• 13th - 19th April

130 is a decent total. 2 weeks left in this plan. So going forward it will be a case of can we stretch it to 140 and keep the injuries at bay. I think we can, as the more pts you accumulate the fitter and faster you should become. That’s the theory. I’ll be honest the easy runs do worry me and after my recent post, I do think you might be doing these too quickly. Something to consider going forward. If you get the easy runs right it will speed up recovery and then allow us to add more pts to the schedule. Any problems let me know but keep up the great work Lou.

142 Points Achieved

MONDAY

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10pts | Body Combat

10 POINTS

30-45 Mins @ Varied RPE

A good mix of cardio and strength work. Can be a fun session! Have a good one 🥊😁

10pts | Lou W S&C

10 POINTS

Once we get the exercises from the PT I shall add them to this page. Let’s get that strength rating up!

18 Points
These were done. Finally got my recovery down. My watch was telling me last week I needed more recovery. Think it was probably too much doing long run, efforts and then a race within 4 days. I’ve asked Ashley if I can be co opted back on the exec as treasurer. Nigel can move to vice chair or step down. I can’t sit there moaning about it and not try to do something like balance up the exec committee with some empathy. When I spoke to Corinna at combat she said we’ve had issues the whole time the club has been around. I haven’t mentioned it to anyone else
Yeah sometimes a weekly schedule gets a bit too condensed into a few days, even just moving efforts from Tuesday to the Wednesday race can make a difference. But glad you are feeling better and really well done today. I respect you for trying to make the difference. I’ve always said whoever puts themselves forward then has the option to choose how they run the club and if I don’t like it I can either put myself forward or take more of a back seat. I’ve opted for the latter right now. And I think the timing was good, now we have the 4 new CIRFs. Track is the best place to coach and hone the skills so it’s a good opportunity for all of you. I’m pretty chilled out about it all to be honest, nice just be a member for a while and not have to worry about all the extra stuff going on. And yes Corrina is right, there’s always something going on in the background, that will always be the case when people have different views and opinions. And that’s all mine is, an opinion on how I believe the club should be run, that’s not to say it’s the right way or only way. Hopefully you can get involved and make a difference.

TUESDAY

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22pts | 5 x 4 Mins

22 POINTS

10 Mins WU @ Easy Pace (RPE: 2)

4 Mins @ 5K Pace (RPE: 8)
2 Mins Recovery
x 5

10 Mins CD @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

Ideally you’re looking to match or beat your current 5k pace. This is a really simple but effective session. Working to time rather than distance allows you to do these sessions with runners of different ability. Very best of luck,

22 Points
I felt like I was really struggling yesterday. My heart rate said it was 185, I think I’m going to get a chest strap for more accurate measurement. Jan young and me wee chatting at the end and she said hers is always high too. The thing is mine goes very high then during the recovery it was back down at 110. So not sure. Since doing the gym I’m finding myself more fatigued. I was trying to hit 7.50 a mile as that’s a solid 24 something 5k. I do think I have a sub 24 in me but not yet. Like I think I can run a 10k faster than 9 min miling but I want to get there comfortably first. Also think I’ll drop down a group at horntye tonight. Must listen to my body.
You did really well. The pace looks great, your form was excellent. So to be able to do that when not quite feeling at your best is fantastic. I think the extra S&C will take a few weeks to adapt too. But we are still training at the right level. Definitely keep the Wednesday run as easy as possible. I think looking at the team as a whole the Horntye runs are a little problematic because we all end up working harder than we should for an easy run. But the way to counter that is dropping down a group as you suggested at. So like the thinking. And yes an external heart rate monitor is definitely the way forward if you do want to pay closer attention to that data. I need to get myself one actually. On it now.

