Training Notes
Training notes
Most runners default to just running more, running harder, or running more often. But the training that actually produces personal bests tends to follow the same repeating shape: recovery, base, build, peak. Skipping a phase — or skipping the repeat — is usually where niggles, burnout, and stalled progress creep in.
2–3 WKS
Recovery
6–8 WKS
Base
4–5 WKS
Build
2–3 WKS
Peak + taper
Phase 1 · 2–3 weeks
Recovery
After any big effort — a goal race, a rough patch, time off through injury or illness — the biggest mistake is rushing back. This phase is complete rest or genuinely easy movement only, letting the legs and the nervous system actually recover before you ask anything of them again.
Phase 2 · 6–8 weeks
Base
The unglamorous engine-building phase: mostly easy aerobic running, consistent volume, and some general strength work. No hero sessions here — the discipline is resisting the urge to add intensity too early.
Phase 3 · 4–5 weeks
Build
Now the quality work goes in — threshold runs, intervals, race-pace sessions — but no more than two hard days a week. Everything else stays easy, so the hard days can actually be hard.
Phase 4 · 2–3 weeks
Peak + taper
Volume drops, intensity holds, and the goal race sits at the end of the block. Then the cycle starts again — recovery first, not more racing.
The framework holds whether the trigger is a marathon, an injury, an illness, or just wanting more structure this year — the shape stays the same, only the details change to fit where you're starting from.
