u/Thick_Membership9054

Looking for some advice/review on my marathon training after a disappointing London build and how to approach Berlin.

For London, I worked with a coach for the first time and trained harder than I ever have before. The training itself suggested I was in shape to run well under 2:30, but by the time taper came around I felt completely burnt out and ended up having a really bad race. Looking back, I don’t think I was actually adapting to the training load.

Typical structure looked like:

• Tuesday double threshold: AM: 2x20 mins around 3:25/km PM: 5k/10k pace work
• Friday: 45–60 mins continuous at marathon pace (~3:28–3:30/km)
• Sunday long run: Usually 20–30km of marathon pace quality, sessions like: 4x5k @ MP 3x9k @ MP Final big session was 30km @ MP two weeks out
• Easy running: ~2 hours easy on Mon/Wed/Thurs/Sat

Peak mileage was around 200km weeks.

My PBs are:
5k – 15:27
10k – 31:51
HM – 1:10:36
Marathon – 2:35

I’m now building towards Berlin and really want to break 2:30, because I genuinely think the fitness is there if I can actually absorb the work and arrive fresh on race day.

I’ve recently read the Marius Bakken LT approach book and James's book and the emphasis on intensity control really resonated with me. I’m interested in using that as the foundation of my Berlin block, but I’m unsure how best to adapt that style of training for the marathon specifically.

Has anyone successfully used a these methods as there approach for marathon training? How did you structure marathon-specific work and long runs without drifting back into accumulating too much fatigue?

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has gone through something similar.

Hi all,

I’m looking for some advice on transitioning into triathlon training with a long-term goal of Ironman (likely Ironman Bolton 2027).

Background-wise, I’m coming from a pretty running-heavy setup and I’m trying to understand how best to build towards Ironman without completely losing my running performance or overcooking myself early on.

My current running background:

• Weekly volume: ~180–200km (120+ miles)
• 5k PB: 15:27
• 10k PB: 31:51
• Half marathon PB: 1:10:40
• Marathon PB: 2:32

Training structure at the moment is quite structured running-focused (including double threshold sessions twice per week), so running is very much my strongest discipline.

Cycling & swimming background:

• Very limited experience in both
• Can comfortably ride easy for fitness but no structured cycling training yet
• Swimming is very basic — I can swim continuously but technique is inefficient and I’ve never followed a structured swim programme

My main question is:

How would you recommend transitioning from a high-volume running background like this into Ironman training without:

• Losing too much of my running ability (especially for a marathon goal I still want to maintain in the short term) which is Berlin in September
• Overloading myself by trying to “add” cycling and swimming on top of what I already do
• Building cycling and swimming properly from such a low base

I’m happy to commit long-term (2027 Ironman target), but I want to do it properly rather than just surviving the distance.

Would really appreciate any guidance from people who’ve made a similar transition, especially from a strong running background.

Thanks in advance 👍