Tag: Physiology

𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐞-𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

Training Load Balance, based on your Training Load Scores, includes both intensity and duration but it doesn’t provide any insight into the distribution of running intensities in your training.

A longer run at a lower intensity can produce the same Training Load Score as a shorter run at a higher intensity.

Yet intensity is important, as the adaptations from higher intensities may be quite different than those from lower intensities.

And you may want to match those adaptations to your goal race – training for a marathon may have a different mix of intensities than training for a 5k.

𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐓𝐈𝐃)

A TID chart groups your time spent at each intensity into 3 or more groups, then displays the result as a stacked bar chart, with each stacked bar representing a week of training.

When Running with Power, the groups are typically ranges based on percentages of your Threshold Power. This ensures that when your Threshold Power changes, your adjusted intensities are still relative to what you’re capable of (and it means you don’t need to adjust the chart).

You can produce the chart for completed workouts to check the mix that you ran. Or you can produce the chart for planned workouts, to adjust the mix you’re planning to run, using planned Training Load Scores).

The TID chart is the third key metric for monitoring your training (along with Training Load Balance and Ramp Rate).

𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?

❓ Questions?
📖 Getting Started

𝐓𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜: 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝
⏩ What is Training Load?
⏩ Training Load – a two-sided coin!
⏩ Achieving a Training Load Balance
⏩ The danger of ramping up too quickly
⏩ Race-specific training

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲

Training loads your body, encouraging it to adapt.

But it’s a balance. Load the body too little, and it will not adapt; load it too much or too quickly, and it will break down instead of adapting; load your body correctly, and sustained long-term improvements are possible.

And the training loads are cumulative – as you continue to train, you continue to encourage adaptations.

Your training load is the sum of these cumulative stresses. Monitoring your training load helps ensure your training is productive, and that you minimise injury risk.

𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐬

Your Training Load Balance indicates whether your training is productive, with a negative (but not too negative) score indicating productive training.

Your Ramp Rate shows if you may be adding training load too quickly, replacing ‘the 10% rule’ with a metric based on your training volume and intensity.

𝐑𝐚𝐦𝐩 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐞

Ramp Rate is the week-on-week difference in your Chronic Training Load (CTL) or your 42-day weighted average, depending on which set of metrics you’re using.

Why week-on-week? Because Long Runs will tend to impact your training load more than shorter interval sessions or easy/recovery runs.

Using a week-on-week calculation will ‘smooth out’ any fluctuations caused by your workout mix while still producing a useful metric.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐑𝐚𝐦𝐩 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭?

It depends.

Runners that have been running for more years and that are less injury-prone may be able to cope with a ramp rate of 2 – 3 or higher.

New runners or those that are more injury-prone might find a ramp rate of 0.5 – 2 safer and more sustainable.

𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?

❓ Questions?
📖 Getting Started

For more about Ramp Rate, see CTL Ramp Rate for Runners in the Facebook group Palladino Power Project.

𝐓𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜: 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝
⏩ What is Training Load?
⏩ Training Load – a two-sided coin!
⏩ Achieving a Training Load Balance
⏩ The danger of ramping up too quickly
⏩ Race-specific training

𝐀𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

Training Load Scores, calculated for each workout, represent each workout’s metabolic stress.

You can use these scores to model the shorter-term and longer-term impacts from each workout.

Combining these, you can obtain a Training Load Balance (TLB), indicating whether your training is ‘productive’.

Training Load Balance at also known as Training Stress Balance (TSB) or Running Stress Balance (RSB) but the word ‘Stress’ may be confusing, implying mental stress rather than physical or metabolic stress. Load (rather than Stress) helps remove potential confusion, and is the term used by Steve Palladino in his article library.

Training Load Balance is also known as ‘form’ in heartrate-based models.

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

How does your TLB help ensure your training is productive?

Your TLB is the difference between the longer-term impacts and the shorter-term impacts (TLB = CTL – ATL):
A very positive balance indicates detraining or a lack of any meaningful training.
A positive balance may indicate tapering or a missed workout.
A negative balance indicates productive training – enough load to encourage adaptations, but not so much that there is a greater risk of injury or over-training.
A very negative balance may indicate over-training, with a greater risk of injury.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞?

You can use your TLB to monitor your training, but be aware that:
You need 80+ days of workout data for your TLB to be accurate (because of the way the model works)
You should track your scores and compare them to how you actually feel to build your experience of what your TLB represents (for you)

Your Training Load Balance is a useful and straightforward way to monitor whether your training is productive.

𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?

❓ Questions?
📖 Getting Started

For more information on Training Load Balance, see:
🔹 Running Training Load Metrics in the Palladino article library

𝐓𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜: 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝
⏩ What is Training Load?
⏩ Training Load – a two-sided coin!
⏩ Achieving a Training Load Balance
⏩ The danger of ramping up too quickly
⏩ Race-specific training