Welcome to the Team. Firstly, kudos for running a time like 27:30 for 5k and then the next day running 60 mins with the gang. That’s a sign your aerobic base (endurance) is good and you’re starting off at a decent level.

I’m really sorry to hear about the long covid symptoms. It’s not something I’ve experienced or come across with any of the team as yet. But what I can do is try and listen to you at all times and take into account what impact this might have on your training, that other runners might not have to deal with.

That’s where the feedback becomes a really powerful tool to have that constant communication between how you are feeling and what is possible in any given week.

This first plan is really about making slow progress and trying to get your well prepared for the Great South Run, without really adding any pressure of a target time. As the plan evolves that’s something we can look to discuss nearer the race.

All plans are structured with some similarities feature a long run, an intervals sessions and some easy runs. So that will be the same for you.

From our earlier discussions, 3 runs per week, combined with your swim and a light S&C session should be manageable. I’ve scheduled those 3 runs on either Tuesdays/Thursdays/Saturdays or  Sundays. Each week can be different though and it’s easy to reschedule sessions.

I’ve created a simple warm up you can do before any solo interval sessions or races that might crop up. I’ve added some stretches that I advise to the team, but from your feedback, flexibility isn’t really the issues.

Improving endurance and speed is something we can work on over a sustained period of time and 13 weeks should be enough to notice a pretty significant difference.

Consistency is key. You never really need to push too hard. Turn up, week in, week out, tick off the sessions and you’ll make the gains. Those that follow their plans invariably achieve their goals, those who don’t, come up short.