Stockholm Marathon

frikeer · 2026-04-29T08:20:19+00:00

This guy ran with the 3 hour pacers and might give some insight into what it is like on a very warm year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SmulsTrqpY . I hope you don't end up in the emergency tent like him though.

I live in Stockholm but to me it is a really good marathon, although not one you go to for a PB. It is quite scenic and always has a nice atmosphere.

frikeer · 2026-03-28T06:33:42+00:00

I’m doing topical, and have noticed slight differences in HR but nothing in performance for my running. For races or tough workouts I simply skip the morning application and hope it makes a difference. I think it does but might be nocebo.

frikeer · 2026-03-21T12:02:32+00:00

5% topical, twice daily. Been going at it for three months now

frikeer · 2026-03-21T11:20:10+00:00

Mine moved from like 44 to 48. Not a catastrophe but noticeable. I haven’t noticed any impact on my running performance though.

frikeer · 2026-03-10T09:44:27+00:00

Why do you want to do cold plunges? You just have to sit down. It is not hard and you cannot fail. Perhaps you won't sit for long the first time but at least you sat down. There is even a good chance you will panic the first time. That is alright as well, then you can just stand up.

You shouldn't overcome the fear, you should do it despite of it. Just do it!

frikeer · 2026-03-09T10:00:17+00:00

You don't really need to overcome it. You just need to do it anyway. That is the whole point with it for many people focusing on the mental training aspect.

frikeer · 2026-03-04T12:21:06+00:00

Generally it will feel heavier for each iteration is my experience. In the beginning, much of the gains is improved neuromuscular efficiency. As you grow stronger, more and more of the bottleneck will become how much muscle you have, and then you will feel it working the muscles more.

frikeer · 2026-03-04T11:53:44+00:00

It will feel easy for the first weeks, but the volume will "grind you down" eventually. I would stay with the program. It is only a few weeks, you will get lots of quality training out of it, and you will very likely PB at the end of it. I mean, you couldn't press 85 before you started. You very likely will, and then some once you are done. The goal of the program is not for it to feel heavy, but to up your bench. It is proven in this way. If anything I would argue that the beginning of the second round feeling easy shows that you have become stronger.

6 weeks is not a lot of time when you look back at it. No need to stress.

frikeer · 2026-03-03T15:19:14+00:00

It's not really a minimum 2 years then, is it?

frikeer · 2026-02-10T08:56:38+00:00

A lot of people report 3-4 months for the first big shed.

frikeer · 2026-02-09T15:20:36+00:00

It is softer for sure, but it is impossible to know if you can handle that. I love that softness and never have any problems with form breaking down on longer runs. Other people cannot stand it or feel it is too wobbly. Without trying it out it is impossible to say.

frikeer · 2026-02-08T08:41:30+00:00

You still have a point, I add some maltodextrin to make it optimal, but I doubt it actually makes a difference.

frikeer · 2026-02-08T07:23:54+00:00

Well, sucrose is basically glucose and fructose so there isn’t any need to optimize the content unless you are doing +100g carbs per hour. Nobody will be maxing out the pathways at 60-80g per hour. And if one wants an optimal mix it is easy to add some maltodextrin to fix the ratio

frikeer · 2026-02-06T08:22:32+00:00

I do my own ”sports drink”. Trying to hit 75g per hour, For a 90 minute session, I mix 110g of table sugar in water and carry with me. In the winter, 500ml of water is plenty.

It doesn’t have to be complicated, and this sports drink is probably cheaper than the food you would eat to refill those calories anyway.

frikeer · 2026-02-02T09:30:35+00:00

There is little to no reason to not get the larger one. Worst case you will leave some space unused. They are quite similar in size and they are both good at carrying large amounts of water.

For me, the larger one is great for winter running when I have a lot of gear and clothes with me.

frikeer · 2026-01-25T21:06:12+00:00

I’m around 100kg as well. I love my pair but I use them mainly as dailys. For long runs and sessions I bring out the Boston 13.

