33M, 5'7", 55kg | Anchor race: Bath Half Marathon, Sun 14 Mar 2027 | 30-week runway from Mon 17 Aug 2026 | Fixed days: Tue (easy with Jen before work, from wk7; buggy before that), Fri (buggy, FitFam long run club), Sun (buggy, Bath Fit Fam family run)
Recent updates & notes
22 Oct 2026 (latest): week 10: Thursday’s rest day became a 16.1km run at 4:18/km (avg HR 158, tempo-level), so the week was 55km by Thursday against 31km planned. Saturday’s 5km tempo is dropped for a full rest day, and Sunday’s family run is ~10:00/mi (~6:15/km). Week now lands ~86km (range 70–79) with Friday’s FitFam.
19 Oct 2026: every km pace on the site is now shown rounded to the nearest 5 seconds (e.g. Easy 4:00–4:25/km, Threshold 3:25–3:30/km; 16:40 PB mode Easy 4:10–4:35/km), with the mile pace converted from the rounded km figure, in both pace modes. FitFam fast group now written as ~5:00/km (~8:00/mi). Past days’ hand-set targets and the race-day target (16:00 = 3:12/km) are left exact.
19 Oct 2026 (later): Monday’s 5 x 1000m logged: 3:23, 3:24, 3:24, 3:22, 3:26/km, all five done and even (14.5km total, so week 10 lands ~77km – nothing to add). New Paces button above the tabs switches every fitness-based pace on the site between the 16:00 goal zones and the same zones scaled to the current 16:40 PB (×1000/960, ~4% slower). FitFam club paces and hand-set targets on individual days don’t change; the choice is remembered on each device.
19 Oct 2026: week 9 actual: 63km (Sunday 7.4km, not 10–12km). Week 10: Wednesday is confirmed as an easy, hilly run with a friend (no strides, keep it conversational), so Quality #2 stays as Saturday’s 5km tempo. Sunday trimmed from 15km to 12km so the week steps up to ~74km (range 70–79) rather than 77km straight after a 63km week.
17 Oct 2026 (later): Saturday logged: a hilly 1.2km loop instead of parkrun – 3 loops at 3:30, 3:32, 3:43/km (~22m climb each), HR to 180, 12.3km total. On target pace despite the hills, so a hard effort. Sunday stays an easy 10–12km (week ~66km). Mon 19 Oct 1000m reps moved to a flat route with a realistic target of 3:18–3:25/km · 5:19–5:30/mi (start at 3:23–3:25), 3min jogs, stop at 4 if needed.
17 Oct 2026: week 9 updated after the holiday (43km by Friday, nothing hard since 29 Sep). Today’s parkrun is now a controlled effort, not a full tempo: parkrun pace 3:30–3:36/km · 5:38–5:48/mi (17:30–18:00), 12km in total with warm-up and cool-down; Sunday trimmed to an easy 10–12km (week ~65–67km, no chasing the missing km). Mon 19 Oct 1000m reps: start at the slow end (~3:18/km), full 3min jogs, stop at 4 if needed; Sat 24 Oct tempo can drop to the easy option if Monday was rough. Formal max HR test dropped – working max ~183 bpm from sessions. Note added on cutback weeks: take the Friday slow group (9 Oct was fast group, 20km).
2 Oct 2026: week 7 restructured around what actually happened: Monday was hill reps (no max HR test) and Tuesday became a speed session with Laurence (5 x 3min at ~3:23–3:31/km, max HR 182) instead of the easy run with Jen. Tuesday now counts as the week’s Quality #2, so Saturday’s progression run becomes an easy 10km + strides (shortened from 13km because the week was already ~62km after Friday’s 20km FitFam), and Sunday should stay at the short end (~10–12km) so the week lands near 80km. The max HR test moves to Mon 12 Oct (week 9) in place of the 10 x 10s hill sprints; 182 bpm is the working max until then.
