27th April - 3rd May

The key here again is keeping the easy runs super easy. You could even head out on the trails Tuesday and do some run/walking for 90 mins (walking the hills and stiles etc), just to keep it super light. 2 races in 4 days is a push, so might be worth picking which of the two you really want to hit hard. My advice is just take each session as it comes. More often than not it turns out to be much more manageable than it looks on paper and you’ve noticed yourself recently you are handling the training well and feeling strong. Any problems let me know.

112 Points Achieved

MONDAY

2pts | Stretches

2 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.

24 Points

Another sore hamstring post officiating 🤦🏼‍♀️ I am not doing the movement that is causing the problem any more (in most meets it’s not a problem as we have electronic measurements.) The good news is that it’s loosened up really quickly with this run and I couldn’t feel it by the end. Hopefully this plus stretching will have me back to normal tomorrow. Going go hard on Sunday and go for a pb and Thursday I just want to beat what I did last year which was just under 23 mins probably run it around 10k pace with a pick up at the end of race if I can get some easy places. I really enjoyed this run tonight all paces felt really comfortable and felt good to get the legs moving slightly quicker than easy pace a few days out from race.

Hopefully you won’t have the hamstring issue again. But glad it eased quickly. I am a big fan of this session too and nice to break up the easy run with some quicker pace. I’ll look to include this again in the plan given you enjoyed it. Great work Laura and a good start to an exciting week.

TUESDAY

27pts | 90 Mins Run

27 POINTS

90 Mins @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

Keep this nice and easy. Focus on good form & efficient running economy. RPE should be around the 3/10 which means you can run and chat.

27 Points

Probably the most disjointed run ever but it got done, got to club early did 20 mins then ran with our new 6pm slower paced group. Caught up with a friend so ran at a very chatty pace. Still had 20 mins to do so went back out bumped into the juniors ran with them and sorted out some club admin whilst they did their intervals and ran back to sort out all the equipment that I am taking for Thursdays race. Legs feel like tomorrows rest day is needed but have no concerns re the races. There are a few of us who are racing on Thursday and Sunday so there should be a few of us taking Thursdays race at a slightly below full 5k effort.

I’ve had a few of these down the years, but it’s worth it to be able to run and chat with others. As you say job done, give those legs a rest tomorrow and then we can see what happens in the races. Just bear in mind we come into them without the rest we would if they were A-goal races so that may have a little impact on the times. If anything just relax, don’t set any lofty targets and see what happens. The most important thing at this point of the plan is we get the training benefits from working at the right level during those races. But well done Laura.

WEDNESDAY

thursday

26pts | 5K Race

26 POINTS

I’m a big fan of consistent splits. With any race avoiding getting swept away with the crowds is key, so focus on that early pace and hold back, settle into a rhythm. Km 4 is often the hardest, so zone in on 4 and dig deep. You got this!

26 Points

The warm up and cool down will look short on Strava I did more than what’s there but ended up getting roped into a lot of jobs as the RD is very good friend. Plan for the race was to try and pace it around a 22:30 5k the course is almost all off road so not quick, official time is 22:39 so very happy with this and feel like I didn’t empty the tank and have more to use on Sunday. Really pleased with the pacing did pick it up at the end when we went on road and did a little sprint finish to keep ahead of two people. I think I came 5th woman for the club (top 5 matter on scoring) so pleased to have snuck in here on a race I didn’t go full out.

Great work Laura. Nice little confidence boost to know you can put in a strong performance without going full out. And the pacing was excellent, especially if it was off road. Very smart approach as well with a race so soon. It’s good to have that awareness, as I see so many runners do the complete opposite. Roll on Sunday’s 5k.

FRIDAY

8pts | Gym Legs/Core L1

8 POINTS

A good all round session to work the legs and core. You should have built up to this fairly gradually, so don’t dive in head first as you want to take your time building your strength. Be sensible with the weights to begin with.

If short on time combine 2 exercises together (superset) them to save on the recoveries. Ideally one leg exercises and one core exercise where possible. Eg squats and planks.

8 Points

Legs feeling surprisingly fresh today no reaction from last nights race. Kept things sensible on this workout tonight, squats moving a lot better tonight.

That’s great to hear and makes that decision to ease back slightly a wise one. The speed of recovery is another sign the fitness is improving and sessions like this are making a difference. Well done Laura.

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

30pts | 5K Race/Strides

30 POINTS

Only half the strides where completed as I was getting so hot I though it best to try and cool down before racing. Got a bit caught up in the start and went out fast but pulled back quickly. Felt good and controlled for 3k and when I tried to push at 4K the heat started to get to me. Kept it going when it got tough as thought I was going to sneak under the pb but had nothing left in the last 50m. Trying to see the positives of running 3 seconds of my best after a decent effort on Thursday. I am not designed for heat last time I tried to run a pb in heat I needed medical attention at the end so at least I am in one piece and ready to put some work in.

No worries about the few strides, that’s fine. Let’s look at the positives. You were 3 seconds off your best ever 5k in tough conditions. That says to me you’re running at you best right now and that will only improve if the training continues to go well. I would look to address that pace. It’s an easy mistake to make but at 5k, anything 5 seconds or more below target pace is going to have it’s effect. To be fair if you were to look at my 10k splits from yesterday I kind of did the same, albeit I was tucked in with 45 pacers so I blame them 😂 But it effected me as 3km in it felt fast. Anyhow, loads of positives to take and onwards we go. Great running Laura.