Sydney Marathon Diaries

Huge week this week! Pumping out 3 newsletters (Run Culture, this training log, and Straight At It), launching Zato Athletic Clubhouse (check it out here), a busy week in my IRL job, and spending time with the family. To say I am cooked is an understatement.

Last week, I mentioned the new shoe purchases, and this week I got to use the Superblasts 2. So, I thought I might drop a little mini review. TLDR: if you can find any in stock, buy them while you can because these shoes are a game-changer.

First impressions at step-in were so much cushion that I knew the ride was going to be comfortable. Just a massive slab of FF Turbo Plus underfoot. I was skeptical at first about how this would respond when you try and pick the pace up.

First run in it was an easy run, and to be honest, it was difficult to run at the same pace as when I wear the Adidas Adizero SL2. I forgot to wear my heart rate monitor, but the perceived effort at 5:30 min/km (8:51 min/mile) felt the same as 5:45 min/km (9:15 min/mile). The bounce from the foam is just incredible without any added discomfort from a carbon plate.

Second run was the midweek long run, which involved 9.65 km (6 miles) at marathon pace. I was intrigued to see how it went. The first km or so at marathon pace felt like it took quite a lot of effort to get up to speed, but once you got there, the shoes did all the work for you. The best part was that they felt just as good, maybe even better, at the end of a 22 km (13.67 miles) run as they did at the beginning.

For me, this is going to be the perfect long run shoe and anything with work that is a continuous tempo up to marathon pace, maybe even longer threshold work, or just a day where I don’t want to do any work at all. Where I see it not working that well is fast short reps because it takes a while to get up to the required speed, and by then the rep is over.

All in all, this is my favourite shoe and I can see myself using it for the majority of my runs. I will have to force myself to use the daily beater for easy days. Next Sunday, I will be trying out the Alphafly 3 on the hardest marathon session long run to date in this block and will report back.

Weekly Breakdown

Sunday: Long Run

• 2hrs (21.62 km / 13.43 miles) @ 5:29 min/km (8:50 min/mile)

• Avg HR: 164 BPM

Easy long run week this week, which is always appreciated. A mate who is also going for sub-3:30 joined in and we targeted some hills to keep us honest and gave him the local running experience. These easy long runs are some of my favourites just to be able to chat and forget about the running.

Monday: Treadmill Run

• 7.3 km (4.54 miles) @ 5:43 min/km (9:12 min/mile)

• Avg HR: 142 BPM

Tuesday: Easy Run

• 7.3 km (4.54 miles) @ 5:30 min/km (8:51 min/mile)

First run with the Superblast 2 and I could not wipe the smile off my face afterward. Most fun I have had in a new pair of shoes since I first put on a pair of carbons. A little annoyed I forgot to wear my HR monitor for this one to compare to when I was wearing the daily beaters (Adidas Adizero SL2).

Wednesday: Treadmill Run

• 7.3 km (4.54 miles) @ 5:43 min/km (9:12 min/mile)

• Avg HR: 145 BPM

There seems to be a common theme for Wednesday runs—they seem difficult. Easy runs seem to drag on and feel tough.

Thursday: Midweek Long Run

• 9.65 km (6 miles) @ 5:36 min/km (9:01 min/mile)

• 9.65 km (6 miles) @ 4:43 min/km (7:36 min/mile)

• 3.2 km (2 miles) @ 5:28 min/km (8:48 min/mile)

• Total: 22.54 km (14.01 miles)

• Avg HR: 162 BPM

Super happy with this run. Started really late (9pm) and my gel at 10 km looked funky, so I tossed it in the bin. Regardless of all this, I still managed to hit slightly faster than marathon pace for 9.65 km (6 miles). The Superblast 2 felt like an effort to get up to marathon pace, but once locked in, the run felt effortless and the shoe did all the work. Legs felt empty by the end because of not having any nutrition, but I got the session out. HR was super steady and never ticked over threshold for the working set.

Friday: Easy Run

• 5 km (3.11 miles) @ 6:02 min/km (9:42 min/mile)

• Avg HR: 141 BPM

Must have overcooked it a little the night before because I felt terrible all day. So, I decided to go real easy and cut the run a bit shorter.

Saturday: Rest Day

Still feeling unwell, I took my first rest day in over a month, knowing tomorrow's marathon session is going to be huge and wanting to play it safe. This week would have been my highest volume, but I'm still happy to have hit a solid week of training.

Total Weekly Volume: 71.04 km (44.14 miles)

That's a wrap for this week! Don't forget to check out the Zato Athletic Clubhouse if you haven't already – it's the perfect spot to connect with fellow runners and share your own training blocks.