The Runner's Journal
Why is your VO₂ max decreasing? Discover how heat, fatigue, detraining, weight, ageing, altitude and watch errors can make your score fall. Your watch gave you a VO₂ max of 52 last month. Today, it says 49. You have not stopped running. You may even be training more. Yet according to the number on your […]
A higher VO₂ max can help you run faster – but it cannot tell you how efficiently you move, how much of your aerobic capacity you can sustain or whether your legs will still cooperate in the final kilometres. Your watch has increased your VO₂ max estimate by two points. Excellent. But your 5km time […]
From emergency toilet stops and bleeding nipples to black toenails, bladder leaks and the post-race shuffle: these are the less photogenic realities of running a half marathon or marathon. Race-day content tends to focus on the cinematic parts: the start-line nerves, the cheering crowds and the tearful finish. It rarely mentions the runner crouched behind […]
Black, bruised and missing toenails are often treated as an inevitable part of long-distance running. But why do runners’ toenails fall off – and can the damage be prevented? There are running achievements people proudly display: medals, race photographs and suspiciously detailed screenshots from Strava. A missing toenail is rarely among them. Yet black, loose […]
Heavy legs, declining performance and slow recovery are easy to blame on a demanding training plan. But sometimes the problem is not how much you are training – it is how little energy your body has left to adapt to it. Training is supposed to make you tired. A long run should feel like work, […]