I do this now before most training plans just for me to leave some notes that you can come back to, but also that opportunity for you as the runner to have some self reflection as to what stage you are at.

It’s good to break down each category so we can work on your weaknesses, and it also highlights all the different things you can improve to become a better runner.

I’m hoping 4 runs per week and 2 S&C sessions (eventually) is an achievable target and it’s a level which has brought lots of success for the team.

To begin with let’s get some base fitness built up. Speed is probably your strength right now, so I think plenty of easy miles to ease into the plan, and then we start to add more challenging sessions in once you established a better aerobic base.

Then it will be a case of quality over quantity and whilst you’ll see and hear about other runners doing much bigger mileage, just appreciate their situation. Do they have kids? Do they have to work as hard as you?

We need to do what’s best for you and running 80+ km per week is only going to end in burnout.

The original plan is only ever a guide and can be adaptable from one week to the next. I often find sessions alter by the time we reach that week, that’s fine, that’s the beauty of working with a coach is having that flexibility.

It’s simple at the end of the day. You get out what you put in and you got to experience that early in the year with your excellent results. Equally training smart and running lots of goal paced sessions will be key, that was missing before and probably effected your marathon performance.

That’s cool though, we can save that for another day and I definitely see a sub 3 marathon in you in the future.

Consistency is everything. Week in week out, turning up and getting the sessions done. If you miss an easy run, that’s ok. If you miss the odd session it’s not a disaster and we all get poorly sometimes. But miss 2 or 3 and that improvement will stop.

We are coming into the hardest part of the year as the weather changes and often the biggest challenge is getting out of the front door. Hopefully having me to be accountable to will help that.

Delighted to have you back on board. It’s exciting for me to work with strong runners like yourself and I’m glad to say I’ve had some success with the likes of Matt Draper and Stephen Gates.

That’s all there is to say really. Keep offering as much feedback as you can, even if you just say “Done” it helps me keep track of what you are up to.