Week Commencing: 18 May 26

Choose Day👇

Another really good week. I like Monday’s session with the key being to get that 5k pace nailed early. Last race the 1st km was a bit too quick and you need to let your rivals make that mistake. In my last 5k I had about 10 runners go off ahead of me, all of which I knew I would beat (it was a club only race). So I stuck to my pace and low and behold caught them all. So focus on that pace Monday and let the RPE creep up as the reps tick by, much like it will on Thursday. Keep the 60 mins super easy. I have tweaked the original schedule to get the best recovery, but let me know if you need to change it. You’re going along really well right now and this is the half way point of the plan. Excited to see what the second half brings.

Coach Simon🍊

105 POINTS TARGET

101 Points

MONDAY

track

8 x 3 Mins

25 POINTS

Another windy interval session kept effort in right place even if pace wasn’t always where we want it to be due to wind and slight tired legs. Rep 6 feel foul of the village dead spot which messes up the gps every time need to remember not to do intervals here. Rep 7 I moved into running by heart rate quickly realised I was being pathetic and could pick it up. Rep 8 I had nothing left and managed to have this into the wind mostly. With how much I did yesterday I am not disappointed with this. Legs needed the stretch session after this.
Great work Laura. Another strong session. I may look to tweak things differently going forward. I’ve just been doing more research into the benefits of threshold training and I think adding in a threshold session might benefit you more than keep smashing out 2 really fast hard sessions per week. It will help with your speed endurance and leave you that little bit fresher to hit the key run each week. But leave it with me. I think you’re doing great at the moment but think this might help even more. If you have any reservations to that switch let me know. If you have any data on your watch regarding max heart rate and lactate threshold that will allow us to ensure we do the threshold sessions correctly. But a great start to the week

Coach Simon 🍊
27 Points

TUESDAY

pett-xc

60 Mins Run

18 POINTS

5 mins short as I had cow induced route challenges, will make this back on Sunday as I am planning my favourite route in the forest which will be just over an hour. Much easier tonight to keep the heart rate down and ended up average of 141 which is the lowest so far doing these sessions.
I hate cows. I seem to encounter them everytime I do a trail race. No worries about the missing 5 mins, but glad you are keen to make them up and good work on the low HR. Feels like you’re really hitting the right levels for each run now, which probably in the past, prior to the plan wasn’t the case. So hopefully you’ll see the maximum benefit from that. Well done Laura.

Coach Simon 🍊
17 Points

WEDNESDAY

rest-day

Rest Day

0 POINTS

THURSDAY

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si-1-mile-3

5k Race

30 POINTS

Really suffered with the heatwave today and I don’t run well in the heat, 3k in felt like I was starting to overheat and it became a case of trying to keep going as I was 5th woman in the club and that’s a scoring position, which I did keep. Got lift to race and only had time for 1.2k warm up but it is a 1k walk from car to race location. Strides missed due to time as well. No cool down run due to feeling very ill at the end. Stretch’s completed post race. I seem to always have races at the start of a heatwave or into gale force winds.
Firstly apologies for not sending a good luck message. I pride myself in doing that but take Thursdays off each week so it just slipped my attention. As for the race, really well done for sticking with it in terms of RPE, that is evident looking at the HR stats and what we do when it’s tough often makes more difference than those good runs. And you earned a point for the team. So it’s just a case of “Right today wasn’t my day, but I’m proud I kept going, onto the next”. In terms of the missed pts, I wouldn’t worry too much. If you feel strong later in the week and want to do some extra mins to make up, brilliant, but if not don’t go chasing.

Coach Simon 🍊
24 Points

FRIDAY

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rest-day

Rest Day

0 POINTS

SATURDAY

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gym-workout

Gym Legs/Core Session

8 POINTS

All completed in the garden under the watchful gaze of the cat, with no races looming upped some of the weights today.
Ah fab work, it’s nice when you’re able to increase the weights. A good trick for doing that is to bring the reps down slightly first. So for example you might go 3 x 12 @ 8kg to 3 x 6 @10kg, then you build back up to 12 reps before repeating the process. Heavier weights and lower reps are definitely the best approach long term but it’s just ensuring you are strong enough to absorb any extra load, so it’s smart to build up to that point gradually. Well done though Laura.

Coach Simon 🍊
10 Points

SUNDAY

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pett-xc

60 Mins Run

18 POINTS

Got out early to beat the worst of the heat as running after spending 4 hours on a baking hot golf course felt unwise. Kept it really steady but less strict on heart rate due to conditions still kept to average of 147bpm. Felt good and had time so made up a little and ran for 78mins instead of 60.
Thanks for doing the extra. I think you’re right to be aware the HR will naturally be higher in the heat, so sometimes you can listen to the RPE and if that still feels like a 3-4, keep going. I found the same on my long run Saturday, felt easy throughout but HR was pushing the high end of my Zone 2. Another strong week Laura, hope you enjoyed your game of golf.

Coach Simon 🍊
23 Points