Running with Power - Getting Started

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Running with Power - Getting Started

⚡Weekday 'TL;DR' posts about running with power⚡

What is 'Running with Power'? Why would you want to use power? How do you get started? Who am I?

I'm an England Athletics certified running coach who's trained and coached with power since 2018. For runners looking to understand their training, I offer a fresh perspective - Running with Power. The 'Running with Power' series, including the latest 'Getting Started', is a practical introduction to this individualised training approach, breaking down power concepts into easily digestible steps,

and offering practical activities runners can use to experience power for themselves. With coverage of the Stryd footpod and wrist-based power (included in newer running watches), 'Getting Started' has all the information you need to start Running with Power. Drawing on seven years of personal experience using power and as an England Athletics certified 'Coach in Running Fitness' (CiRF), I bring a deep, yet practical understanding of how to get the most out of Running with Power. I believe the best way to learn is through doing, that celebrating small wins leads to bigger wins, and that consistency is the foundation for success. Follow this page for answers to:
✅ What is 'Running with Power'?
✅ Why would you want to?
✅ What's different (sometimes confusing) about power?
✅ How do you get started? Visit the Facebook group "from1runner2another" for more resources, to ask questions and to connect with a community of like-minded runners.

28/08/2026

HOW CAN I ESTIMATE MY FINISH TIME?

There are three primary uses for Running Effectiveness:
1. To improve your form (https://f1r2a.com/re-form-improvements/)
2. To improve your fatigue resistance (https://f1r2a.com/re-fatigue-resistance/)
3. To identify targets for your upcoming race

How can Running Effectiveness identify the optimum power target for your upcoming event?

RACE CALCULATORS

Depending on your choice of power meter and supporting apps, there are two different race calculators you can use to identify your optimum power target:
🔹 If you use a Stryd footpod and the Stryd ecosystem, you can use the web-based Stryd Race Calculator
🔹 If you use wrist-based power, you can use the ‘Generate Race Power Scenarios’ feature in SuperPower Calculator (for Google Sheets).

HOW DO THEY WORK?

Whichever calculator you use, they work similarly, using (at a minimum):
👉🏼 Your race-day running fitness – your Threshold Power on race-day
👉🏼 Your fatigue resistance – one of two different metrics, depending on whether you’re running a shorter, higher-intensity race or a longer, lower-intensity race
👉🏼 Your running effectiveness – your estimated finish time depends on how effectively you convert power into speed

These metrics are calculated from your completed workouts.

Which means that your training plan should include specific workout segments supporting the race-day calculations.

And it means that Running with Power personalises your race-day target, based on your capabilities, instead of calculating your target using averages from thousands of other runners (who are not you).

SHOULDN'T YOU BE RUNNING WITH POWER?
❓ Questions ⇒ from1runner2another (https://www.facebook.com/groups/from1runner2another)
📗 Get Started with the book (https://f1r2a.com/RwP_Start)

For more information on how to use Running Effectiveness, see Understanding ‘Running Effectiveness’ and its uses (Palladino) (https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTzjH-Ns_GInUm4lAxi3cVOQpzzKcWNF6VEX271s-QGYFHjwMgyLhhmu5i21-1_CaC3eL0B817rQo8k/pub)

More about the Race Calculators can be found at:
🔹 Stryd: Race Calculator in PowerCenter (https://help.stryd.com/en/articles/6879547-race-power-calculator)
🔹 SuperPower Calculator for Sheets (https://f1r2a.com/SuperPower_Calculator)

TOPIC: RUNNING EFFECTIVENESS
⏩ What is Running Effectiveness? (https://f1r2a.com/what-is-re)
⏩ Is running effectiveness easy to use? (https://f1r2a.com/re-using)
⏩ Can you measure running form improvements? (https://f1r2a.com/re-form-improvements)
⏩ Can you measure changes in fatigue resistance? (https://f1r2a.com/re-fatigue-resistance)
⏩ How can I estimate my finish time? (https://f1r2a.com/re-race-planning)

27/08/2026

CAN YOU MEASURE CHANGES IN FATIGUE RESISTANCE?