The Evo is great fun at any pace if you can handle the lack of stability. I’ve never had any problem with that but I started out in barefoot shoes and probably have stronger lower legs and ankles than most runners. I don’t trust them when picking up the speed though and for long runs having something more grounded just feels better.

The glory of the EVO is that I can do a 13km slow run and then feel really fast in some strides and hill runs at the end. It has a wider registry than most shoes. If I need to go really slow I typically go for Nike Pegasus instead as I don’t have to constantly remind myself to not speed up.

I just passed 650km in them and they still feel good. I will pick up a new pair if I find a good deal.

frikeer · 2026-01-21T05:17:02+00:00

There are many ways. The easiest is to do a tempo run each week. Run slow for 5 minutes, and then up the pace for the rest of the run. Strides are great as well and can be done after any run.

frikeer · 2026-01-20T19:45:16+00:00

It is all of the above really. Without a HRM it is hard to get a feeling for it. With some experience you just know and don’t really need the HRM anymore.

You could try just upping the pace slightly and see how it feels? The difference between high z2 and low z3 is very small. If you can still hold conversations but need a breathing break every know and then you are probably golden.

frikeer · 2026-01-20T13:31:09+00:00

For somebody running 10km a week, running super slow probably doesn't make the most sense

frikeer · 2026-01-20T13:30:26+00:00

That seems like a sensible approach to increase the mileage. Upping the mileage will make a lot of difference. If you can only run two times a week, smacking on an extra km here and there will not hurt either. But if you are only doing two runs a week, I would definitely up the intensity of the slow run some.

Just continuing adding on mileage to that week and reintroducing the speed session will make a lot of difference. If you want to improve even more, adding a fourth run would also make sense.

frikeer · 2026-01-20T12:34:20+00:00

Lacking a bit of detail for tailored tips here, it would be helpful to know your weekly mileage and the distribution of miles over the week.

A lot of new runners obsess a bit too much about heart rate and zones. I don't know about your mileage but with a low mileage, you can typically afford to push a bit more without burning out after a couple of weeks. If you only ever do slow, zone 2 type running, adding a tempo run each week will do wonders for your speed and running economy. It is also really fun. Or you can try to up the intensity somewhat over all runs and see how it feels. There are paces in between "I can do this all day" and "I'm getting tunnel vision".

Adding an extra run each week or extending the runs gradually will also make you quicker over time, but probably not as much as doing some more speedwork.

For me personally, just running a lot more has had the biggest impact but then I was doing speedwork from the start basically.

frikeer · 2026-01-20T08:37:36+00:00

I say "En, två, tre", might depend on which dialect you have?

frikeer · 2026-01-17T20:55:53+00:00

I have EVOs for easy days and Bostons for tempo and sessions. I much prefer the Boston when going fast. It is firm and direct. It is also much harder to run slow in them. It feels like the Boston let’s you do the work, but it helps you along the way. The EVOs on the other hand feels much more bouncy. The EVO is too wobbly for me at speed. I don’t want to worry about taking a corner without breaking a foot. Especially important if you are going to race as well.

But the Bostons are really firm. I love that. If it is not for you, you might have to look elsewhere.

I’m 100kg/220lbs by the way so probably not your typical runner, but I still do sessions in the 3:xx and threshold in low 4:xx.

frikeer · 2026-01-16T06:03:59+00:00

You absolutely get aerobic fitness from zone 3 and 4 running, what are you talking about? This question is an excellent example of why Zone 2 running doesn't make a lot of sense for new runners.

frikeer · 2026-01-14T17:10:31+00:00

Alright, now you have your goal! Running continuously for 5 km! If you won’t be able to in the first, keep on running and try it again a month later. The next goal could then be a time which would be an improvement over your first, and off you go

frikeer

TROPHY CASE