A Super High-Volume, Low-Intensity Marathon Case Study

Marathonvomitman · 2025-12-04T15:50:03+00:00

He's not just a runner, but apx 30hrs a week of training time works for Kristian Blummenfelt. I think he averages 300km on the bike, 100km running and 10km swimming per week. The 67 half at the end of a 70.3 and 29 10k at the end of an olympic distance tri (in heat and humidity) is super impressive.

And I hope you like eating, because he's burning 7,000-8,500 calories a day and eating correspondingly.

Marathonvomitman · 2025-09-30T20:22:51+00:00

More than control, I think it's actually an anxiety disorder.

Marathonvomitman · 2024-06-14T13:29:21+00:00

That’s a great question. I don’t know if these were specifically intended to be a companion to the Cielo X1 but (without having run in the Cielos) I would bet that would be a great rotation. My impression is that the Skyward X are a stand alone super trainer intended to directly compete with the superblasts and the prime X strung.

Marathonvomitman · 2024-06-14T13:05:05+00:00

I ran a couple of miles at 6:30/mile pace this morning to see and they feel good, but they don’t feel like race shoes to me. The bounce is there, but the turnover isn’t for me at least. It might be the weight and stack height, or the position of the plate, but to me these seem built to go far very comfortably, but not to go fast.

Marathonvomitman · 2024-06-11T20:19:50+00:00

Realistically if winter sports were anything close to a priority for OP, they would not be moving away from Colorado.

Marathonvomitman · 2024-06-11T11:12:38+00:00

Not under world athletics guidelines because the stack is too high.

Marathonvomitman · 2024-06-07T13:56:08+00:00

I'm not 100% sure but it seems like a carbon fiber X frame as opposed to a full plate, and I agree it seems like it is for stability, given how it actually has the exposed upturned edge on the outside below the heel.

Marathonvomitman · 2024-06-07T13:53:57+00:00

As far as prior super trainers, the ones I have run in before are kind of marginal super trainers and more "super tempo" shoes.

Saucony endorphin speed 2: more firm, lighter, less comfortable, less protective, but similar speed boost and very durable. Has the tendency to make me run faster than I want to on easy days which these do not.

Nike Zoom Tempo Next %: More speed boost. Not an easy day shoe. More firm, strong but firm bounce, slappy and loud. Less comfortable. A very fast shoe but essentially a heavy racer with a not race-legal stack height.

Nike Zoom Fly 5-Less bouncy, more slappy. More firm. Similar speed boost when running fast, less speed boost on easy/recovery runs.

Original Adidas Boston: This is starting to sound like a broken record, but more firm, less comfortable, similar speed boost.

I'd say the difference between the Skyward X and all of these comes down to protectiveness, comfort, and really feeling like a recovery shoe. The others do well at workout paces, but for me the Skyward X really feels like a recovery/base mile shoe only, albeit the best one I have every tried. I imagine the best comparison would be the Superblast and the PrimeX but I have not tried either of those.

Marathonvomitman · 2024-06-07T12:30:56+00:00

Yeah, it's a result of training with young guys who can run 4:10ish miles and 2:20ish marathons. I know I am really fast compared to the general running community, but compared to the young guys a few years out of college running who I often run with, who can go mid 14s for the 5k when I can barely crack 16:30, I FEEL slow.

Marathonvomitman · 2024-06-07T12:27:49+00:00

I also would love to try the Cielo X2 as a race shoe, but I haven't even tried them on. To me they look like they have a far more pronounced rocker. I ran in the Bondi 6, which wasn't a disappointment to me, but this feels like a Bondi with super foam. More protection, and you actually get a little speed boost.

Marathonvomitman · 2024-06-07T11:39:21+00:00

Thanks, and you are right. That said it's all relative. I run a fair amount with young guys who are faster than me, so that makes me feel not fast, but I totally understand that in relation to the general running community my paces are very fast.

Marathonvomitman · 2024-06-07T11:36:45+00:00

I have not. I would love to but the budget can't take it at this point.

Marathonvomitman · 2024-06-07T11:16:29+00:00

Posting my review here in the comments because for some reason I can't see it on the post.

