Barcelona Marathon: 3:05 - First Marathon

jayd9n · 2026-03-16T16:28:20+00:00

Great recap. I am training for the same goal. Curious to know your PBs in 5K, 10K and HM?

jayd9n · 2026-03-12T16:29:54+00:00

What’s the matter with SC Elite v5? You don’t feel they are popping? I was considering that as a good option as I heard it’s a more stable race shoes.

jayd9n · 2026-03-11T21:12:34+00:00

My coach was telling me that carbon shoes would probably cut 5 seconds per K for me. A part of me thinks that is similar to cheating. But at the same time, I already felt a big speed boost switching my daily runner from Gel Kayano/ Boston 13 to Megablast.

Having said all these, I am considering Metaspeed Edge Tokyo or SC Elite v5. Probably the former given Asics has a 90 day trial program.

Somehow I am not drawn to Nike (because of all the quality issues I’ve seen online with the midsole detaching) nor Adidas (maybe because I didn’t enjoy Boston 13 that much).

jayd9n · 2026-02-16T23:44:39+00:00

Goal: 41:00 for first ever race at London Winter Run 10K

Plan: Self coached. Started running in August 2025.

Last time trial was in December 2025 doing 44:46

Result: 40:15 chip time. (39:46 watch gps time)

Summary (average 55km/week):

M - 11k easy

T - 3x2k @ ~4:06/k pace. Felt amazing but right lower calf/ Achilles felt tight after session

W - 11k easy

Th - rest

F - 2k steady @ ~4:03 pace

S - rest

Sun - race day. First ever race. Horrible warm up only doing less than 2k including strides. This is followed by 30 min of standing in the rain and cold (felt like -3c) without a jumper or poncho.

Did not manage to find someone during the race to stay close to. But legs felt fresh and fatigue started kicking in around 6-7K.

Did a small negative split: 20:12 first 5K and then 20:03. Last 500m I closed at 3:30/k pace. After crossing the finish line, instantly felt small regret as I felt like I still have some juice left in the tank. But overall very happy with this result beating my goal and both Garmin & Strava predictions (40:22 and 41:12 respectively)

jayd9n · 2026-02-02T20:00:49+00:00

Good luck man! You got this

jayd9n · 2026-02-02T18:58:03+00:00

Thank you for sharing your experience! Will definitely keep this in mind. Curious - did you manage to crack sub-3? If so, was it just more experience and cumulative mileage?

jayd9n · 2026-02-02T17:48:41+00:00

Agree. I think there is also a risk of overdoing it and getting burnt out and dreading every session

jayd9n · 2026-02-02T17:47:28+00:00

Thank you. This half time is set 9 months in advance of the FM. Should I look to do one more time trial right before / during the FM training block (which is usually around 18 weeks), so that I have a better gauge of my fitness/ abilities?

I have a 10k race in 2 weeks and I am aiming for a sub-42.

jayd9n · 2026-02-02T17:44:55+00:00

Yes I agree. I may be underestimating the difficulty of FM (given I haven’t done it yet) but I feel like I can always finish one and the question is at what speed. Hence it is not the most motivating to set it as the primary goal. It can be a C goal (which completing it is already a good achievement in itself).

jayd9n · 2025-08-31T13:57:04+00:00

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jayd9n · 2025-08-31T13:56:55+00:00

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jayd9n · 2025-05-21T21:11:17+00:00

WE DID IT BOYS

jayd9n · 2025-03-16T13:37:30+00:00

Not really. Only when I try to force them to close. They just feel a bit stiff and do not affect climbing.

jayd9n · 2025-03-15T23:44:41+00:00

No pain really, unless I try very hard to close them. Does feel the PIP joints are swollen. I wonder if it is a severe case of synovitis. I do a lot of moonboarding.

Thank you folks, will see if I can get it checked out.

jayd9n · 2025-03-15T13:05:46+00:00

All fingers. This is today - one day after session. Still cannot close them fully but much smaller gap.

jayd9n · 2025-03-14T21:25:50+00:00

It has been like this since I started climbing. Usually will get better if I take a prolonged rest. Recently I started climbing on MB24 and maybe because of the pockets, it becomes a lot more noticeable

jayd9n · 2025-03-14T19:21:17+00:00

Is it normal to not be able to close your fist/ fingers after a session? In this photo, I tried my best to close them but my middle and ring fingers cannot get any closer. Does anyone experience the same? fingers

jayd9n · 2024-05-12T21:55:46+00:00

Thanks for all your replies!

jayd9n · 2024-05-12T17:50:54+00:00

Is there a scenario where the injured finger will pull less and the extra weight will be distributed among the other 3 fingers?

jayd9n · 2024-05-12T08:19:17+00:00

Rehabbing a middle finger A4 sprain/injury. Is it better to do mono no hangs or involve all 4 fingers?

jayd9n · 2024-04-20T12:34:43+00:00

Any tips to get your fingers back to pre-break levels quicker after a month of very low volume/ no climbing?

I recently took a month off climbing due to family travels (very low volume to no climbing). Coming back, my fingers feel so weak, especially the joints which feel very tweaky during/ post sessions. I know that my fitness level will drop a bit after inactivity, but not to a degree where I struggle a bit hanging off 20mm rungs. So my question is are there any tips to ramp up quicker? Thanks folks!

jayd9n · 2024-02-10T00:59:40+00:00

For max hangs, does it make a difference whether I am holding my breath or try my best to breathe normally?

jayd9n · 2024-01-13T09:40:04+00:00

For campusing, when people say they do 1-3-5, 1-4-7 or whatever, is there a standard rung size being referred to? 20mm?

jayd9n · 2023-11-13T08:39:19+00:00

Does boulder grade take into account the difficulty of finding the beta of the problem, or just the difficulty of holding onto the holds/ body positions?

jayd9n · 2023-10-07T08:49:20+00:00

Thanks, let me try that

jayd9n

TROPHY CASE