• January 5th - 11th

Another strong week. The Tuesday speed work is getting progressively more challenging, with more points up for grabs most weeks. Saturday could be an easy parkrun and then we do the longest run of the plan so far on Sunday. 140pts will be the most you’ve achieved so far on this plan which again highlights that steady progression in the plan. Any problems let me know but keep up the great work James.

141 Points Achieved

Very good week which I have enjoyed. I’ve felt strong all week finishing with a great long run.
Enjoying the variety in the workouts & looking forward to the week ahead.
A couple of things I have coming up:
Weekend feb 6th – 8th away & can do a normal easy run Saturday. Can I have my long run Friday please.
15th feb – Cancer Research winter 10k, can do my long run on the Saturday. Will be running the 10k with Kelle so will be doing around 50mins

Highest pts so far, breaking the 140 barrier. You actually ended your streak of 100% weeks, but hitting 100.7%. Tell you what. I’ll round it down. No worries on those dates. I’ve squeezed them both into the plan, took a bit of juggling weekend sessions around but I’m happy how it looks. The 10k is listed as a 50 min Marathon tempo session.

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
TR 90%
Strong session, weights still feel challenging & amount of reps good.
Enjoying the strength work & feeling stronger every week.
So glad to hear that. It really is an important part of the training and will make a big difference in the latter stages of those long runs. Well done James.

TUESDAY

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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
TR 90%
Switch my spin with my interval run because it was still icy out here & didn’t want to do my quick run while having to be careful. Looks much better for tomorrow.
Good fun class once again with getting the heart rate up high but not working the legs too much so should still be good for my intervals.
Yeah good thinking and never a problem with that. We had to pick a very isolated place to do the group run as there was so much ice about. Glad the spin session went well. Great work James.

WEDNESDAY

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29pts | 3km-2km-1km

29 POINTS

2km WU @ Easy Pace (RPE: 2)

3km @ 10k Pace (RPE: 7)
2km @ 5k Pace (RPE: 8)
1km @ 3km Pace (RPE: 9)

2km CD @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

Credit to TRC for this one. A progression run, which would work very nicely with parkrun, albeit you need to do 1km fast beforehand.

29 Points
TR 90%
Hardest interval session so far but really enjoyed it.
Worked hard for all intervals & pleased with the pace difference between each one.
The final interval had to really dig in towards the end but finished strong.
Really good session.
Great work James, it is tough to progress through the paces when you’re tired and often I see my runners really struggle at the end to hit those final paces. So really well done, especially given it was done around the roads in what I can only assume were pretty tough conditions. The progressive nature of the plan means these speed sessions have been getting tougher as the weeks go by which should ensure you continue to get fitter and faster.

thursday

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22 Points
TR 80%
Cold, wet, snowy evening run so was a tough one, especially the last 20 mins as it got wetter & colder.
Run felt good though, easy pace & the mile ticked over & it felt easy through out.
Strides a bit slower than normal due to being cold at the end but pleased to get them done & the legs turned over a little quicker.
Sounds grim. But it’s worth getting out in these conditions. We have a club race from Eastbourne Pier to Hastings Pier (16 miles). Last year it was in February into a persistent light rain and a 10 mph wind, also it was cold. At the end everyone was moaning about how terrible the conditions were, but I genuinely thought it was ok. Reason being I had trained in much worse weather in the months beforehand. Hence why runs in this weather can help in future races and give you advantage over others. Well done James

FRIDAY

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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!”

SATURDAY

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12pts | 40 Mins Run

12 POINTS

The biggest mistake we can make with these recovery runs is running too fast. This will mean when our harder sessions come round we are still fatigued and not able to put enough effort in to make the necessary gains.

12 Points
TR 100%
Warm up & easy Parkrun. Icy out but was easy pace so no problems.
Felt good all the way round & good to stretch my legs ahead of tomorrows long run.
Nice, thank you for still sticking to the plan. Good luck with the long run tomorrow James.

SUNDAY

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48pts | 160 Mins Run

48 POINTS

160 Mins @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

This is the sort of distance where fuelling is now a priority. You’ll also start to get tired legs, but unless there is any specific pain, keep going, you’ll be amazed how far you can run on tired legs.

48 Points
TR 80%
Very good & comfortable long run. Settled into a good easy pace from early on & enjoyed the whole time.
Last 10k was a climb all the way back & still felt strong. Only started to feel it a bit in the last mile but still had some left in my legs.
good end to the week.
So promising. The fact we are edging towards 3 hours now and you are feeling good at the end. That’s why getting that pace right on these is important and means we will be fresh the next week to go again. It’s that consistency week in week out that makes the difference. Another fantastic run James.