Sub-3 on 3 Runs: Week 1 — Context, Constraints, and a Proper Reset

Before anything else, it’s important to be clear about what this project is — and what it isn’t. The Sub-3 on 3 Runs challenge is not a universal blueprint, not a shortcut, and not a rejection of mileage. It only makes sense when viewed through the context of my own training history and where I currently sit as an athlete.

I’m not starting this from scratch or from guesswork. Over the years I’ve built a decent foundation of performance, including a 74-minute half marathon back in 2022, a low-16-minute 5K, and a 2:50 marathon at Manchester last year. None of those came easily. They were the product of long blocks of structured, consistent, and often uncomfortable training. That’s precisely why the Manchester result left such a sour taste. Based on the work done and the indicators going into the race, I genuinely believed I was in around 2:40 shape. I didn’t execute, I didn’t get what the training suggested was possible, and I walked away disappointed.

That emotional drop after a big marathon is something most endurance athletes recognise. Motivation dips, perspective shifts, and the appetite to immediately go again disappears. Unlike a 5K, where you can capitalise on a good patch and take another swing a few weeks later, the marathon doesn’t work like that. The physical cost is high, the recovery window is long, and the mental investment is huge. You can’t just slot another one in on a whim and expect the same return.

Since then, life has inevitably reshaped what training looks like. Time is tighter, mental energy is more limited, and sustaining the same volume and intensity as before hasn’t been realistic or particularly appealing. As a result, a fair amount of fitness has drifted away. Not through lack of discipline, but through changing priorities and the very human response to burnout and disappointment.

That’s the real starting point of this project.

The purpose of Sub-3 on 3 Runs isn’t to pretend I’m undertrained and try to game the system. It’s to ask a better, more relevant question: can smart structure, cross-training, and strength work allow me to rebuild something meaningful again without living like a full-time runner? Three runs a week isn’t a gimmick. It’s a constraint that reflects my current reality. Rather than fighting that, I’m choosing to work within it.

Week 1 exists to reset the system, not to chase fitness. There’s no interest in proving anything in seven days, no testing for the sake of reassurance, and no comparison to past versions of myself. The goal is to re-establish rhythm, intent, and confidence in the process. If I finish the week healthy, motivated, and feeling like progress is possible, it’s done its job.

The structure of the week reflects that thinking. Each run has a clear role and a clear ceiling. The first session focuses on threshold work, reconnecting sustainable speed with control and rhythm. Threshold training is one of the most effective tools endurance athletes have when used properly. In this context, it’s about building confidence and efficiency without accumulating unnecessary fatigue. It’s controlled, repeatable, and deliberately unexciting.

The second run brings speed and economy back into the picture. Even when the marathon is the target, speed still matters. Shorter, sharper efforts help maintain coordination, reinforce good mechanics, and prevent the gradual slide into plodding. This isn’t about straining or chasing numbers. It’s about finishing the session feeling sharper than when it started.

The long run in Week 1 is deliberately restrained. There’s no depletion, no bravado, and no attempt to prove toughness. Its job is durability and consistency, nothing more. If a long run leaves you wrecked, it’s failed its purpose. The aim here is to build the habit of finishing in control, knowing there’s more in the tank.

Where this approach really lives or dies is in the supporting work, particularly the bike. The bike isn’t filler and it isn’t optional. It’s where a significant portion of the aerobic rebuilding happens. Cycling allows me to accumulate meaningful aerobic volume, drive cardiovascular adaptation, and do so without the mechanical cost of running. Done properly, it supports the run rather than competing with it, allowing quality to be maintained where it matters most.

Strength training underpins everything. Low mileage only works if the body is robust enough to tolerate intensity and fatigue when they appear. Week 1 strength work is about reinforcing the chassis: posterior chain strength, single-leg capacity, and trunk stiffness. These aren’t accessories. They’re what allow lower run frequency to function without breaking down.

The broader coaching point behind this project is simple. This is not an argument that everyone should run three times a week. It’s an argument that there is more than one way to rebuild performance when circumstances change. If the only answer an athlete or coach has is to repeat what worked before, but with more volume or more suffering, progress eventually stalls. Adaptation requires thought, not just effort.

Sub-3 on 3 Runs is an experiment grounded in experience, not rebellion. It’s about adapting without quitting, about coaching under constraint, and about seeing whether a different balance of stress can unlock something worthwhile again. I don’t know yet where it will land, but that’s the point of doing it properly.

Week 2 will build gently, without rushing or pretending I’m the athlete I was a year ago. The question remains the same: can smart structure, intelligent cross-training, and strength support a meaningful marathon performance again on three runs a week?

That’s the journey.

Everyday athletes. Exceptional summits. And always — be less sh#t.

If this way of thinking resonates and you want it applied properly to your own context, Get in touch..