25 Sep 2026 (tidy-up): QUALITY tags removed from plain easy and easy + strides days (weeks 7+); strength routines on every day card now match the Strength & Mobility tab; old buggy-adjusted easy row dropped from the pace table (Mon/Tue buggy runs ended in week 6); this log is now a list, newest first; the stale duplicate page was removed.
25 Sep 2026 (later): new weekly pattern from week 7, now settled: Mon Quality #1 (solo) + post-quality strength; Tue easy run with Jen before work (no buggy, normal Easy pace, same distances); Wed flexible – default is an easy, hilly lunch run with a friend, or if that’s not on, do the week’s Quality #2 on Wednesday and make Saturday easy (Wednesday takes Thursday’s old distance, so weekly totals don’t change); Thu rest + foundation strength (moved from Wednesday – a Thursday run would make Thu–Mon five running days in a row); Fri FitFam, Sat Quality #2 (or easy if done Wednesday), Sun Bath Fit Fam unchanged. Cutback/recovery weeks have the same shape with Wednesday just easy. Week 7: Monday’s fartlek replaced by a max heart rate test (~11km, week total now 80km) with a place on the card to record the result – no HR zones until it’s in; Saturday’s fartlek replaced by a 13km progression run (8km easy + 5km building through Moderate/steady). 4–6 x 20s relaxed strides now finish whichever of Wed/Sat is the easy run (Wednesday only if running solo; never on buggy runs or the run with Jen); in weeks with no Saturday quality they go on Saturday, unless Monday or Saturday already has strides. Race-week strides moved off Thursday: wk14 to a short Friday easy run + 4 x 100m strides (Wed trimmed to 4km, week total 40km), wk30 into Saturday’s shakeout (total unchanged). Fixed leftovers: wk14/wk30 Mondays now “Easy run (solo)”, Pace Converter reference labels now match the current pace table, and the load-concentration note is recalculated from the plan (~51km Fri–Sun at peak).
25 Sep 2026: Dan can now do a speed session on Monday without Fraser, so from week 7 (28 Sep) the Thursday quality session moves to Monday (solo, no buggy) and Thursday becomes a solo easy run of the same distance Monday used to be (Fraser at nursery). Weekly totals unchanged. Race weeks (wk14, wk30) keep their pre-race strides on Thursday so they stay close to race day. Tuesday buggy run unchanged.
2 Sep 2026 (later): whole pace table rebuilt around a 16:00 5k goal (VDOT ~64.6) rather than current PBs, per Dan’s request – a step ahead of current fitness, not a current-fitness correction. Every fitness-based zone shifted faster: Easy 4:02–4:26/km, Moderate/steady 3:38–3:57/km, Surge 3:10–3:27/km, Threshold 3:24–3:31/km, 10k-effort 3:14–3:21/km, 5k-effort 3:08–3:18/km, HM race-pace 3:27–3:33/km, plus buggy/family variants by the same shift. FitFam club paces (~5:00/km, ~6:00/km) are unchanged – set by the group, not Dan’s fitness. These are goal-ahead-of-fitness paces now, not proven-current paces – worth watching for early fatigue given minimal strength/mobility work.
2 Sep 2026: fartlek surges were wrongly filed under the Moderate/steady zone added on 1 Sep – based on Dan running the wk3 fartlek at 5:30/mi on (3:25/km, right on the edge by the last rep) vs 6:30/mi off, surges now use a new Surge (fartlek pickup) zone, 3:20–3:38/km, threshold/interval-adjacent rather than marathon-adjacent. Checked the easy pace zone against a VDOT-based formula from his PBs – it holds up, so left unchanged.
1 Sep 2026: Quality sessions that mix two efforts (fartlek, hills, strides, progression, tempo/threshold, HM-pace) now show both paces – easy pace for the warm-up/cool-down/recovery portion, plus (in bold) the actual target pace for the hard portion – instead of just one easy-pace number. Added a Moderate/steady zone (3:50–4:10/km) for progression "moderate effort" finishes, which previously had no defined pace.