WEDNESDAY

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22 Points
Tried to keep hr down… still 158 🫣 it’s the hills. Now I’m considering there’s something wrong with me. My mums scared me into thinking I’ve got an enlarged heart like my nan! 😱 And to top it off I had to do strides on my own 😢 poor sad lonely stride crew.
That’s getting lower (the HR). Bag yourself a heart rate strap and see what that says, but yeah might be worth enquiring if you are still concerned it’s high. For a truly easy run I normally see somewhere around the 130-140 for the team. You still did the strides though which shows character, so that’s good. I’m close to doing them again although not sure I’ll run at Horntye every week. For what it’s worth I think I averaged HR of 137 and went into the wrong zone for 22% of the time, which I’m ok with given we did 600ft of elevation. But I did go with a lower group and keep my pace to around 10 min miling to ensure it stayed down. Great work though Lou

thursday

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6pts | 60 Mins Yoga

6 POINTS

Flexibility is definitely very important to runners and yoga can help in that area!

10pts | Lou W S&C

10 POINTS

Once we get the exercises from the PT I shall add them to this page. Let’s get that strength rating up!

16 Points
Yoga went missing again from the plan. Erm I had to reschedule strength and now I don’t have a rest day. But 60 min easy and the I’ll chill out all day Sunday I burned 250 calories doing my strength session. I did squats with 40kg for 8 reps, Nick was then to be my spotter! Not sure what he was spotting 🤣
Yeah I think 8pts was doing you an injustice so have nudged it up to 10. 40kg is very impressive, I’m still doing Goblet squats with 12.5kg, but will in time switch to the barbells and increase the weights too. I need to be careful as my skinny legs need to do everything very progressively. Apologies for the yoga, I forgot to add it to the spreadsheet hence it go left out. But another strong day of training.

FRIDAY

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20pts | 60 Mins Spin Class

20 POINTS

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

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

20 Points
Another spin session. So average heart rate again is 151. I’m not sure I have a lower heart rate. Everything seems to be 150 and above.
150 is not bad though, that might your LT1. That’s the point you go from aerobic to threshold and all the easy stuff we want to be below LT1. Well done Lou, another strong session ticked off.

SATURDAY

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26pts | parkrun

26 POINTS

Running with others can reduce perceived effort so parkrun is a good option as an alternative speed session. 10 mins easy WU & CD please.

Another strong consistent run. Hope all is ok? You’re at 93% right now for the week, so could do an easy 20 mins swim if you prefer tomorrow and wanted extra rest. Or just a light cycle. There are options if you felt the run is pushing too much. Well done Lou!

SUNDAY

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18pts | 60 Mins Run

18 POINTS

Keep that RPE down. You want to be able to run and chat, speaking of which, joining a group can add to the enjoyment here.

18 Points
Larch close was an easy one. Heart rate 151. Still lots of hills which seem to irritate my tight glute. But I’m off to see a physio Wednesday, who is Kim from the ac as I’ve been chatting to her in the gym and she said from what I describe it sounds like a tightness rather than an injury because it’s not causing me a problem as such other than uncomfortableness. It’s irritating rather than debilitating. Ordered a heart rate strap, on Saturday too I don’t know if it was just my imagination but I started to get pins and needles in my right arm, I’ve convinced myself I’ve got a heart problem because of how high my heart rate is getting. But Sarah Denham from walk to run is my nurse so she is going to get me booked in. I just wonder if actually I’m suffereing more with high strsss levels from multiple factors including too much work and putting too much pressure on myself to get better. I don’t need to keep chasing pbs right now! Well unless it’s squatting 🤣 Probably partly why I was feeling super sensitive Saturday. In other positive news my vo2 max went up in Tuesday and it hasn’t dropped back down despite the easy runs. It looks like it goes down when I over stretch myself.
Yeah I think as a friend one of my best pieces of advice to you is be more selfish and I’m as add you said Saturday was probably a reaction a potential overload and it can be overwhelming. So just before taking on anything else, ask yourself how it benefits you. It’s fine to be selfish sometimes. I like the way you are talking though and clearly very in tune with how hard you are working from a HR point of view and also listening to your body in terms of little aches and pains. It’s smart to be on top of them so we don’t overstep that red line which we are always treading so close too. My only concern is whether you might be lifting a bit too heavy too soon. It’s not my place to tell you what to lift, that’s down to your PT as he’s in charge of that, but I just wanted to share my concerns. Don’t be a in hurry to lift heavy. We want to be lifting for the next 20+ years so there should never be a rush to make gains. But well done on another strong week. Great turnout at Larch Close as well.