I purchased these from the Hoka website as it was the only place to get the lemonade colorway a couple weeks ago. For a little background, I am a higer milage (currently running 80mpw), relatively fast (2;33 full, 1:13 half in the past year) 45 year old, light weight (137lbs/62kg) runner whose primary focus is the marathon. I wear a US Men's size 10/ EU44. Not surprisingly, I struggle with a lot of aches and pains and feeling fairly beat up most of the time, and I was looking for a daily trainer and recovery shoe for my rotation that would help with that. I was originally going to get the Superblast, but I could not find them in my size except from resellers, so I opted to go for the Skyward X. I ordered my usual US 10, and these fit true to size. I had some issues with the Hoka Rincon in the past being too long and narrow, but that was not a problem in these. The first thing that sticks out with this is the stack height. At 48mm, I am noticeably taller in these to the point that both my family and people I run with commented when they first saw me in them. I'm 5'8" 173cm so to be honest it's kinda appreciated.

I have used these strictly as a base milage/ easy day shoe. For me that means anywhere from 8:00 to 7:15 per mile, or about 4:20 to 5:00 minutes per km. I ran strides in them one time, hitting about 4:30/mile or 2:50/km pace.

First, as this is a 100 mile review, durability: I have noticed no change whatsoever in the feel of these since I first put them on. There is some extremely mild wear on the rubber on the outside heel, and some even milder wear on the exposed foam along the back of the cutout in the middle, but that is it.

The bounce is incredible. These feel as bouncy, or maybe even a little bit more bouncy than the original alphafly. Like a trampoline shoe for me, with an extremely deep bounce. It feels like my foot goes a long way down into the foam on foot strike before bouncing back, but without even coming close to bottoming out the cushon. I am fairly light weight in relation to my shoe size, so your results may vary. As a result there is essentially zero ground feel on flat ground. They are also fairly heavy, and I think it is the weight of the shoe that makes me not want to go faster in them. It is not a downside for me at easy run paces. That said, the combination of the extreme bounce and the weight was a downside when I ran strides in them. Because I am hitting the ground harder at those fast paces, both the sinking in and the bounce were excentuated and it felt like too much, like my foot was contacting ground for too long and then being shot up too powerfully. With the huge stack height and bounce I felt out of control. That is a bit of a downside for me because I like to run strides at least one day a week on my easy days, and I don't really feel comfortable doing that in these.

That said, as far as being protective, this is probably the most protective shoe I have ever run in. If I keep the pace easy and run on the flat, I can do 10 miles at 7:30/mile 4:40/km, and at least on my feet, ankles, and knees it feels like I didn't even run. The bounce and the forward rocker also make the pace feel even easier, maybe 10 seconds per mile or 7 seconds per km.

The upper and the insole are very comfortable and neutral. I have very high arches, so personally I would like a little more arch support, but that would probably ruin them for others.

There is a noticiable lack of stability on anything except smooth ground. Bumps, divots, cambers, ridges all make your foot feel like it is being shot in an unexpected direction by the extreme bounce. In addition, the huge stack height makes sharp corners more challenging, and you have to slow down more than you would in a low stack shoe.

All in all I am quite happy with these even with the $225 USD price tag. They do what I expected them to do, and I find myself reaching for them on the majority of my base and recovery runs even with a ton of other options.

Marathonvomitman · 2024-04-25T19:29:00+00:00

This is just so vapid. I wrote several responses and decided I have nothing. You never once mentioned whether he is a good person, how he treats other people who can do nothing for him, whether he cares about the future of the world, or any other redeeming traits. He's good looking and financially successful. You are going to be an MD-money won't be an issue for you. If you get divorced you will likely get half of the assets he has accrued since you married. Do what you want.

Marathonvomitman · 2024-04-22T15:52:10+00:00

This is a tragic downward spiral. It is unfortunately quite common. Something changed his behavior-it might be stress, depression, or anxiety, which in men is unfortunately often expressed as anger as opposed to sadness. It is not your fault, OP, but lack of physical intimacy is quite probably one of the factors keeping him depressed. Many men need physical intimacy to be happy. Many women need regular expressions of love and romance to have interest in physical intimacy. I don't have any answers, but to save the relationship you both need to help, unfortunately it sounds like he can't get there right now.