27 Aug 2026: Friday/Sunday distances and the volume table now reflect real Strava data (Fri ~19km typical, not 15km; Sun ~15km typical, not 10km), shown as low–high ranges rather than single numbers. Also flagged: Dan expects to return to work around mid-September, Mon/Tue buggy runs are likely to get harder to fit in from then, with Wed/Thu (nursery days) as possible replacements. His new weekly running pattern isn’t decided yet, so treat the day-by-day template from that point as provisional until it’s revisited.
Earlier (Aug 2026): Buggy days now show easy pace + bold actual buggy-adjusted pace. Mobility routine is listed (tap to expand). Strides removed from Tuesday, not safe/practical behind a buggy.
Paces:
Week 117–23 Aug 2026
BaseCutback week
FIXEDfixed
QUALITYkey session
LONG RUNweek's long effort
RACErace day
Distances below are typical - real weeks vary. Since the Bath move, Friday FitFam has run 18–20km (not the 15km originally assumed) and Sunday Bath Fit Fam 12–19km (not 10km) - both corrected here. The Overview tab’s volume table shows a realistic low–high range per week, not just this single typical number.
Day
Session
Distance
Pace
Time
Intensity
Training paces
Showing 16:40 PB paces: every fitness-based zone scaled from the 16:00 goal table by 1000/960 (about 4% slower, e.g. 5k-effort 3:15–3:25/km). FitFam club paces, hill sprints and strides don’t change. Use the button above to switch back.
Updated 2 Sep 2026: rebuilt around a 16:00 5k goal, not current PBs (see Recent updates above). Originally from actual race times - 10k PB 35:01 (5:38/mile · 3:30/km), Half PB 1:18:39 (6:00/mile · 3:44/km) - more reliable than unverified watch HR zones - now shifted faster by the same method to target a 16:00 5k. Buggy days show two numbers: the underlying easy pace, and (in bold) the pace you'll actually run pushing the buggy. Sessions with a harder component (fartlek, hills, strides, tempo, threshold, HM-pace) now show two numbers the same way: the easy pace for the warm-up/cool-down/recovery portion, and (in bold) the actual target pace for the hard part.
Quality shifts to 5k-pace/VO2max, taper into race week
5k PB attempt - Sat 21 Nov 2026, Five Arches parkrun (skip FitFam that Friday)
3. Recovery/maintenance
15–20
23 Nov 2026 – 3 Jan 2027
Deliberately low-key over Christmas/New Year
4. HM-specific build
21–28
4 Jan – 28 Feb 2027
Threshold + HM-pace, peak volume
5. Taper
29–30
1 Mar – 14 Mar 2027
Two-week taper - skip FitFam race week
Race - Sun 14 Mar 2027, Bath Half Marathon
Full week-by-week volume plan
Wk
Week starting
km (typical)
mi (typical)
Phase
Note
Weekly template
Day
Slot
Settled 25 Sep 2026 - this pattern applies from week 7 (28 Sep); weeks 1–6 were Mon/Tue buggy runs, Wed rest, Thu quality.
Mon
Quality #1 speed session, solo (no buggy) - varies by phase & week, + post-quality strength routine
FixedTue
Easy run with Jen before work, no buggy (no strides)
Wed
Flexible: default is an easy, hilly lunch run with a friend (+ 4–6 x 20s strides if running solo). If that isn’t happening, do the week’s Quality #2 here instead and make Saturday easy. Cutback/recovery weeks: just easy.
Thu
Rest + foundation strength routine (a Thursday run would start five running days in a row, Thu–Mon)
FixedFri
Long run - FitFam club, buggy (15km fast group / 10km slow group cutback / skipped race weeks)
Sat
Quality #2 varies by phase & week - or, if it was done on Wednesday, an easy run at the same distance + 4–6 x 20s strides
FixedSun
Buggy run, short family run - Bath Fit Fam
Session variety
Base phase quality #1 (Thu wk1–6, Mon from wk7): strides → short hill sprints (6x8s) → fartlek → cutback (easy only) → 8x10s hills → 10x8s hills → fartlek → cutback (easy only) → 10x10s hills (week 9; not done - holiday week).
