Last week of this plan. I have mixed emotions. On the positive note I think aerobically your fitness is in an excellent place which is a result of your consistency, week in week out, working hard and getting the sessions done. The hard thing to accept is that we’ve not seen any rewards for that effort because of the calf. And whilst that is difficult to take you have actually taken very little time off which given how important fitness is for your mental health, that’s another thing to appreciate. What next? I think that has to be your decision. I would be keen to keep working together, but in terms of what we do differently? Perhaps an S&C workout to include more single leg work and try to do more easy runs to condition the body better. Let me know what you think.

111 Points Achieved

MONDAY

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9pts | 30 Mins Elliptical

9 POINTS

30 Mins Elliptical  (RPE: 6-7)

A good way to boost cardio whilst reducing the risk of injury. The elliptical can tone muscles and improve endurance whilst being gentle on your joints.

12pts | Body Pump

12 POINTS

A really good way to get your S&C in. A full body workout with barbells will really aid your running and reduce the risk of injury.

21 Points
Short on time. Lots of work having been on leave last week. Quicker to jump on the elliptical than swim.
Good idea. I often jump on the magic stairs if I am short on time just to get maximum pts for the time I have free. So good idea. If you want me to put a swim in elsewhere let me know. Now the calf is ok I can also tweak the schedule if you want to put more sessions in there.

TUESDAY

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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!”

WEDNESDAY

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9 Points
Terrible run. Just felt awful from the start. Couldn’t find my rhythm. Was easy Pace but HR went up to 67!! Was going to be 60 mins but switched it to the 30 mins
We all have those days. I felt terrible in the gym today. Really struggled with a simple cross training day. Luckily a rest day tomorrow but a good decision by you just to make that tweak, hopefully the next run will be completed different.

thursday

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9pts | 20 Mins Stairs

9 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 20 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.

9pts | 30 Mins Elliptical

9 POINTS

30 Mins Elliptical  (RPE: 6-7)

A good way to boost cardio whilst reducing the risk of injury. The elliptical can tone muscles and improve endurance whilst being gentle on your joints.

21 Points
Done ✔️
Great work Lou. I may or may not have mentioned this, apologies if I have, but no hands on the stair climber makes a big difference and I would recommend that approach. I had to drop it down from level 10 to 8 to be able to do it without resting on the machine. My HR was about 8 bmp lower when I used my arms.

FRIDAY

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12pts | Body Pump

12 POINTS

A really good way to get your S&C in. A full body workout with barbells will really aid your running and reduce the risk of injury.

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.

30 Points
Opted for treadmill, Wednesday’s awful run knocked my confidence. Not feeling 100% this week.
We’ve been a little under the weather as have a few of the team, maybe something doing the rounds again. Nothing major, just a little off. Hope you feel better soon but no worries about hitting the treadmill.

SATURDAY

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12pts | 40 Mins Swim

12 POINTS

40 Mins Swimming @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

Swimming is a great alternative to running and probably the best form of cross training. Have fun!

12 Points
Good swim. No problems
Great work 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
Well it felt better than Wednesday. Stopped a few times, although I think that was mental rather than a physical need to. Not liking the stability shows, not cushioned enough, will be researching some cushioned stability shoes.
Just glad you are out running again. Don’t be afraid to slow it down. For comparison my current 5K time (prediction) is likely to be around 22:30, to keep my HR below my threshold (easy), I need to run around 9:40 per mile. So if that rings true, anyone slower than me over 5k should probably be a bit slower than that. And that ties in with your target paces too which has 10:19 as easy pace. I’m not saying you HAVE to slow down to that pace, but just be wary not to go too quick on the easy runs. Sorry to hear the shoes are not great. There is so much choice out there. My advice is if you find something you like, check out the Run Testers on You Tube and see what they say. Since I started making purchases based on their reviews I’ve not brought a bad shoe. Well done on another strong week Lou