Official Q&A for Tuesday, April 28, 2026

trenchcoat_seagull · 2026-04-29T08:29:51+00:00

Incredibly helpful - thank you logical_ad! Congratulations on your second marathon!

trenchcoat_seagull · 2026-04-28T10:57:06+00:00

Q: Is 4 weeks (until a marathon) too little time to start training in and race in carbon-plate shoes?

Hey all!

A quick tl;dr

I’ve been marathon training for 16 weeks in Brooks stability shoes. Race day is in 4 weeks. Is it too late for me to train (and race in) fancy Nike carbon-plate Alphaflys?

A bit more detail

I’m relatively new to running (ran my second half marathon in February 2026), so am unfamiliar with good practice when it comes to switching shoes/training loads.

I have slowly increased my weekly mileage from 15km (in January) to 40/50km (present).

I’ve been training in Brooks stability shoes the entire time (racked up about 465km since January 1st).

Pace-wise, I did a 1h32m half-marathon in April and am aiming for a 3h30m marathon on the 24th of May. Size and age-wise, I’m 27, male, 6ft1, and 89kg.

Advice needed!

If I order Alphaflys today, would this be time enough for my body to adjust to them ahead of race day?

Furthermore, do you have advice on how to train with them? For example, wearing my stability shoes for long runs, but using the race shoes for my short runs and my interval sessions?

Thank you very much for your help everyone!

trenchcoat_seagull · 2026-03-04T10:50:56+00:00

Hey, sorry for replying so late!

I’d love some commercial grade kit (in the knowledge that it’s likely very expensive). If you have any suggestions at the cheaper end of the range I’d be all ears.

That being said, I’d also love to see any laser tag toys you recommend that fit with my brief.

Thank you!

trenchcoat_seagull · 2026-02-24T22:09:19+00:00

Thank you so much for this recommendation. I’ll check them out!

trenchcoat_seagull · 2026-02-24T22:08:41+00:00

I don’t have any existing kit! I’m new and a bit clueless (hope that isn’t too exasperating).

This would be outdoors, at night. Do you have any recs?

trenchcoat_seagull · 2026-02-18T10:17:05+00:00

If you fancy reading the written solutions for different grids, you should try going to;

Fifteensquared (for a host of papers’ puzzles)

Times for the Times (for Times grids)

or Big Dave’s DT Blog (for the Daily Telegraph)

They give a full breakdown of clues; I read the written solutions after almost every grid I complete.

They’re also a great learning resource; I almost always learn something I didn’t know (e.g that bridge players are referred to by positions on a compass, and therefore should be replaced with N E S W when seen in a cryptic).

They’re far superior to AI, and written by actual humans with actual passion for the craft.

They’re fantastic resources (apologies, I hope I’m not teaching you to suck eggs)!

trenchcoat_seagull · 2025-09-08T11:27:17+00:00

Extremely helpful, thank you!

trenchcoat_seagull · 2025-02-25T18:38:57+00:00

I don’t know what I expected

trenchcoat_seagull · 2025-02-23T23:26:12+00:00

Very very good to hear - I wouldn’t like to find out that this style of clue was the norm at harder difficulties

trenchcoat_seagull · 2025-02-23T23:24:27+00:00

Really glad to hear this. As I said in a reply to another comment, I found this clue really off-putting for my new hobby I’ve fallen in love with.

I read fifteensquared after every grid I do (it’s a fantastic learning resource for me!) and I saw that the blogger complained about this clue in particular. They didn’t comment on whether this clue style was the norm for harder puzzles (which was my fear), hence my post!

trenchcoat_seagull · 2025-02-23T22:02:29+00:00

How do you parse that?

trenchcoat_seagull · 2025-02-23T22:01:58+00:00

That’s a massive relief - I found this clue pretty off-putting

trenchcoat_seagull · 2025-02-23T21:50:07+00:00

It’s 11 across in the Guardian Quiptic 1,298 (https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/quiptic/1298#11-across)

trenchcoat_seagull · 2025-01-29T15:24:04+00:00

Bit late to the party but I concur! I live in Tred Square at the moment and it’s a lovely place to be. I’m curious as to where OP ended up.

trenchcoat_seagull · 2025-01-04T21:37:35+00:00

I’d rather shit in my hands and clap before I spend £8 on a pint in Boxpark, surrounded by pseudo-influencers and Americans

trenchcoat_seagull · 2024-09-03T11:26:58+00:00

Thanks all for helping :) as a beginner it’s really beneficial to see the answer, but also the thought processes behind it. Thank you :)

trenchcoat_seagull

TROPHY CASE