Sharpening phase Mon: 5x1000m → 6x800m → 4x1200m → 8x400m → race week: easy + 4 x 100m strides on Fri 20 Nov, the day before the race (Thursday is now a rest day).
Quality #2 (Sat, or Wed from wk7): progression / tempo / HM-pace work as listed on each week; whichever of Wed/Sat is the easy run gets 4–6 x 20s relaxed strides at the end. Bath Half race-week strides sit in Saturday’s shakeout.
Recovery phase (Christmas/New Year): deliberately light and repetitive - the one stretch where sameness is fine.
Friday FitFam: fast group most weeks, slow group cutback weeks, skipped both race weeks.
Left deliberately open
HR: not the primary dial (zones unverified) - pace/effort governs. Formal max HR test dropped (missed in weeks 7 and 9); working max is ~183 bpm (highest seen: 182 on 29 Sep, 181 on 9 Oct, 180 on 17 Oct) - update it if the sharpening reps or a parkrun show higher.
Shoes: Ride 18s for buggy/easy days; Vaporfly Next% 4 for the 5k PB attempt and race-pace/quality sessions.
Load concentration: from week 7 the heavy block is Fri (long run) → Sat (Quality #2) → Sun (family run) → Mon (Quality #1): four loaded days in a row, heaviest in HM-build. Fri–Sun alone is ~51km at peak (wks 26–27: 19 + 17 + 15), ~62–65km counting the Monday session that follows. Thursday’s rest day is the buffer before the block, so protect it. The way to spread the load is to move Quality #2 to Wednesday: Saturday then becomes easy and the block is just the long run and Monday’s session with easy days between. If Saturday sessions feel flat or Monday reps feel sluggish, do Quality #2 on Wednesday that week, and keep Sunday at the short end of its range rather than cutting Friday’s club run.
Return-to-work schedule: settled 25 Sep 2026. From week 7: Mon solo Quality #1, Tue easy with Jen before work (no buggy), Wed easy hilly lunch run with a friend (or Quality #2 if that isn’t on), Thu rest + foundation strength, Fri FitFam long run, Sat Quality #2 (easy if already done Wednesday), Sun Bath Fit Fam. See the Weekly template above.
A mile is 1.60934km. The table runs from full-sprint effort down to Mrs D's easy pace (~11:00/mile), in 10-second-per-km steps, with your own training zones flagged along the way. The 5k, 10k, HM (21.0975km) and Mar (42.195km) columns show the finish time if you held that pace for the whole race.
The mental-maths trick: ×8⁄5 (a.k.a. ×1.6)
1.60934 is close enough to 8/5 that you can do this in your head to within a second or two. Take your pace in seconds:
km → mile: multiply by 8, then divide by 5 (or just multiply by 1.6 - i.e. add 60% of the km pace onto itself).
mile → km: multiply by 5, then divide by 8 (or divide by 1.6).
Easiest anchor to memorise:5:00/km ≈ 8:00/mile - a clean round-number pair (5×1.6=8 exactly). From there, scale: every 10 sec/km faster or slower shifts the mile pace by about 16 sec in the same direction. E.g. 4:20/km is 40s faster than the anchor, so mile pace ≈ 8:00 − 64s = 6:56 (table says 6:58 - near enough to sanity-check a watch split, not to replace it).
Second anchor worth knowing: Mrs D's 11:00/mile ≈ 6:50/km - so if you're running together and want to check you're not dragging her too fast, 6:50–7:00/km on your watch is roughly her pace.
Table uses the exact factor (1.60934); the mental ×1.6 shortcut can drift a couple of seconds at the extremes - fine for pacing decisions, not for splitting hairs.
Strength & mobility
Two short sessions most weeks, one on Thursday (rest day; Wednesday up to week 6) and one straight after the Monday quality run (Thursday up to week 6), plus a 5 minute fallback for when a full session won't fit. No gym needed, just a mat and some floor space. Each exercise links to a short demo video since some of these will be new to you; if anything feels sharp or painful rather than just working, stop and check with a physio.
Thursday, rest day: foundation strength (10–15min)