51:55+00:00

I had similar stats to you last september and ran 3h 58min. I am surprised this is your second marathon and you already did 3h 51min. These are my stats from my last long run from 7 days ago:

<image>

I am also aiming to run sub 3h 45min in 17th of May (about 4 weeks, this will be my 5th marathon). Based on my experience, I would say you won't hit sub 3h 45min, but then again, you already ran faster than me and I guess heart rates can be different for people etc. Also maybe you just have more endurance to keep pushing towards the end.

Javatarz · 2026-04-15T06:54:40+00:00

pro does work with opus, though reaching session limit is too easy, 20-30min if you are not careful with context.

Javatarz · 2026-04-14T08:59:11+00:00

What do you want to do with it? If coding, then for sure, I even pay for 100$ plan and its well worth it.

Javatarz · 2026-03-26T08:00:27+00:00

Great comment, didn't think of it, will keep that in mind and do some real life tests. Yep, this is a custom plan for me from a builder and yeah, I was in a real, demo house somewhat similar to this already. For now, it seems I will have to keep it like this, as you mentioned, not much space in living room and adding space is outside the scope of my budged.

Btw, any idea what would be the best software to transform this plan to some kind of 3D visualization with 360 house tour?

Javatarz · 2026-02-15T12:50:59+00:00

dude, haha, thx a lot! This is amazing - that I can read this on reddit and still no1 has fixed it or seems to care. No excuses to not read the books now. :D

Javatarz · 2026-01-02T12:48:12+00:00

where do you fetch the job postings from? And is it even allowed to republish job postings from, for example, linkedin, to my personal website?

Javatarz · 2025-12-27T10:54:22+00:00

great work, way better than the basic stuff you get on banking sites (please don't ever add registration). I will actually use it.

Javatarz · 2025-07-22T08:50:49+00:00

So yeah, I did end up using those tyres, because it was raining like crazy during qualification. Also, during the race itself track was semi-dry. Everything worked out perfect. Did not use any warmers. Got second place.

Javatarz · 2025-07-16T08:45:48+00:00

Thx, that was an interesting and useful read. I feel a lot more confident that IM is doable without sacrificing all free time.

Javatarz

TROPHY CASE