Recovery week number 1. We take these every 4th week and only a small step back here, almost unrecognisable in truth. I appreciate you might need to shuffle a few things around here and if you did have an Xmas Day parkrun you wanted to do, let me know and we can work that into the schedule. Merry Christmas James, to you and your family 🎄

120 Points Achieved

Another good week & feeling stronger with everyone. Looking forward this week to the slightly quicker intervals during the long run.
Pleased to be feeling good after the long run & happy with progress so far. Enjoying the process.

Honestly, such a pleasure to work with someone like yourself who puts complete trust in the process and just does the plan. Great to see you are seeing the benefits too. Some of the results my team have had using these methods have been excellent, with limited number of injuries, so I’m confident if you stick with it, 2026 is going to a good one. Well done James and thank you for following the plan.

MONDAY

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15pts | James S&C

15 POINTS
Goblet Squat 2 x 12 (8kg)
Plank 2 x 60s
Split Squat 2 x 12 (8kg)*
Glute Bridge 2 x 10
Calf Raises 2 x 15 (8kg)*
Flutter Kicks 2 x 40s
Russian Twist 2 x 45s (5kg)
Shoulder Press 2 x 10 (8kg)
Bent Over Row 2 x 15 (8kg)
Bicep Curls 2 x 15 (8kg)
Tricep Dips Dumbbells 2 x 15 (10kg)
Dumbbell Swings 2 x 15 (10kg)
Farmers Walk 2 x 60s (12kg)
Wall Sits 2 x 60s

A decent workout covering all the fundamental movement patterns & key muscles groups. Let me know if anything feels too easy or too difficult.

15 Points
All felt good again & no aching after the workouts any more. Enjoy the workouts & it’s good to have strength worked into my plan. I think I can go up on everything except Bent Over Row Bicep Curls Dumbbell swings Farmers walk
Great work James, it’s a really good workout this and plenty of scope to add to the challenge with more reps in time. I’ve made some tweaks for next week though, so any problems let me know.

TUESDAY

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26pts | 8 4s and 2s

26 POINTS

Maintaining your current 5k pace will get progressively more challenging as a session unfolds. So breaking it down in this nature should allow you to maintain that pace for the whole session.

26 Points
Session felt a bit tougher than I was expecting but by the 2 min reps was feeling good & in to it. Overall another good session that flew by due to the variety. Legs felt a little tired at first but soon loosened up. Thanks for your help Simon & hope you & your family have a great Christmas.
8 mins are always tough, but it’s nice to get the hardest rep out of the way first. One of things I pride myself in is the variety in the sessions and I try not to repeat them too often. I find it makes training more interesting than smashing 1km reps every single week. Glad you are enjoying the training and Merry Christmas to you too. Well done James

WEDNESDAY

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15pts | 45 Mins Spin Class

15 POINTS

45 Mins @ Varied Intensity (RPE: 3-9)

A great way to get the heart pumping to some banging tunes. Have fun 😁

15 Points
In keeping with the recovery week was a less intense class today so just stayed in power zones 2 & 3 working endurance with heart rate staying around what I’d expect for that level of work. Felt good all the way through & nice cool down & stretch after.
Sensible. Makes sense. Sounds like a good session as well. Well done James.

thursday

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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!”

FRIDAY

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19pts | 50 Mins & Strides

19 POINTS

It’s important to keep the easy runs easy. Focus on good running form and low heart rate. Don’t forget your strides. Very important. 30-60 seconds recovery between strides.

19 Points
Nice easy pace run this morning with Kelle to keep me company. Was good to get out today & try & work off the Christmas food & drink. Strides felt good at the end of the run. You asked about my shoes I’m running in. I’ve gone for a Nike rotation this block as were some good deals about. Vormero Plus – Easy runs upto 60 mins, is a bit heavy for my liking but comfortable fit easy runs. Zoom Fly 6 – Intervals & longer runs. Vaporfly 4 – Intervals, quick long runs & races up to half. Alphafly 3 – marathon shoe & a few training runs before. I do agree with you though that the saucony endorphin speed are a great shoe. Loved them since the second one
Nice rotation. Clearly you are into your shoes which is great. I did Chester in the Zoom Fly 6, love them. I appreciated the extra support. Have just snapped up a second pair of the Vaporfly 3s and will hope to do an autumn marathon in them for the first time next Autumn, as I think that will help me knock a few mins off. Still yet to do anything more than 5k in them though, so will be interested how I get on over the longer distances. Also just bought the Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 in the Boxing Day Sale. I don’t actually need them but couldn’t resist the deal. They’ll come into action later in the year (2026) and might do some easy runs in them as currently don’t have an easy run shoe I get on that well with. Well done on getting out today and glad you enjoyed the run.

SATURDAY

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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!”

SUNDAY

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45pts | 150 Mins Run

45 POINTS

All about time on feet. Don’t focus on pace. Instead keep that effort level down and concentrate on good running economy. Fuelling and hydration key too.

45 Points
Another early start & joined again for the last 8 miles. Felt really good today & it felt easy for all of the run. Legs started to feel it for the last mile or so but overall felt stronger than last week. Run went quickly which is always good on long runs.
If you can run for 150 mins and feel strong at the end then you know things are going well. I think the drop in pace since we teamed up probably helps with that too. Awesome work James.