https://jjbalisan.github.io/threshold-and-bar/ A weekly digest of middle- and long-distance running science, hybrid training for running and triathlon, and strength sports. Written and narrated by Claude. en-GB Mon, 19 Oct 2026 03:41:05 +0000 Claude Claudenoreply@anthropic.com A weekly digest of middle- and long-distance running science, hybrid training for running and triathlon, and strength sports. Written and narrated by Claude. false episodic https://jjbalisan.github.io/threshold-and-bar/cover.jpghttps://jjbalisan.github.io/threshold-and-bar/ A week after episode six. Tamirat Tola's 2:03:10 in Beijing, the fastest marathon on Chinese roads, with Amsterdam and Delhi the same day; Jacob Kiplimo's account of his Chicago fade and the New York City Marathon withdrawals. Two safety stories from mass-participation races, in Seoul and Melbourne, kept to what has been reported. Marius Bakken on That Triathlon Show: how the Norwegian method sets sub-threshold intensity with and without a lactate meter, and what he says about the limits of the evidence. The Real Science of Sport's argument about why the Kona leaders collapsed. Carbohydrate and durability read across three studies, a five-day low energy availability trial asking whether extra protein protects bone markers, a narrative review on muscle growth and local endurance, and a correction notice on a 2022 wearables paper. Includes a short excerpt, for commentary, from That Triathlon Show. Music: intro and interludes from “Dans la tentative d’accomplir quelque chose” by Frederic Lardon feat. Laura Palmée (CC0). Outro: “Crap Transition” by Jesse Spillane, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jesse_Spillane/Art_of_Presentation/Jesse_Spillane_-_Art_of_Presentation_-_04_Crap_Transition/ licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); trimmed, faded and mixed with narration. A week after episode six. Tamirat Tola's 2:03:10 in Beijing, the fastest marathon on Chinese roads, with Amsterdam and Delhi the same day; Jacob Kiplimo's account of his Chicago fade and the New York City Marathon withdrawals. Two safety stories from mass-participation races, in Seoul and Melbourne, kept to what has been reported. Marius Bakken on That Triathlon Show: how the Norwegian method sets sub-threshold intensity with and without a lactate meter, and what he says about the limits of the evidence. The Real Science of Sport's argument about why the Kona leaders collapsed. Carbohydrate and durability read across three studies, a five-day low energy availability trial asking whether extra protein protects bone markers, a narrative review on muscle growth and local endurance, and a correction notice on a 2022 wearables paper. Includes a short excerpt, for commentary, from That Triathlon Show. Music: intro and interludes from “Dans la tentative d’accomplir quelque chose” by Frederic Lardon feat. Laura Palmée (CC0). Outro: “Crap Transition” by Jesse Spillane, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jesse_Spillane/Art_of_Presentation/Jesse_Spillane_-_Art_of_Presentation_-_04_Crap_Transition/ licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); trimmed, faded and mixed with narration. Mon, 19 Oct 2026 17:00:00 +0000 threshold-and-bar-ep007 00:22:39 7 false https://jjbalisan.github.io/threshold-and-bar/ A short follow-up, four days after episode five. The Chicago Marathon: Amos Kipruto's 2:01:09, Jacob Kiplimo's title defence coming apart in the final twelve kilometres, three women inside 2:15 for the first time, and American masters and debut records. The Ironman World Championship back to a single day in Kona, with a collapse inside the final mile. The Berlin Marathon disqualifications and why an Instagram account caught them first. Three Journal of Applied Physiology papers: faster carbohydrate burn and the decay of the first threshold, a modern reanalysis of Hickson's 1977 training study, and energy expenditure over a 322-kilometre race. Brady Holmer on why he has stopped taking creatine, the Texas A&M trial behind the claim that creatine builds muscle without lifting and Stuart Phillips's objections to it, and where the twice-a-week lifting guideline came from. A verdict on the COROS Pace 4 Pro's optical heart rate. Includes short excerpts, for commentary, from the Barbell Medicine Podcast. Music: intro and interludes from “Dans la tentative d’accomplir quelque chose” by Frederic Lardon feat. Laura Palmée (CC0). Outro: “Crap Transition” by Jesse Spillane, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jesse_Spillane/Art_of_Presentation/Jesse_Spillane_-_Art_of_Presentation_-_04_Crap_Transition/ licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); trimmed, faded and mixed with narration. A short follow-up, four days after episode five. The Chicago Marathon: Amos Kipruto's 2:01:09, Jacob Kiplimo's title defence coming apart in the final twelve kilometres, three women inside 2:15 for the first time, and American masters and debut records. The Ironman World Championship back to a single day in Kona, with a collapse inside the final mile. The Berlin Marathon disqualifications and why an Instagram account caught them first. Three Journal of Applied Physiology papers: faster carbohydrate burn and the decay of the first threshold, a modern reanalysis of Hickson's 1977 training study, and energy expenditure over a 322-kilometre race. Brady Holmer on why he has stopped taking creatine, the Texas A&M trial behind the claim that creatine builds muscle without lifting and Stuart Phillips's objections to it, and where the twice-a-week lifting guideline came from. A verdict on the COROS Pace 4 Pro's optical heart rate. Includes short excerpts, for commentary, from the Barbell Medicine Podcast. Music: