#212 Michael Brady: 3:03 to 2:19 without speed work?

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Kristian sits down with Michael Brady, a Puma Project 3 athlete who improved his marathon time from 3:03 to 2:19, for a genuinely fascinating story about how far consistency alone can take you.

Michael shares how he got into running almost accidentally during COVID, with no running background, no watch, no coach, and no real relationship with nutrition, and how he simply kept showing up and getting faster over dozens of marathons across Europe. He walks through his marathon progression city by city, being entirely self coached for most of his journey, and how joining Puma Project 3 changed the trajectory of his training. The conversation closes with an honest look at what's actually behind his improvement, including surprisingly little dedicated speed work, and his next big goal: racing the Chicago Marathon and chasing a 2:16.

In this episode:

- Getting into running almost by accident during COVID

- Running marathons with no watch and no relationship to nutrition

- A marathon journey across 11 different European cities

- Being entirely self coached for most of his career

- The block where training finally became intentional

- Joining Puma Project 3 and what changed because of it

- Why he's improved so much without much dedicated speed work

- His approach to strength training

- Easing into super shoes without going straight to race day

- What's next: chasing a 2:16 at the Chicago Marathon

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome and introducing Michael Brady

02:41 Kristian's Ironman and Valencia training update

15:52 Introducing Michael and previewing his story

20:26 Getting into running almost by accident during COVID

23:32 A brief athletic background in football, not running

28:44 What Michael would have said about being a 2:19 marathoner back then

33:03 The addictive feeling of racing and improving

34:40 Joining Puma Project 3 for the first time

36:47 How Project 3 changed the trajectory of his training

43:24 Years of self coached, low strategy marathon training

1:03:03 A conversation about strength training

1:10:06 Improving without a dedicated speed work block

1:12:23 Seeing his paces improve even without structured speed sessions

1:16:51 Talking through his experience with Puma Project 3

2:18:22 Easing into super shoes the smart way

2:20:18 Closing thoughts and good luck in Chicago

Michael on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikeybrady589/

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