Really delighted to have you on the Team and this opportunity to work with you towards this great goal. I’ve had some great success with Conal this year, and hopefully a similar approach can help you.

I’ve been a little cautious with this first training plan just because you come into it off a low training volume since HHM, so I think we need to be a bit careful.

I work using a system called TRAINING POINTS which I’ve created myself. Pts are calculated based on Time or Distance x RPE (effort level). The higher the points, the harder the session or training.

So what I do is calculate the training pts level you’ve been working to in recent months and then use that as a starting point. Then as we progress we raise the bar, and try and accumulate more points. The more points we earn the fitter we should get. That’s the theory. And it’s working well for the team.

So each week your goal is to hit your training points target. I’ve introduced a new 100% Club on the Team WhatsApp page. This is just a concept where each week I list all the Team that completed 95-110% of their training. It’s there as an incentive to get the sessions done and leave the feedback. Any questions just ask.

But this plan starts at an average of 117, which is conservative. For my Chester Marathon I was hitting 150. But each week on the feedback you can let me know if you want to work harder. But at the start we can build slowly, especially this time of year with very few races and the bad weather.

For me, it’s all about quality over quantity. That quality comes from track on Monday and then specific half marathon sessions throughout the plan. Those sessions also get progressively more difficult (higher points) as the weeks progress.

As the plan evolves you should get more comfortable running at half marathon pace and RPE. Then we compliment the two main session with an S&C workout and two easy runs.

I would also look at adding some yoga. Maybe in short bursts, 10-15 mins a day, especially as the flexibility score was so low. I personally stretch 15 minutes every day to help my back but I would still class myself as pretty inflexible, given the hours I spend at my desk.

There’s not much else to add here. Consistency is key. I always tell people about the other Steve on the team. Steve Gates. He came to me because he was injured a lot and recently he missed a session because his calves were tight ahead of a big race, and he said “I’m gutted, it’s the first session I have missed in 18 months since we teamed up”.

That there highlights why he’s done so well and those that hit their targets have improved. It really is that simple in my book. We train smart, but also just a little bit harder than before, to ensure we make gains.

Let’s get the ball rolling.