How a failed session last Friday became a breakthrough on Monday

Hey there,

You already know this:

Your life isn’t built around training, training is built around your life.

Work, kids, dog-walks, late nights, early mornings…

All of it stacks up long before you hit “start” on your Garmin and all of it influences your performance far more than the plan written on paper.

Last week I put this to the test when a session I completely failed on Friday became a breakthrough just 72 hours later.

But before we get to that, let me show you exactly what happened.

The session I couldn’t complete.

Last week I had two key sessions scheduled:

Both sessions I’ve seen multiple times this block.

Tuesday’s hard-start tempo session was already a bit of a mental battle. I genuinely wanted to give up before the intervals had really got going. I actually shared this story inside my free community here about how sometimes you need to give your body a chance before your mind talks you out of the work.

But back to Friday’s VO₂ max session.

VO₂ max work is a known weakness for me, and when it shows up in my training week, it’s there with reason.

Yet last Friday, I couldn’t do it. I scraped through 2/8 intervals and then called it quits on that session.

This wasn’t because I wasn’t fit enough, nor because the session was too hard, (I’d done it for the past 4 weeks running) and it wasn’t because I wasn’t motivated, I was feeling pretty pumped after Tuesday’s intervals.

It was simply because I was cooked.

Yet, I still tried to “fit it in” and “get it done”.

The real issue with the above session: timing.

There’s a huge difference between productive fatigue and pointless fatigue and Friday was the pointless kind.

I’d actually stacked the week this way on purpose because I wanted to experience the impact of life stress on performance. There’s increasing research showing how non-training stress (life stress) affects adaptation and readiness to train.

This demanding VO₂ max session which targets my weakness came off the back of 4 days on the bike and a ton of life stress which is why in just 72 hours everything changed.

30 hours later (Saturday afternoon)

The next day I went for a steady spin around the New Forest, I still felt my legs were cooked even though I had bailed on Friday’s ride and prioritised nutrition and sleep Friday and Saturday Morning.

48 hours later (Sunday)

Sunday was a rest day, proper rest.

No “I’ll just spin the legs.”, nor “I’ll go for a long walk.”

Instead a true recovery day both physically and mentally.

72 hours later (Monday morning)

72 hours later, Monday arrived. I had the same 8 × 2-minute VO₂ max intervals session planned at the same intensity targets, but I had made one change.

And I hit every single rep.

In fact, I didn’t just hit them, I averaged 7 watts higher than the last time I completed the full session.

The weekend didn’t improve my VO₂ max, one day of actual training and one rest day didn’t change my fitness.

Timing did.

And this is where consistency can get misunderstood because consistency isn’t just “showing up daily” or “never missing a session.”

Consistency is getting the right sessions done in the right physiological state so you can actually adapt. That only happens when the timing of your week supports the demands of your key sessions.

It’s why the best training plans are written in pencil and why I never charge athletes to adjust their plans. Your life outside training matters just as much as what’s on the plan.

Below are five simple ways to structure your week to get more from the work you’re already doing.

5 ways to structure your week for optimal performance:

1. Key sessions need space

Anchor your week with your key sessions. If you have 2x interval sessions planned avoid putting them back to back or scheduling them on a day where you can foresee you’ll already be stretched.

2. Strength timing matters

If you’re doing strength + endurance on the same day, the ideal spacing is:

4-6 hours between strength and your run or ride.

This window gives your neuromuscular system time to recover and also allows you to fuel between sessions.

If you can’t get that gap, your next-best option is to do strength training after a short base (easy) run/ride.

3. Put your weaknesses early in the week (or when you’re fresher)

This is an underrated strategy.

Your best energy usually comes Monday and Tuesday if you have a rest day on Sunday.

So that’s where your main key session of the week can go.

4. Know the difference between intentional and unintentional fatigue

Some sessions are meant to be done tired, but they need to be planned that way.

Friday’s failed session was planned poorly sequenced fatigue, and the results spoke for themselves.

5. Your life affects your training.

We like to pretend our training exists in a bubble: “I can’t be tired today because I’ve not trained.” “Why do my legs feel sluggish, I’ve only ran 3 miles not my usual 8?”.

Training doesn’t exist in a bubble: sleep, work stress, nutrition, timing, they all have a say in what your body can actually do.

Denying that doesn’t make you a more disciplined runner and cyclist, it makes you closer to burnout.

When you recognise and address these key pillars of your training, that’s what training like an athlete is.

Timing is your performance multiplier

If you’re feeling in a bit of a plateau with your training and you’re at capacity with your volume and intensity. Take a closer look at your timing; better session placement that allows for better sessions and adaptations will make you a stronger endurance athlete. This extends to your strength training too.

My 7-watt increase happened because my body was finally in the right state to express the fitness I already had.

Your next breakthrough might come from:

This is how we build durable, consistent runners and cyclists who get better year on year.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s newsletter and it’s made you think about the structure of your training. If you need help structuring your training week for performance, just hit reply and I’ll personally get back to you.

Before I go, if you want to check the discussion on how not to let your mind talk your body out of a session, you can read more about it here in my free community for runners and cyclists over 30, it’d be great to hear what you think.

Have a great Sunday!

Emma x