Another solid week. Ironically I have cut back the S&C, now you have access to the gym but that was something we discussed previously. In it’s place will be a cross training session. But you could always switch back if you prefer. See it as being flexible. Tuesday’s session is the group one if you did want to join us. Friday! Yikes. Harrow Lane? Barley Lane? Elphinstone? A few options there. Any problems let me know. Merry Christmas to you Susannah and Ellen 🎄

162 Points Achieved

Well not the best week but i still got some good training in there even if it was x training. Im hoping next week i can do some runs but I dont think I will be able to do to much intensity as running dose load the groin quite alot although the pain isnt to bad and doesn’t get worse as I run but I dont want to delay the healing if I can help it as I want to get to the start line in 2 weeks time.
I have decided I will put my weights back to what they were even if I find them easy, plus I dont want to put any more weight on even if it is muscle, im nearly currently 10stone 10 which is the most I have ever weighed and I dont want to be any heavier. I think the stair stepper is definitely a good strength work out too and the bonus of the cardio is great. Hopefully if im sensible this coming week I should be good to race the xc on the 10th.

I agree with the S&C. There’s gets to a point when you don’t actually need to push any harder and it could be detrimental. So that’s a good idea to drop back. You actually ended up having your highest week ever in terms of pts, which is rather ironic given the injury stopped you running, but goes to show what some time on that stair climber can do. Joe said he noticed the difference going up the hills on his long run Sunday, so it might help with the XC. Even if I’m off at the weekend, feel free to drop me a message if changing things up to double check what the best thing to do is in terms of points, just to make sure we don’t go over.

MONDAY

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15 Points
TR 95%
Not bad session i missed out the hip march due to the groin but apart from that all good. I will swap my Tuesday and Wednesday around i think.
Well done Steve. Sensible to leave out the hip march. I’ve switched those days around, good idea to get the extra rest and if at any point the adductor continues to moan we could always swap some miles for cross training.

TUESDAY

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TR 95%
Not to bad of a run groinnpain was the same throughout maybe a little better at the end, decided against the strides as I have tomorrow session looming, of which I will head to Sandhurst pitch and do it in spikes, hopefully the softer ground will help with the groin.
Well done Steve, I think I saw you crossing the road into town as I did an extra few miles on the bike. Sensible about the strides and also using the grass tomorrow. Although that will be tough given how soft the ground is likely to be.

WEDNESDAY

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27pts | 5-5-5-2-2-2-2-2

27 POINTS

*Recoveries:
120 Seconds for the 5 Mins Reps.
90 Seconds for the 2 Min Reps.

A good session to start off with your 5k pace and then pick up the speed as we move into the shorter reps. See if you can finish with your fastest lap in that final rep!!

27 Points
TR 95%
Well that was ok i guess the groin held out but did start to get tender towards the end but it is getting better the legs felt strong apart from the pain of the groin. Pace was ok I think worked on effort rather than pace. Hopefully the rest tomorrow will work some more magic and Fridays session doesn’t cause any problems with it.
Great work Steve, doing exactly the right thing now and whilst that can be a tough place to do a session like that, it can really help with the lessened impact. And definitely good to focus on RPE rather than pace as it’s always going to be much slower round there, especially when it’s soft. Merry Christmas.

thursday

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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!”

A decent day chilling out hope you had a good day too. Groin isn’t good so won’t be doing session tomorrow as the bexhill xc is only 2 weeks away. Still baffled how I have done this as to strain your groin its normally from sudden change of direction but heavy lifting can do it apparently 🤔
A very nice day thank you. Yeah rest up. To be honest the best way of looking at this is you were due a rest week. As we did have one scheduled for after the Sussex Downs Half, but you ran 4 times. The only thing I can assume is it didn’t like the increase in weights on the S&C. I can’t think of anything else. I think in future if adding that extra weight just drop the reps quite significantly. So an example would be going from 3 x 15 (50kg) to 3 x 10 (60kg). You might even have done that in truth. But take the rest you need, as I say it was due so in the big picture it makes no difference to the plan.

FRIDAY

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32pts | Hill Reps 6 x 3 Mins

32 POINTS

10 Mins WU @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

6 x 3 Mins Uphill (RPE: 8)
Downhill Recovery Jog (RPE: 3)

10 Mins CD @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

 

You want to find a hill which is challenging but runnable for 3 minutes. Don’t worry too much about pace, let the elevation dictate the RPE. Good form is imperative here. Run tall.

Not worth the risk of making things worse, I could possibly of done an easy run but again risk over reward doesn’t weigh up to me. I did jump no the bike to go watch the HY 5k handicap race on the seafront thou. To top things off i now have a cold too 🤧 😩
If you’re going to get a cold then I guess now is the best time to do it. As I said yesterday this time off now is what we did have in the plan a few weeks back. So in the long run it’s probably a good thing to limit the risk of cumulative fatigue. Do what you can to help with recovery on the adductor. Hopefully a few more days rest will do the trick. Even if you didn’t do anything until Tuesday next week you won’t have missed anything long term because you did those extra runs on your rest week. Keep me posted though.

SATURDAY

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15pts | 50 Mins Swim

15 POINTS

50 Mins Swimming @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

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

24 Points
TR 95%
A decent gym session done 30min elliptical and 25min stair stepper followed by 15min sauna which was great. Groin feels a tiny bit better so will decide whether to do a run tomorrow or not if I dont i will hit the gym again and try and do the 2hr on the machines. Really quite annoying i have picked this problem up as I could run anywhere I want this week not being at work till friday.
Sounds like a good session this with some bonus points banked. Sod laws the leg would hurt now when you have more time. At least you do have that option of the cross training now with the gym membershi.

SUNDAY

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36pts | 120 Mins Run

36 POINTS

Long runs are key. Fuel and hydrate well & join a group if you can.

45 Points
TR 95%
Well i decide to hit the gym and be sensible i reckon I could have done the 2hr long run but it would have come with a cost so I done as follows 30min elliptical, 30min run, 30min stair stepper (brutal), 15min elliptical, 15min run. I actually enjoyed it too although I would have rather been outside running but im realising that the x training is just as effective for cardio. I finished it all off with 20min in the sauna.
You’ve earned more points here than you would have done running for 2 hours so that’s a bonus. I almost want to do an experiment with the cross training to see how beneficial it can be. At the moment I’m forced to do it rather than run, but until I try a fast 5k I won’t know how much speed or fitness I have lost. But it is a great alternative and glad you enjoy, I’m loving it in truth, but part of that might be because it’s the middle of winter. I’m serious about making it a big part of my training going forward. Fingers crossed that adductor starts to behave itself.