• March 9th - 15th

Two big sessions both tailored for HHM. The hills and the HM Tempo run. No need to go eye balls out as you’ll still be recovering from Seville. But two solid sessions will set you up nicely for next week. To give you those two rest days I’ve combined S&C and the 40 mins together on Thursday. Let me know if this is no-go or if there are any other issues. The hills session is what the Team will be doing Tuesday evening if you fancied joining us again.

143 Points Achieved

MONDAY

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15 Points
This was hard work but I got through all of it (22 pullups, not 24 as feeling a bit weak) – exhausting as energy levels not there yet but legs felt OK.
22 pull ups is pretty filthy to be fair. Respect. Great work Sam

TUESDAY

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22pts | 60-45-30 Sec (Hills)

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.

22 Points
I was dreading this as wasn’t feeling great, but actually this session was OK. Nice to have a quick runner to chase up the hill! I caught him a few times, and smashed him once or twice. Nice chap. Hamstrings were still sore from S&C the day before but I managed to fly up the hills fine without it hurting, breathing was laboured for sure. Energy levels still a tad low but getting better. Felt pretty good after, like I worked hard and got a good result. Warmup and cooldowns were 15mins each, so there’s an extra 10mins of running time for you – don’t say I never treat you ;-)
Great to have you along. And agree, having Joe Moore there really helped. He’s an interesting bloke as was running awful last year, I mean really awful, couldn’t run 5k. Then had a blood transfusion and is running times way way quicker than he’s ever done before. Really pleased for him but can’t help but think “give me some of that blood”. Well done though Sam, could tell you were working hard and the short reps felt right for you at this stage. Lovely to run and chat with Laura on Wednesday as well. Spent about 5 mins saying how amazing you are.

WEDNESDAY

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22 Points
Hamstrings very sore and tight, uncomfortably so – missing S&C for 5 weeks likely the cause, it’s those single leg deadlifts that do it I’m sure. Took it easy but was comfy at ~5:15 pace throughout, I got Boris’d on the front which was fine but I slowed a bit as we were chatting away (not sure about what). 11.5k @ 5:22, pretty decent. Was very tired after so strides were not ideal… but I got them done. The ones slightly uphill were into the wind so were all 18s, the ones coming down were all 16s – so not my quickest but decent. Hams much more sore now!
Crikey, yeah be a little bit careful. Been a busy 3-4 weeks with the marathon and the illness and something going ping now would be a disaster. Perhaps ditch the strides for a week or two if the hamstrings continue to feel tight. But well done on getting the run done Sam. Boris ran with us in the evening too, I tried my best to communicate with him.

thursday

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12pts | 40 Mins Run

12 POINTS

The biggest mistake we can make with these recovery runs is running too fast. This will mean when our harder sessions come round we are still fatigued and not able to put enough effort in to make the necessary gains.

27 Points
Did the easy 40mins first, made sense. Exactly 7k which was the aim, I’m pretty good these days a route planning in my head and getting back home at the target distance or time. This was fine, hams a little sore but didn’t affect my running. S&C after the run went surprisingly well, I was nicely warmed up and blasted through the exercises fine. Thought I’d be tired but I felt like I had more energy than usual which was nice (must be recovering). Pushups and pullups still the hardest but managed 2 x 20 and 12 as per the plan. Hamstrings tight and sore but not too bad, noticed them during the squats as well as single deadlifts this time. I’ll keep an eye on it.
Nice, I like the idea of doubling up if we can, gives you that extra rest whilst still hitting targets. When I told Laura you were doing that many pull ups she sounded shocked. 😂 Great work Sam.

FRIDAY

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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!”

SATURDAY

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57pts | 3 x 5km (HM)

57 POINTS

2km WU @ Easy Pace (RPE: 2)

5km @ Half Marathon Pace (RPE: 5)
2km @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

5km @ Half  Marathon Pace (RPE: 6)
2km @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

5km @ Half  Marathon Pace (RPE: 8)

2km CD @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

A good session to practice goal pace. Likely to be one of the biggest sessions in your half marathon training plan.

57 Points
Ooh yeah, this one was hard work. Legs were not as sore following the rest day and didn’t get up early to do it so was a bit rested in general. First 5k with the wind behind was OK, I was pretty good with the pace management although I started to feel the burn even before this stint was done. Next 5k was into the wind the entire time, some bits along the beach so not ideal but still managed to maintain the pace (4:16, which is sub-90mins – your target for me is 4:12, I think that’s going to be challenging at the moment!). Last 5k I started from the top of galley hill so cheated a bit, but even with the wind behind this stint felt pretty tough and the last 2km I struggled to keep the pace bang on so my average for that one was 4:17 overall. Not terrible I guess. I was pretty done in after but had a massage. Was a bit sore the following day.
That is a big session. I remember the last time I did that and I had Steve Gates pacing me along Rye Harbour, and I proper blowing out of my arse. We’ve obviously not done much HM work of late and possible quite close to HHM but the schedule has been tight so I’m really pleased you were able to squeeze this in. Great work Sam. Also worth adding, we have to go back 11 weeks for the last time you hit this number of pts in a week, so really happy with that.

SUNDAY

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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!”