All the ingredients we want for ultra training. Hills, stairs, lots of easy miles, a few bits of added speed and tempo work and some strength work. I like the plan this week. There’s the potential to put a few more miles in there if you feel strong. You could add and extra 50 mins for example without going into that over training bracket, so something to bear in mind for those weeks you feel fresh. Keep going Joe. SDW50 will be upon us before we know it and right here right now is what makes the difference to your time.

179 Points Achieved

MONDAY

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15pts | 50 Mins Run

15 POINTS

It’s important to keep the easy runs easy. Focus on good running form and low heart rate.

18 Points
60 mins easy completed, as I’m using up some of those extra minutes that are available. Nice to start the week off right. Feeling in a good place for this week’s training. My biggest concern is finding a decent hill for tomorrow’s session
Great way to start the week. Sue Mann and Mark are both coming over from Bexhill to do the Tuesday evening group if you wanted me to arrange a lift with those two? 8 x 2 mins hills, same pts, so just as good. Or Jamie who lives in Bexhill has a hill session. I could try and team you up, although do appreciate it might not be easier finding a suitable hill 🤔

TUESDAY

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26pts | 8 x 2 Mins Hill Reps

26 POINTS

Big session this! But ideal if you have a hilly race coming up. Focus on good form and don’t go off too hard in rep 1, let the hill make it tough. Good luck! You got this. Run tall & proud.

26 Points
Delays on the trains meant I was late getting back from work, so I didn’t get to the original hill that I was thinking of, as that’s about 20 mins away. Other than that I was really happy with that session. The hill I used wasn’t quite long enough for a 2 minute rep, so I did 10 reps, which was 4 more than I managed the last time I did hill reps on that hill. The best part of the session was I did not look at my pace once, as I kept my watch on either the total time or altitude screens and ran to feel. Checked my pace on Strava, which showed all 4 miles having just 8 seconds between them in terms of pacing, so maybe I’m not that bad at pacing after all!
Love this. Really well done for getting out there despite delays and changes in plan. I think so many of us our guilty of relying on the data and I’m sure back in the day when a stop watch, pencil and paper was all they had, probably made it more enjoyable and they just ran to feel. So definitely a good idea to do that from time to time. Nice to get some hills in as obviously it’s key part of ultra running. Well done Joe.

WEDNESDAY

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18pts | 30 Mins Stair Climber

18 POINTS

A great form of cross trainer for us runners. Take a few minutes to warm up at find your stride but then push hard. You can real bang for your buck with just 30 mins on the stair climber. I hit around level 10 when doing these but find the right speed for you that you can maintain, but you find this tough.

12pts | Joe’s S&C

12 POINTS

Crammed a bit more into 1 session here but now you’ve got a lot of good stuff in there. Hopefully it’s ok?

Stair stepper done and upper body done. Legs will be completed hopefully on Friday. The stair stepper was absolutely brutal after last night’s hills session, but pleased to do 155 floors. Great for ultra training
It’s a brute of a machine but hoping when those hills come your way you can remind yourself of the floors you climbed and feel stronger than every tackling those climbs. Great work Joe.

thursday

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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
Done! Another one that I paced quite well…I love how the Strava pace chart goes up in steps! The last 10/15 mins was tough, but that’s the idea, right?! Feel like I’ve hit my limit for intensity sessions for the week, so it’s good that I’ve got a couple of ‘easy’ runs now
Yeah that’s supposed to feel a bit tougher at the end and off the back of your hills and stair stepper, it was going to be hard. But feels like we are hitting some intensity but without smashing out any silly fast reps. So I’m pleased about that. And as you said, now you can enjoy your easy miles knowing the hard work is done. So well done Joe.

FRIDAY

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21pts | 70 Mins Run

21 POINTS

70 Mins @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

Keep the effort level down on these easy runs and focus on good running mechanics.

33 Points
Finished off the legs part of the S&C session in the morning, then did 90 mins easy in the evening. Used up some of those extra minutes that were available
Loving this. Great work Joe!

SATURDAY

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54pts | 180 Mins Run

54 POINTS

Time to make sure your fuelling and hydration is on point. 30-60g of carbs per hour. The longer the run goes on the tougher it will get.

54 Points
What a brilliant end to my training week. 21 miles. About 8:50 a mile. 1500 ft of elevation and a heart rate under 140, which is the bit I’m most happy about. Tough at the beginning and right at the end, but most of it felt comfortable. Well happy with that week
That is a great week. Not only the mileage but the extra in the gym which is big. Love this and where you’re at right now. Was chatting to another lady at parkrun doing the SDW50, although not local, but was impressed when she said she was chasing sub 10 😲 Awesome work Joe. That week also takes you back to 100% training overall. Can’t ask for anything more.

SUNDAY

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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!”