What you do between reps decides how far you will go in improving your pace. Know more about this #GeeksOnFeet
Get your flexors, quads, and thighs right back & mobile with couch stretch. More at #WoW
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Why more men are likely to hit the wall in a marathon; this and more at RunSHORTS
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During intense interval workouts, when you’re fighting for oxygen during the recovery period, what is your go-to rest posture? #geekspoll
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The couch stretch is an effective mobility exercise for runners as it targets the hip flexors, quadriceps, and thighs, which often become tight from running and prolonged sitting. Improving flexibility in these muscles can help promote better hip extension, making your running stride feel smoother and more efficient.
How to do it?
Kneel with one knee close to a wall or couch, place the shin and foot of the same leg against the wall, and bring the other foot forward into a lunge position.
Keep your torso upright, gently engage your glutes, and hold the stretch for 30–60 seconds on each side while breathing steadily, avoiding any pain.
The space between reps is not dead time. In interval training, the rest period decides what the workout actually becomes. A 600m repeat session with 30 seconds of rest is not the same workout as one with 3 minutes of rest, even if the pace and reps are identical.
This week on GeeksOnFeet, we look at how to use recovery within a workout with purpose:
Threshold work needs short, moving rest.
VO2 max sessions need moderate rest.
Short HIIT uses deliberately incomplete recovery.
True sprint work needs long, passive rest.
Heavy strength work needs more rest than most runners allow.
And when you are gasping between reps: hands on knees, not hands on head.
Read the full piece: The Science of the Pause
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Men Are More Likely to Hit the Wall in a Marathon
Do you know men are more likely to hit the wall in a marathon compared to women? Then the question is: why do so many marathon blow-ups seem to happen to men? A new study of 873,000 Berlin Marathon finishers has an intriguing answer. The study found that men are twice as likely to “hit the wall” as women, with the gap becoming even more dramatic among sub-3 runners. The findings suggest that pacing strategy and risk-taking are the reasons just as much as physiology.
The fastest men are the biggest risk-takers. Among sub-3 marathoners, men were about six times more likely than women to hit the wall, despite being highly trained.
Women pace more evenly. On average, women slowed less in the second half of the marathon, suggesting they distribute effort more effectively over 42.2 km.
Women may have a metabolic advantage. The paper points to evidence that women rely more on fat oxidation during endurance exercise, helping preserve glycogen and delay “the wall.”
Read the full paper from the study here.
Puma to launch Velocity Nitro 5
The Velocity Nitro is a popular neutral daily trainer series by Puma, and we at ShoeGeeks have always ranked it among the top in the category. Puma is expected to launch the 5th edition of the Velocity Nitro series globally this week, on the 9th of July. Velocity Nitro 5 will continue to use the nitrogen-infused Nitrofoam, but the midsole is expected to get wider this year. The stack height is also expected to be roughly the same. Hence, the release is expected to be a minor change in the series. In the Nitro series, the Velocity will continue to sit below the Deviate and the new Pure series.
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Disclaimer: This is an advanced workout idea, not a regular interval session. Try it only if you already have a good base and can handle hard workouts comfortably.
The Michigan workout, as it is known, is not easy jogging recovery. The “rest” actually is also work.
You run a hard rep, say 1600m around 5K effort, and then immediately “recover” at marathon pace or tempo effort instead of slowing down to jog.
It is brutal, but it is very race-specific. It teaches the body to clear fatigue, control breathing, and settle back into rhythm while still running fast. That is exactly what racing often demands.
Use this workout sparingly. Start with shorter reps and controlled float recoveries before attempting the full version.
Football training emphasizes agility, explosive power, rapid acceleration and deceleration, and repeated sprints. The focus of marathon training is endurance over extended periods of time (three to four hours or longer). Football players don’t run marathons during their careers.
Few footballers have run marathons after retirement, and a few of them have completed sub-3 marathons!
Luis Enrique – 2:58:01 (Florence Marathon 2007)
Arjen Robben – 2:58:33 (Rotterdam Marathon 2023)
Contributors to this edition: Aditi Pandya, Karthik Nadar, RameshBabu PV, & Aravind Yarra
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