• November 17th - 23rd

Pretty brutal session Sunday but if the Sussex Downs Half is still on the cards, that’s the reason it’s there, perhaps picking a hilly route and focusing on RPE rather than pace. On a positive note next week we easy back as it’s a recovery week so nothing over an hour which means you can push hard Sunday.

145 Points Target
152 Points Achieved

Another good week of training in the bag had some good runs in there to. I think the race in two weeks time is going to be a very hard one going on sunday session the realisation of running around that pace but with 1000ft more elevation is a daunting prospect but I will certainly give it a go. Calf are a little tight atm but hopefully that will clear very soon. I will probably stick to the roads up until the race now to keep the legs as fresh as possible for race day.

152pts is probably your biggest week since we started working together. So that’s fantastic work Steve. I think for that type of race, you don’t necessarily want to be too strict on setting pace targets. We don’t know what the weather is going to do on the day or how tough underfoot conditions are going to be. The goal should be “run hard” and see what happens. If you do that, whatever the pace, there’s no way you can be disappointed. I know it’s hard mindset to get into sometimes as we are very much driven by the stats because of our watches and Strava, but I think in the moment, during the race it’s a good one to adopt. I did it for Rye Ancient Trails, albeit I was running easy, but was 10 mins quicker than I expected when I reached the finish line.

MONDAY

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15 Points
Just another solid session although it was bloody freezing in the gym so instead of a bottle of water I had to have a mug of tea minus the biscuits unfortunately 😅 Legs felt fine even after yesterday’s run which is good.
Great work Steve, you need one of those portable heaters you can switch on for 20 mins beforehand. I like the idea of running a marathon on cooler conditions and someone picking up a mug of tea from the water stop 😂

TUESDAY

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Hill Reps 60-45-30

22 POINTS

10 Mins WU @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

60 Secs Uphill (RPE: 8)
90 Secs Downhill (RPE: 4)

45 Secs Uphill (RPE: 9)
75 Secs Downhill (RPE: 4)

30 Secs Uphill (RPE: 9)
60 Secs Downhill (RPE: 4)

x 5

10 Mins CD @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

Hills can really build your strength as well as improve your running form. This session is tough but will really help you make big gains. Use the downhill as a light recovery jog, so exact recovery times can be flexible.

25 Points
TR 100%
Great session this one and good to get the extra set in, felt strong throughout 💪 legs feeling good and strong. Starting to look forward to the race in a couple weeks time fingers crossed it can go hard and be strong on the hills after all this work.
It’s pretty exciting right? Feel like you’re running at the best level you have since we teamed up. The extra set was worth 10 mins if you wanted to cut one of the easy runs a little short later in the week. But great work Steve.

WEDNESDAY

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Rest Day

0 POINTS

0 mins @ RPE 0-1

“Rest days are key. Our body adapts and gets stronger when we rest & recovery. Have a good one!”

0 Points
TR 100%
Nice massage after work to freshen the legs up.
Ideal!!

thursday

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60 Mins & Strides 🏃‍♀️

22 POINTS

60 Mins @ Easy Pace RPE: 3
8 x 100m Strides RPE: 8 (60s)

Keep the RPE down, have a chit chat & Don’t forget those strides 😜

22 Points
TR 100%
60min easy along seafront and around Old Town started and finished at West St leonards Station as the girls were doing the hy session, so I swapped out the 8 strides for 6 20s hill reps with jog down recovery hope the points re similar if not I can and on tomorrow or Sunday. But felt good throughout even after the massage last night.
Quality, loving the positive feedback again. To be honest 10 second hill reps are better because they work the alactic energy system (part of the anaerobic system), which is often neglected. But that one only works for 10 seconds, hence why we keep the time down for the hill sprints. But yes, no need to do strides now you’ve banked these. Excellent work Steve.

FRIDAY

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50 Mins

15 POINTS

50 Mins @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

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

30 Points
TR 100%
Decent strength session to start the day and wake up the body, followed by a pretty good run after work kept the pace and hr under control but still put some hills in felt good once again 👍
Great work Steve. More positive feedback which is great. Keep it going. Sorry about Sunday, but I just need to be careful. Need to get myself back in the next 4 weeks or so to be ready for my Marathon block.

SATURDAY

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Rest Day

0 POINTS

0 mins @ RPE 0-1

“Rest days are key. Our body adapts and gets stronger when we rest & recovery. Have a good one!”

0 Points
TR 90%
Well not the best rest day going here there and everywhere, a very early start to get Ellen to her race and about 5hrs of driving for the day tooknits toll felt pretty whipped out in the evening.
Perhaps that could explain Sunday as well 🤔

SUNDAY

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4-3-2-1 Miles (HM)

60 POINTS

1 Mile WU @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

4 Miles @ HM Pace (RPE: 6)
1 Mile @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

3 Miles @ HM Pace (RPE: 6)
1 Mile @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

2 Miles @ HM Pace (RPE: 6)
1 Mile @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

1 Mile @ HM Pace (RPE: 6)
1 Mile CD @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

A really demanding half marathon session. But if you smash this then you know you’re on track to have a great race in a few weeks time. Work hard. This is where the magic happens and you make those fitness gains. You got this 💪

60 Points
TR 90%
Well this was the one session i wasn’t over the moon about seeing on the plan but I know its a good one to get in there. This time round I went out at my intended pace/effort and soon realised that that wasnt going to happen driving rain and wind froze my legs and made it hard to turn them over that with heavy wet shoes made for a pretty uncomfortable session possibly under fuelled for it to, didn’t eat as much as normal yesterday as was on the road alot and out early. Also I noticed I juat couldn’t get my hr up were it would normally be for the paces I wanted, maybe the body fighting something or just fatigue. The calfs got a little tight on the cool down so I was likely under hydrated too. But all that said I did get 3 crowns and the pace wasnt totally crap considering the conditions. Definitely wanted faster on miles though.
I think the fact you’re disappointed shows how well you are running right now and that’s a positive. From what you’ve said, there were outside factors which effected this. The long day Saturday and the conditions being the most obvious. And I also feel bad that I let you down, but it would have been really bad idea for me, so sorry about that. But even that may have played a small part in that you ended up solo when you had hoped for company. So I would say be really pleased that you dug deep and stuck with it, when things went against you. This is the kind of session where the mental ratings goes up a few percent as well. All in all, a really good test and you came through it well. Great work Steve.