If you wanted to join us Tuesday evening for some hills you can but no need to be pushing super hard as we enter the taper now. So a lighter week. A bit of marathon pace Saturday which you could combine with parkrun and we drop the Sunday run to 90 mins. The hard work has been done, now time to ensure you reach the start line feeling fresh. Any problems let me know.

120 Points Achieved

All good. Three weeks until Seville. Focus on rest and recovery

Glad you’ve got the date right 😂🤦‍♂️

MONDAY

15pts | Conal S&C

15 POINTS

Step Ups	1 x 70 Secs
Split Squat	3 x12(5kg)
Glute Bridge	2 x 14
Single Leg Deadlift	2 x 12(5kg)
Forward Lunge and Rotation	2 x 12(5kg)
Bent Over Row	2 x 14(5kg)
Russian Twist	2 x 12(5kg)
Squats	2 x 15
Plank	2 x 60 Secs
Bicep Curls	2 x 15(5kg)
Tricep Dips Dumbbells	2 x 15(5kg)
Wall Sits	2 x 60 Secs
Dead Bugs	2 x 15

15 Points

Done. All good. Need to focus more on plank which I find hard but I know is opening me up, and wall sits which I also find hard and I am willing the time to pass. Need to get comfortable in both.

Those two are great exercises. Very tough but you can notice how they are working so many muscles. Another strong session. I may tweak the S&C slightly going forward.

TUESDAY

33pts | 5K Marathon Pace/5K HM Pace

33 POINTS

2km WU @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

5k @ Marathon Pace (RPE: 4)
5k @ Half Marathon Pace (RPE: 6)

2km CD @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

A good session to mix up paces. WU & CD very important to slowly build the pace. A flat route is ideal here if you can.

36 Points

Sorry, just noticed that you had changed this session. I hadn’t checked since the day before. Glad I did it though. 40 minute continuous hills. Great session. So good to run with the group. I would have found this much harder on my own but Glenn and I pushed ourselves and our pace got better and better as it went on. Perfect for strength and stamina. By the way my “heart rate zones” on garmin changed dramatically on the day I did 16 miles at MP on January 11th. I pushed hard that day and at the end of the run got a message saying my heart zones and maximum had been recalibrated. Threshold zone 4 increased from 126 -141, up to 159 – 178. My heart rate is usually lower than average but it leapt up to maximum on that run and stayed at 165 after that. That run was clearly a big step and a workout for the heart which has made it stronger. It’s unlike me to push like this but it has been working. I was tired and ready for bed last night but then was awake a lot during the night. Great workout.

Well done Conal. Great to see you along. I think that session went well. Shame Neil took a tumble. But I’m sure he will be ok. It’s great to see you and Glenn running together as I know how much that helps you both and he’s got a sub 20 in him later this year. I’m so pleased with where you are at coming towards the marathon given we had almost 4-5 weeks out with the back. And I think a lot of people are looking at you and the level you’re running at and being inspired. I know I am.

WEDNESDAY

thursday

18 Points

Very comfortable. Started slowly as I always do on morning runs, it was into a proper wind coming back along the coast, but managed well and decent average pace for an easy run.

Good job Conal

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

24 Points

WU then first mile 7:30, I held back and didn’t run with Kev Blowers. Kept it easy the whole way but gradually increased the pace and finished in 22 minutes and found that very comfortable. Two years ago I would have been at my limit running 22 minutes but this was fine. It was an aspirational MP but while I’m planning on running Seville with the 3:30 pacer, I think I still have a quicker one in me in the next year.

Well done Conal. I agree that sticking with the 3:30 pacer isn’t a bad idea to be honest. Then you can always kick on the final few miles if you feel stronger and perhaps beat your time for last year. For what’s it worth, a 19:09 5k time then leads to a marathon prediction of 3:20:10 🤯 I’m not saying that to go chasing it in Sevilla, but just to back up what you said. I definitely think there’s a sub 3:25 in the locker.

SUNDAY

27pts | 90 Mins Run

27 POINTS

90 Mins @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

Keep this nice and easy. Focus on good form & efficient running economy. RPE should be around the 3/10 which means you can run and chat.

27 Points

Quite a sluggish run. Garmin says I’m peaking but it simplifies it.

Sometimes Garmin can be nice 😂