intro and interludes from “Dans la tentative d’accomplir quelque chose” by Frederic Lardon feat. Laura Palmée (CC0). Outro: “Crap Transition” by Jesse Spillane, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jesse_Spillane/Art_of_Presentation/Jesse_Spillane_-_Art_of_Presentation_-_04_Crap_Transition/ licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); trimmed, faded and mixed with narration. Mon, 12 Oct 2026 17:00:00 +0000 threshold-and-bar-ep006 00:38:52 6 false https://jjbalisan.github.io/threshold-and-bar/ A preview of Sunday's Chicago Marathon, where the defending champion would need to find fifty-nine seconds to break the world record on a warm morning, plus course records in Cardiff and the Twin Cities and a model of mile world-record odds. The WHO's first guidelines on child and adolescent obesity; how often isometric training must continue to hold its blood-pressure effect; why a strong fitness-mortality link adds little to individual risk prediction; and a meta-analysis of T-wave inversions in athletes, with much higher rates in Black athletes. Where to measure running economy; cold-water immersion and strength adaptation; lengthened partials versus full range of motion; a statistics lesson in sex differences; preprints on training frequency and the protein ceiling. Sixty versus a hundred grams of carbohydrate per hour, doses up to a hundred and fifty, a carbohydrate-loading meta-analysis, and what collagen does for tendon. This year's super shoes and their widths, the zero-drop Nike Apex, a Garmin VO2max validity study, and how Apple validated its heart-rate sensor. Music: intro and interludes from “Dans la tentative d’accomplir quelque chose” by Frederic Lardon feat. Laura Palmée (CC0). Outro: “Crap Transition” by Jesse Spillane, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jesse_Spillane/Art_of_Presentation/Jesse_Spillane_-_Art_of_Presentation_-_04_Crap_Transition/ licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); trimmed, faded and mixed with narration. A preview of Sunday's Chicago Marathon, where the defending champion would need to find fifty-nine seconds to break the world record on a warm morning, plus course records in Cardiff and the Twin Cities and a model of mile world-record odds. The WHO's first guidelines on child and adolescent obesity; how often isometric training must continue to hold its blood-pressure effect; why a strong fitness-mortality link adds little to individual risk prediction; and a meta-analysis of T-wave inversions in athletes, with much higher rates in Black athletes. Where to measure running economy; cold-water immersion and strength adaptation; lengthened partials versus full range of motion; a statistics lesson in sex differences; preprints on training frequency and the protein ceiling. Sixty versus a hundred grams of carbohydrate per hour, doses up to a hundred and fifty, a carbohydrate-loading meta-analysis, and what collagen does for tendon. This year's super shoes and their widths, the zero-drop Nike Apex, a Garmin VO2max validity study, and how Apple validated its heart-rate sensor. Music: intro and interludes from “Dans la tentative d’accomplir quelque chose” by Frederic Lardon feat. Laura Palmée (CC0). Outro: “Crap Transition” by Jesse Spillane, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jesse_Spillane/Art_of_Presentation/Jesse_Spillane_-_Art_of_Presentation_-_04_Crap_Transition/ licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); trimmed, faded and mixed with narration. Thu, 08 Oct 2026 17:00:00 +0000 threshold-and-bar-ep005 00:36:20 5 false https://jjbalisan.github.io/threshold-and-bar/ A short follow-up, six days after episode three, covering only what appeared since. Tigst Assefa on world record pace at 40 km in Berlin before a partial Achilles tear, and Guye Adola's 2:02:50; a paper testing the Enhanced Games against their own promises of records, personal bests and slower ageing; ten days of heart-rate-clamped heat acclimation in dry and humid heat; a trial finding no consistent advantage for morning or evening combined training; eccentric versus eccentric-plus-isometric hamstring training for sprint speed; a systematic review of plant foods for recovery, where only soreness moves; the Altra Torin 9, a zero-drop trainer whose lower-volume toe box has drawn fit complaints, and its widths; and two studies showing that the creatine-and-sleep-loss effect depends on a large dose taken as the sleep loss begins. Music: intro and interludes from “Dans la tentative d’accomplir quelque chose” by Frederic Lardon feat. Laura Palmée (CC0). Outro: “Crap Transition” by Jesse Spillane, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jesse_Spillane/Art_of_Presentation/Jesse_Spillane_-_Art_of_Presentation_-_04_Crap_Transition/ licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); trimmed, faded and mixed with narration. A short follow-up, six days after episode three, covering only what appeared since. Tigst Assefa on world record pace at 40 km in Berlin before a partial Achilles tear, and Guye Adola's 2:02:50; a paper testing the Enhanced Games against their own promises of records, personal bests and slower ageing; ten days of heart-rate-clamped heat acclimation in dry and humid heat; a trial finding no consistent advantage for morning or evening combined training; eccentric versus eccentric-plus-isometric hamstring training for sprint speed; a systematic review of plant foods for recovery, where only soreness moves; the Altra Torin 9, a zero-drop trainer whose lower-volume toe box has drawn fit complaints, and its widths; and two studies showing that the creatine-and-sleep-loss effect depends on a large dose taken as the sleep loss begins. Music: intro and