• 20-26th April

Easing back into things, which works out well given you’ve got the weekend off. I’ve adding in the stretches and just put some variety in there so it’s not all easy low heart rate stuff. We want to work the body and muscles in as many different ways as possible. But a solid start to this new plan.

114 Points Achieved

MONDAY

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12pts | 40 Mins Run

12 POINTS

The biggest mistake we can make with these recovery runs is running too fast. This will mean when our harder sessions come round we are still fatigued and not able to put enough effort in to make the necessary gains.

12 Points
Feels great to start another plan. Slight bit of stiffness in my left calf – only 2-3/10. It was lovely out there this morningā€¦the perfect start to the week
Great to have you on board still and exciting to see what you can do. I’m buzzing after Adam (guy from Dover) smashed his sub 3 goals. He’s worked harder than anyone on the team, even you believe it or not (170pts average per week) and 2:56 was the result.

TUESDAY

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3pts | Stretches

3 POINTS

A stretching routine you can do daily to help with your flexibility. 30 seconds for each stretch is plenty.

24pts | 60 Mins Easy to MP

24 POINTS

Rather than just head out and do 60 mins easy, this goes through the gears a little and will hopefully help you improve running economy as the speed picks up a little. It’s still a light session but makes the easy runs more interesting. Best done on the flat to hit consistent paces.

27 Points
Run completed. Stretches to be done this evening, whilst watching Brighton beat ChelseašŸ¤žšŸ»šŸ¤žšŸ». Calf is feeling a little better today, and it didnā€™t feel any worse as the pace got quicker, which Iā€™m grateful for. Feel like Iā€™m back in ā€˜non-negotiableā€™ training mode, which I love. Too tired for a 4:50am? Doesnā€™t matter, the training is non-negotiable. Busy week, so itā€™s hard to fit the training in. Get it done, itā€™s non-negotiable! Half of the stretches done
I can’t remember who said it. It was another golf comment where Ian Poulter was moaning about getting up at 4:30am for a tee time and one of the legends of the game basically said “shut the F**k up and go to bed earlier” šŸ˜‚ I like the mindset but equally the recovery is important so we do need to balance it. So the odd early night can solve that. Glad the calf is ok as well. Was speaking to a strong ultra runner yesterday who said they used the stair stepper with a weighted vest as a key part of their training. So feel like we are on the right path.

WEDNESDAY

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12pts | Joe’s S&C

12 POINTS

Crammed a bit more into 1 session here but now you’ve got a lot of good stuff in there. Hopefully it’s ok?

14pts | 30 Mins Stair Climber

14 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.

24 Points
S&C done. However, the bars werenā€™t available, so did leg press, leg extension and kettle bell swings. All felt good. Stopped the stair stepper on 25 minutes and 130 floors as the left calf started to stiffen.
Good alternatives those and sensible to stop a little short of the calf was niggly. No need to be risking tweaking that as the 50 will still probably be in the legs. But great work. Loving the reels.

thursday

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3pts | Stretches

3 POINTS

A stretching routine you can do daily to help with your flexibility. 30 seconds for each stretch is plenty.

15pts | 50 Mins Run

15 POINTS

It’s important to keep the easy runs easy. Focus on good running form and low heart rate.

18 Points
After last nightā€™s gym session, that was bloody tough! Got it done though šŸ‘ŠšŸ»
From time to time I like this feeling, as training is there to prepare yourself for the events, and as you know, events are going to feel “bloody tough” at times. So that is mindset to have, this is perfect training.

FRIDAY

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33pts | HM/Marathon 6 Miles

33 POINTS

1 Mile WU @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

3 Miles @ Marathon Pace (RPE: 5)
3 Miles @ Half Marathon Pace (RPE: 6)

1 Mile CD @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

A good session to mix up paces. WU & CD very important to slowly build the pace.

33 Points
I enjoyed that one! Tough going into the wind, but kept an eye on my heart rate, so even though the pace dropped running into the wind, I knew that if my heart rate was at the right level, then I was putting the right effort in. Last mile was a bit quicker than HMP, as the tail wind got me carried away a bit šŸ˜‚
I love the HR approach to be honest and was just saying that to another runner the other day when conditions are tricky. Plus some days you will feel different to others, so pace will vary and HR is a better measurement, assuming the data the watch is giving is accurate of course. Always nice to finish with a quick rep. I can’t say anything as I got super competitive in the last rep at track on Monday, chasing done Mark Dobbs.

SATURDAY

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24pts | 80 Mins Run

24 POINTS

80 Mins @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

Try and keep it easy. It all depends on your current level. If slowly adding time to your long run the last 10-20 mins might be tough. Focus on good form.

SUNDAY

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Rest Day

0 POINTS

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