• January 26th - 1st February

Totally F****D this plan up didn’t I. Noticed I had a week missing from the spreadsheet. Soz. All sorted now and we don’t need to tweak much this week, just a bit more MP and extra easy mins. For the Friday run, the first 20 mins can be any pace you want, so long as the HR is low.

122 Points Achieved

This week was fine, legs a little sore and tight but I think that’s nothing to worry about. The marathon pace sessions did feel a bit boring, but it’s all part of the training I need to do so no quibbles there. As you so rightly pointed out, my rest days are not usually that restful at all, in fact they are when I get jobs done or play the drums for hours! Scaff gone so there are fewer jobs now, wasn’t planning on anything else big just yet anyway.

Nice to have two rest days and join the group for a slow chatty long run for a change.

Well done Sam. I always hate the idea of keep scheduling in easy runs or boring sessions, even setting a session like 5 x 1 km annoys me a little now. So I get why those marathon tempo runs have become a bit dull. A solid week at this stage of the plan.

MONDAY

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15 Points
TR 80%
Yeah, this was fine – getting easier and less miserable. I think the cool temps help, less uncomfortable. I can probably push the following exercises a bit: Goblet Squats Russian Twists Single Leg Calf Raises Crab Walks Bicycle Crunches What do you think?
I would say wait til post Seville. We’d feel like nobheads if we changed something now and you picked up a niggle. Steve added some extra weight to his squats recently and tweaked his groin and it’s lingered for 3-4 weeks now, so I would always be cautious. But yes agree, post marathon we can tweak it. Well done Sam.

TUESDAY

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26pts | 40 Mins Tempo (M)

26 POINTS

10 Mins @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

40 Mins @ Marathon Pace (RPE: 5)

10 Mins @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

Just an opportunity to get some more miles in at marathon pace and really dial those splits in.

26 Points
TR 75%
Nice to see the gang twice! I wore my new PB top just in case… This was OK, not much fun but useful. 40 mins @ mara pace is fine, it’s done with pretty quick but is still hard work at points, a slight incline and the effort has to increase noticeably (or I slow down). Cooldown up the hill home is not ideal, even taking it pretty damn slow it still felt a bit tough. All my mara pace splits were under target except one (up all saints and crossing the main road slowed me).
Good to see you out. Top looked great. I saw the 🤷‍♂️ emoji on Strava and thought “oh no Sam is bored of these sessions right now”. To be honest the real reason we do these is for that first 40-60 mins of the marathon. That’s where 95% of marathons go wrong, cos runners go too quick when they feel fresh. So now I put lots of these sessions in so this pace is natural come race day and you don’t start smashing out 4:15s or even 4:20s at the start of the race. Having done these runs you should be able to tell quickly if you are going too quick. So whilst they feel a bit boring and dull, if it means on race day your early pace is correct they are really important sessions.

WEDNESDAY

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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
TR 85%
Nice and easy (and chatty) 11k with the Group. No issues, no niggles, just tired/sore legs.
Great job Sam, I’m a bit worried the legs are feeling sore at the moment having just put 4 runs in there next week 🤦‍♂️ Let’s take it day by day but we want to be fresh come the start line. We’re not going to gain much fitness now before the race so it’s just a case of you listening to your body and reporting back. Luckily most of the running is now easy.

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!”

FRIDAY

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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
TR 70%
This session felt harder work than it should have, really wasn’t feeling it today. 12k, roughly 4k (ish) at each pace, heart rate unusually high for the low effort so added to my unenjoyment. Managed to maintain the marathon pace until hitting the hills home, then slowed a bit… but my last km GAP was 4:05! Oops. I stopped ~43s short of 60mins as hit 12k and was f*cked. Hamstrings very tight most days now.
From the feedback you are giving me we can just ease back. I’ve just ripped apart next weeks plan to make sure it’s all easy running. We need to give those legs a rest. Also if you can get rest away from the training as well, that will help. Good session though. But I think that is enough marathon pace for now, maybe one more session 5 days out just to fine tune.

SATURDAY

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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!”

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.

39 Points
TR 80%
We ran from home to meet the group so I did an extra 10 mins (23k) at mostly an easy pace. Picked it up briefly (3:30s) to catch a chunk of the group going the wrong way as requested by Linz. This hurt a little, oops, I was pretty zonked by the end, but mostly it was fine averaging 5:40. Laura just ploughed away having a nice time and managed to run her 3rd fastest half marathon by accident.
You’re like a run leading super hero, there to save the day when it so nearly went wrong 💪 Sounds like a decent run though. Great to see Laura doing so well. Nothing fluky about her success either. She earned those wins.