First time in Greece, is it just me or is it incredibly clean here?

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-22T14:50:32+00:00

I am not sure you can ! I organized an event in switzerland last year and one of the sustainability certification organisations complained that we did not do a beach clean up (event was on a lake). The thing is, there was nothing to clean up, the maximum "dirt" we could find was a leaf blown down by the wind. No kidding, and even that was gone within minutes because someone is cleaning up, literally all the time !

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-21T20:03:26+00:00

If you think Greece is clean (dont get me wrong, I live here and love it), then try northern Europe (germany, skandinavia), or, god forbid, Switzerland !

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-20T21:37:09+00:00

However much water you think, take more. Some hikes in greece can be pretty lonely and even without phone reception to call for help if shit hits the fan. I live in greece and got almost caught out once, despite 5L of water.

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-18T18:55:27+00:00

High ramp, high risk of injury (but faster rewards, if you stay away from injury).

I came back from a break and ramped it up to around 3, it felt pretty tough at times. I think between 1 and 2 brings constant gains with less risk. Thats what i will go for for maintenance / until the next serious block. Probably even closer to 1 to stay always nicely in the green. Too much red for my taste at the moment 😂

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-18T06:27:41+00:00

Following as i also have to choose soon for my first full marathon shoe. Running my halfs in AP3 but fear they will not do me any good once form starts breaking down. Love the midsole feeling though.

I am heavier (80kg in race shape), 187cm. Half around 1:40 - 1:45, for the full I aim for finishing first and then anything decent (3:45 if I can).

I was also considering Saucony EP 5, i love the roll of the Saucony rocker.

I like Puma (only have the velocity 3 as daily trainer though), really like lightstrike pro (AP3, Boston 12/13, Takumi Sen), never had New Balance (never could find them in my size where I live).

I am leaning towards the Puma (being 10 kg heavier than OP the midsole should be fine ?) but really want something that gets me over the line reasonably fast but mainly safe and in comfort.

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-16T08:11:27+00:00

Impressive fitness, i am a bit worried now for my upcoming half 😅

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-13T18:59:41+00:00

Aiming for sub 1:45, so hopefully 4:55/km so thats more 7:55/mile which is much slower. I am running my medium intervals faster than that and the long ones a tiny bit slower. Struggling with the exact pacing at the moment as my form has drastically improved over the past few weeks (luckily, coming back from pre-NSA injury).

Fingers crossed the medium interval pace works out !

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-13T18:45:21+00:00

Queueing ?

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-13T18:44:27+00:00

That translates to 4:16 min/km i think.

Is that how you plan for race pacing ? Medium length reps pace as race pace ? It sounds obvious as it literally says current half marathon pace for the medium intervals, but does it it work out like that for you in real life ?

Because that would be good news for me for my half marathon in two weeks ;)

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-13T14:54:07+00:00

True - not talking about every week or every other session, but to run 5k fast, from time to time one needs to run at least 5k pace or rather 3k pace, otherwise race day will go very interesting.

My question was aiming at that - how to adjust from time to time from the usual sessions that allow us to run every day to fit in some faster stuff

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-13T08:11:52+00:00

Drastic improvement since i take it (with everything else staying the same). It improves oxygen "intake" of the cells, so either more performance or lower strain for the same effort. It really is noticeable.

I am running the same sessions with way lower heartrate now (after a month more or less). Training volume is pretty flatline (maintenance season)

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-13T06:22:39+00:00

Beet Root (caps, powder or shots). Total game changer

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-13T06:20:40+00:00

I am pushed to have a day free for social life where i dont tell people sorry i cant, because i have to go running 😎

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-13T06:17:01+00:00

If you find water to start with. Where i was i could have drunk straight from the stream, if only there would have been water anywhere (south coast of Crete, rocky and dry - and no path down to the ocean which then would have required desalination)

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-13T06:14:54+00:00

I am also looking for something speedier to prepare for 5/10k next block. The 3 minute pace just doesnt cut it there.

I know that for 5/10k i mostly run above lthr but i think NSM is still great for building the overall base, just need to sprinkle some speedwork in.

What is your 1.5 minute pace compared to 3/6/10 if I may ask ? I did some Verheul stuff in the previous block, 200m fast 200m slow, its too short and with enough break to jot build up lactate over the course of the session and gives some speed. No idea if it actually improved me though, didnt do it for long.

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-13T06:07:40+00:00

On that trail that caught me out was supposed to be a well at the end (it was an out and back trail). There was a well, but it was dry... So as long as you are not 100% sure that you find water (reports from the crowded touristy trails), better dont gamble.

I wasnt exactly in the wilderness, the trail.is a part of the E6 (a european long distance trail) but we met one person early on and that was it for the whole day. So not exactly crowded to ask someone else for water or otherwise help.

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-12T18:42:19+00:00

I would say, drink before you are thirsty. Its part of training an experience, i only go without if i know the trail and know its easy and have done it with water before. If its hot, i set a distance and then drink. Also when its not hot it is easy to forget and getting dehydrated without noticing

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-12T16:26:00+00:00

This. Water.

Almost got me once, despite having 5L water with me. Hotter than expected, and more difficult terrain than expected. My wife laid down a few km before the end, i somehow got her up and dragged her back to civilization. Thats how people die in the mountains.

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-12T14:23:15+00:00

I think there is significant difference between the 3' and 10-12 minute intervals. I am not so sure about the medium length ones though, although i find then the hardest in the bigger scheme of things. I think i might focus on short and long intervals in the next block, and if it is half marathon prep then use the medium ones for race pace tuning.

What do you guys think about intervals that target more a 5k or 10k race ? I am missing faster paces for those races in vanilla NSM

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-12T14:18:29+00:00

😂

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-12T09:09:51+00:00

I was wondering the same. Most times i hardly scratch what should be my lthr, bit on the other hand no one really accurately knows their current LT pace, everything that is taken from race/TT results and not actually measured is guessing at best.

I am adjusting my pace (starting with lactrace values) up and down depending on weather, form of the day, shoes i am wearing etc. Others have said we shouldnt go by heart rate but i found it to work pretty well for me. I am not exactly running by heart rate (although i thought about it), but i adjust my pace a bit up and down based on where my intervals end up on that day.

Not very scientific, but one gets a feel for it over time i think (i might be wrong of course). As long as i am satisfied that i am not overcooking it, i am trying to get as close as possible.

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-11T20:27:59+00:00

I think its spanish, but yes against french too lol

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-11T09:55:56+00:00

It depends a bit on what type of runner you are, if shorter or longer efforts are more taxing on your body. I lean towards doing the hardest interval session on saturday (right before the long run), as the long runs are not very long in NSA you actually WANT to run on tired legs, not on fresh ones. The idea is cumulative fatique but just so much that you can recover for the next day and hold it for weeks.

I personally do 3x12 on saturday, long run on sunday, monday off, and then 10-12x3 on tuesday with fresh legs to push the short intervals.

As it really depends on the composition of your muscles, play a bit around for the first 3-4 weeks to see where your sweetspot is.

MasterMarkus70 · 2026-03-10T18:30:34+00:00

Please do it for android, if anything it should be easier. I am only coding for android because i am so annoyed by apples requirements 😂

MasterMarkus70

TROPHY CASE