The short version
- Good training follows a repeating shape. Recovery, base, build, peak.
- Each phase has one job. Skipping one is where progress stalls.
- After the race, the cycle starts again with recovery, not more racing.
Most runners default to running more, running harder, or running more often.
But the training that 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.
Phase 1. Recovery
After any big effort, whether that is a goal race, a rough patch, or time off through injury or illness, the biggest mistake is rushing back. This phase is complete rest or truly easy movement only. It lets your legs and your nervous system recover before you ask anything of them again.
Phase 2. Base
The unglamorous phase where you build the engine. 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. Build
Now the quality work goes in. Threshold runs, intervals and race pace sessions, but no more than two hard days a week. Everything else stays easy, so the hard days can be hard.
Phase 4. Peak and 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 shape stays the same
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 are starting from.
Want your training built this way?
Every Ricey Runs plan is organised into Base, Build, Peak and Taper phases, so you always know what each week is for.
