• 6th-12th April

You’re working at a terrific level by the way. 140pts is great. Let’s hope the small changes can make a big difference. There’s always scope to switch things around as swim, easy run and elliptical are all worth the same in terms of pts. The Stair stepper is double due to strength element involved as well. So on any given day if you fancy running instead of swimming or doing the elliptical instead of the stairs, it’s an easy switch. Any problems let me know.

149 Points Achieved

MONDAY

Loading...

12pts | 40 Mins Elliptical

12 POINTS

A good way to boost cardio whilst reducing the risk of injury. The elliptical can tone muscles and improve endurance whilst being gentle on your joints. You want to be working at the top end of your aerobic zone, just under LT1 (zone 3 on Garmin).

12pts | Body Pump

12 POINTS

A really good way to get your S&C in. A full body workout with barbells will really aid your running and reduce the risk of injury.

24 Points
No problems. Worked hard in body pump.
Great to hear. Well done Lou!!! Excellent start to the week.

TUESDAY

Loading...

18pts | 60 Mins Run

18 POINTS

Keep that RPE down. You want to be able to run and chat, speaking of which, joining a group can add to the enjoyment here.

18 Points
Loving the early morning runs again now it’s lighter. Was definitely an easy pace (don’t think I’ve ever ran that slow!) and the HR was almost there. Was definitely 60 mins. Wore the insoles, no calf issues, twinges from the shin (on the side of the calf injury) maybe adjusting to running with stability.
😂 I think this should be your go to pace for the easy runs for now. As you adapt to this type of training it will change and your be able to run quicker at the same HR. But the fact the HR was still in the 140s shows that it’s definitely not too slow. Well done Lou.

WEDNESDAY

Loading...

18pts | 30 Mins Stair Climber

18 POINTS

A great form of cross trainer for us runners. Take a few minutes to warm up at find your stride but then push hard. You can real bang for your buck with just 30 mins on the stair climber. I hit around level 10 when doing these but find the right speed for you that you can maintain, but you find this tough.

9pts | 30 Mins Elliptical

9 POINTS

30 Mins Elliptical  (RPE: 6-7)

A good way to boost cardio whilst reducing the risk of injury. The elliptical can tone muscles and improve endurance whilst being gentle on your joints.

27 Points
Took it easy keeping HR low. Average 139 bpm for both. Stairs, no holding on, most on level 5 but had to drop to 4 now and again to keep HR down. Was supposed to swim but forgot my swimsuit 🤦‍♀️, so did stairs instead.
I like it. In theory you’ll have got fitter from this than previous sessions when working at a higher level. Not to mention you will recover quicker and less demand on the legs. It takes some trust to ease back on the levels, I found it annoying, but I’m going full in on this approach for now as it works well for people like us who do a lot. It should leave the legs fresher for when we reintroduce those tougher sessions. Excited to see how this slight change helps with the niggles. Well done Lou.

thursday

Loading...

12pts | 40 Mins Swim

12 POINTS

40 Mins Swimming @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

Swimming is a great alternative to running and probably the best form of cross training. Have fun!

12pts | Body Pump

12 POINTS

A really good way to get your S&C in. A full body workout with barbells will really aid your running and reduce the risk of injury.

24 Points
All good. Can’t really swim to HR without stopping all the time to check.
Yeah I wouldn’t worry too much about it in the pool. There will come a stage too where we can look to do some more intense HR cross training if you wanted? Intervals on the stair climber for example is a good option. With the swim going forward just monitor the stats post session and that will give you an idea of the right pace/intensity, but I don’t want to suck the whole enjoyment out of training by becoming HR obsessed. Well done Lou.

FRIDAY

Loading...

Rest Day

0 POINTS

“Rest days are key. Our body adapts and gets stronger when we rest & recovery. Have a good one!”

SATURDAY

Loading...

8pts | Lou’s Legs Gym

8 POINTS

A good all round session to work the legs. This is level 2 workout with some single leg exercises and lower reps, higher weights approach. So you want to be strong before doing this session.

18pts | 20 Mins Tempo (HM)

18 POINTS

Just a little leg turnover of the legs and a chance to get some miles in at half marathon pace.

26 Points
Run went ok. Ran from home as on a tight schedule today, hilly in Netherfield so some down hill, difficult to control pace. Good to pick up the pace a bit. Leg workout done. That’s a lot harder than you think, especially the single calf raises. Single leg deadlifts perfect for working on balance and strength 👌
Great work Lou, I’m glad you found the leg workout tough as that means it is pushing you and will hopefully make a difference in the long run. Another strong day though.

SUNDAY

Loading...

27pts | 90 Mins Run

27 POINTS

90 Mins @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

Keep this nice and easy. Focus on good form & efficient running economy. RPE should be around the 3/10 which means you can run and chat.

30 Points
Changed watch to display just time and HR. HR still quite high, averaging 153bpm despite running at a snail pace 🐌…. Averaging 11 min/mile!!! I understand the science behind it but it really does feel counterproductive, like a step backwards. If it stops me getting injured and improves my running in the long term it’ll be worth it.. I did 100 mins instead of 90, sorry 🫣, it just felt wrong to not even hit 9 miles. Can definitely feel yesterday’s leg session in the glutes today! On a positive note, I’m getting used to the stability trainers, they felt much more comfortable today.
I’m surprised the HR didn’t drop more at this pace. You might find just slowing down doesn’t actually help and your HR at the moment might settle around 150 regardless if you running 10:30s or 11:00s. Sometimes you can run with a higher cadence at the same HR. It’s a tricky one. I don’t want you to obsess about it to the point the running becomes less enjoyable. So I think finding a balance where by we use HR as the main data but don’t keep checking it every 2 mins, but from time to time if you feel your effort is spiking, just glance and see where you’re at. Again unless you have a HR strap, the data might not even be accurate, so that’s something to consider as well. Well done on banking the 100s mins though. A good finish to a strong week