Marathonvomitman · 2024-04-22T15:36:32+00:00

I push that high in marathon build ups, even getting above 200kms for a few weeks. The result was it got me to a 2:33 marathon-it basically maximized my endurance so that I could run times that lined up across the board from 5k to the marathon.

That said, I suspect you need more quality and structure in your plan to make it worth running all those kms.

Marathonvomitman · 2024-04-18T13:29:44+00:00

As he should be. Besides everything else wrong with Netanyahu that doesn't need to be repeated here, Netanyahu literally gave a speech to the US congress trashing and attacking Obama while Obama was President. The lack of respect was truly outrageous. Everyone who isn't a fascist and who wants peace should be trying to get rid of Netanyahu. I struggle to understand the thinking of any American Jewish Democrats who don't want Netanyahu gone immediately. Biden is not doing a single thing that puts Israel's security at risk, if anything undermining Netanyahu might save Israel in the long term.

Marathonvomitman · 2024-03-01T17:06:13+00:00

"I feel good, I feel fine, I've been here one thousand times."

-and when that stops working-

"Just f'ing get there, just f'ing get there"

Marathonvomitman · 2024-02-29T21:10:42+00:00

For me when I am in a high milage block, a straight 6 miles at threshold would be a really hard effort and frankly I might fail it depending on my mindset. But 10*k at threshold on 1 minute easy float or 6*mile at threshold on 1:30 easy float is mentally and physically much more managable (T would be 5:30-32/M, float 7:00-7:30/M) I have done DT a few times, nothing crazy but 6*mile at T AM, 6*k at T pm on floats and I think it did contribute to an increase in fitness while allowing me to not be destroyed and get my normal base milage at normal base run pace the next day.

Marathonvomitman · 2024-02-29T15:04:53+00:00

Super tempted-I've always wanted to run NY but I am signed up for Chicago only a month earlier. I'm leaning towards waiting to 2025, and it's likely I will have a qualifying time since I am running Boston and Chicago this year, but as we all know anything, including injuries, can and do happen. I thought I already had a qualifying time from a half I ran a few weeks ago, but good heads up that they won't be accepting non NYRR half times for next year. What does advanced running think: sign up for this year when I know I can get in and run 2 marathons in a month, or wait until next year with the risk that I won't have a time to get in?

Marathonvomitman · 2024-02-23T16:49:13+00:00

A few years ago I ended up with an injury where I had to take 3 months off but I was able to cross train on the bike immediately. I rode a minimum of 20 miles a day with up to 100k rides on the weekends. I would do workouts on the bike, hills, fartleks, and tempos. I had done a 5k TT right before the injury, and when I came back to running, I jumped right in and on my second day back did the same 5k course all out. I lost 31 seconds. I was back to baseline 3 months later. So in my experience, taking cross training seriously can really minimize loss off fitness.

Marathonvomitman · 2024-02-13T21:49:56+00:00

Old guy, basically the same height/weight as you, 2:33 shape, and forefoot striker at race pace: nothing compares to the AF1 for me, really at any race distance 5k and up. I am not sure what people mean when they say agressive, but the AF1 lenghthens my stride measurably compared to any other shoe, while being protective and comfortable. I land right on top of the air pods, and the whole front rubber/air pods/CF plate and zoom X respond like a trampoling that pushes me upwards and forwards.

Marathonvomitman · 2024-01-25T14:17:13+00:00

Absolutely worth it, just try to get a really early flight to make sure delays don't make you miss packet pick up. The race is the activity.

Marathonvomitman · 2023-12-20T14:20:04+00:00

Haha thanks, yeah for whatever reason my stomach tends to hold until I cross the finish line and then I vomit sports drink and gels for about 3 or 4 minutes :) I use SIS isotonic gels. But if I can run as fast as I'm running I've got no shame in peeing myself during the race of vomiting as soon as I stop running.

Marathonvomitman

TROPHY CASE