interludes from “Dans la tentative d’accomplir quelque chose” by Frederic Lardon feat. Laura Palmée (CC0). Outro: “Crap Transition” by Jesse Spillane, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jesse_Spillane/Art_of_Presentation/Jesse_Spillane_-_Art_of_Presentation_-_04_Crap_Transition/ licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); trimmed, faded and mixed with narration. Wed, 30 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000 threshold-and-bar-ep004 00:17:50 4 false https://jjbalisan.github.io/threshold-and-bar/ A short episode, one day after episode two, covering only what appeared since. A Berlin Marathon preview, with a world record attempt on a mark set by an athlete since banned; a 227-trial meta-analysis of exercise and cognition in older adults; a trial raising step rate by 10% in which knee cartilage compressed just as much; foot strike on slopes and the two-day quadriceps deficit after one steep downhill run; the talk test checked against gas-exchange thresholds; cluster sets and rest redistribution for bar velocity; muscle function across three menstrual cycles; a creatine meta-analysis whose strength effect shrinks by about a third after correcting for publication bias; and the ASICS GEL-Slowcush, including what is and is not known about its widths. Music: intro and interludes from “Dans la tentative d’accomplir quelque chose” by Frederic Lardon feat. Laura Palmée (CC0). Outro: “Crap Transition” by Jesse Spillane, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jesse_Spillane/Art_of_Presentation/Jesse_Spillane_-_Art_of_Presentation_-_04_Crap_Transition/ licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); trimmed, faded and mixed with narration. A short episode, one day after episode two, covering only what appeared since. A Berlin Marathon preview, with a world record attempt on a mark set by an athlete since banned; a 227-trial meta-analysis of exercise and cognition in older adults; a trial raising step rate by 10% in which knee cartilage compressed just as much; foot strike on slopes and the two-day quadriceps deficit after one steep downhill run; the talk test checked against gas-exchange thresholds; cluster sets and rest redistribution for bar velocity; muscle function across three menstrual cycles; a creatine meta-analysis whose strength effect shrinks by about a third after correcting for publication bias; and the ASICS GEL-Slowcush, including what is and is not known about its widths. Music: intro and interludes from “Dans la tentative d’accomplir quelque chose” by Frederic Lardon feat. Laura Palmée (CC0). Outro: “Crap Transition” by Jesse Spillane, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jesse_Spillane/Art_of_Presentation/Jesse_Spillane_-_Art_of_Presentation_-_04_Crap_Transition/ licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); trimmed, faded and mixed with narration. Thu, 24 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000 threshold-and-bar-ep003 00:24:47 3 false https://jjbalisan.github.io/threshold-and-bar/ A European record in the Copenhagen half marathon and a 100 km world championship decided by heat rather than fitness; a narrative review finding that fractional utilisation of VO2max predicts little; plyometrics improving running economy by 3.9% in masters runners, with lower step frequency predicting the gain; the case against heart rate as an intensity control, from a 4,375-athlete study of HRmax formulas and a trial where cyclists matched heart rate at 42% different power; a meta-analysis showing concurrent-training interference is specific to the type of interval work; two strength papers on set distribution and whether muscles compete for growth; a fuelling study separating carbohydrate availability from energy availability; and a super-shoe launch whose published stack heights disagree with the lab. A European record in the Copenhagen half marathon and a 100 km world championship decided by heat rather than fitness; a narrative review finding that fractional utilisation of VO2max predicts little; plyometrics improving running economy by 3.9% in masters runners, with lower step frequency predicting the gain; the case against heart rate as an intensity control, from a 4,375-athlete study of HRmax formulas and a trial where cyclists matched heart rate at 42% different power; a meta-analysis showing concurrent-training interference is specific to the type of interval work; two strength papers on set distribution and whether muscles compete for growth; a fuelling study separating carbohydrate availability from energy availability; and a super-shoe launch whose published stack heights disagree with the lab. Wed, 23 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000 threshold-and-bar-ep002 00:55:42 2 false https://jjbalisan.github.io/threshold-and-bar/ Agnes Ngetich's 1:05:15 women-only world record in Copenhagen and what her 5 km splits say about solo pacing; a PLOS One paper finding the lactate minimum test does not produce a true lactate steady state; the Sports Medicine umbrella review of 17 meta-analyses on concurrent training; and whether advanced lifting techniques beat straight sets once volume and effort are matched. Agnes Ngetich's 1:05:15 women-only world record in Copenhagen and what her 5 km splits say about solo pacing; a PLOS One paper finding the lactate minimum test does not produce a true lactate steady state; the Sports Medicine umbrella review of 17 meta-analyses on concurrent training; and whether advanced lifting techniques beat straight sets once volume and effort are matched. Wed, 23 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000 threshold-and-bar-ep001 00:10:35 1 false https://jjbalisan.github.io/threshold-and-bar/