You may be familiar with the term stamina, which is similar to, but not the same as fatigue resistance:
👉🏼 Stamina – your ability to sustain effort for a longer duration
👉🏼 Fatigue Resistance – your body’s ability to resist the effects of fatigue

This post focuses on fatigue resistance, starting with a simple question.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU FATIGUE?

When you fatigue (while running):
🔹 you’ll probably slow down
🔹 your gait or form may change
🔹 you may experience mental sluggishness
🔹 you may have an increased risk of injury

To avoid, or reduce the impact of fatigue, work on your fatigue resistance.

But how do you do that? And how do you know you’ve improved your fatigue resistance?

Is there a way to measure your fatigue resistance so that you can monitor how it’s changing?

HOW CAN YOU MEASURE YOUR FATIGUE RESISTANCE?

According to Steve Palladino, one way to measure your fatigue resistance is to use metrics that measure gait or form, looking for changes in those metrics over the course of a run.

There are a few metrics he’s investigated. One of them is available with any kind of power meter – Running Effectiveness (https://f1r2a.com/what-is-re/).

In a FaceBook post, Steve outlines a couple of ways to measure fatigue resistance using higher-intensity sections in long runs (https://www.facebook.com/groups/PalladinoPowerProject/posts/4045915892327103).

HOW CAN YOU IMPROVE YOUR FATIGUE RESISTANCE?

It’s one thing to be able to measure fatigue resistance, but how can you improve it?

Through a well-structured training plan integrated with strength & conditioning.

And to check that your fatigue resistance is improving, you could use reference runs (https://f1r2a.com/re-using/) to compare RE from one run to RE from another.

RE provides an objective way to assess improvements in fatigue resistance.

SHOULDN'T YOU BE RUNNING WITH POWER?
❓ Questions ⇒ from1runner2another (https://www.facebook.com/groups/from1runner2another)
📗 Get Started with the book (https://f1r2a.com/RwP_Start)

For more information on how to use Running Effectiveness, see Understanding ‘Running Effectiveness’ and its uses (Palladino) (https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTzjH-Ns_GInUm4lAxi3cVOQpzzKcWNF6VEX271s-QGYFHjwMgyLhhmu5i21-1_CaC3eL0B817rQo8k/pub)

TOPIC: RUNNING EFFECTIVENESS
⏩ What is Running Effectiveness? (https://f1r2a.com/what-is-re)
⏩ Is running effectiveness easy to use? (https://f1r2a.com/re-using)
⏩ Can you measure running form improvements? (https://f1r2a.com/re-form-improvements)
⏩ Can you measure changes in fatigue resistance? (https://f1r2a.com/re-fatigue-resistance)
⏩ How can I estimate my finish time? (https://f1r2a.com/re-race-planning)

26/08/2026

CAN YOU MEASURE RUNNING FORM IMPROVEMENTS?

You can, but it’s not easy.

First, a clarification.

Your running form is not the same as your running gait:
🔹 gait is the ‘what’ – the movement sequence like heel-striking or how high you lift your foot during the swing phase.
🔹 form is the ‘how’ – whether your movements are efficient, stable, and injury-free.

It’s really hard to change your gait, as most of these things are subconscious, and your brain (which is always working to optimise energy usage) is likely to ‘correct’ any corrections you try to make.

Fortunately, you can improve your form, and by improving your form you can improve your running effectiveness (https://f1r2a.com/what-is-re/).

But it’s not a straightforward thing, and it’s easy to make things worse rather than better.

HOW CAN YOU WORK ON YOUR FORM?

Before starting any form work, you should consult a sports physiotherapist. They can assess your current form and help you identify whether there are things you should prioritise to reduce injury risk.

A second option is to work with a specialist running coach, someone who has the training and tools to assess your running form and identify things you could do to improve your form.

Both the physio and the running coach will probably suggest activities to add to your training plan – strength and conditioning, running drills, plyometrics, and other supplemental activities.

USE RE TO SEE IF YOUR FORM CHANGES ARE IMPROVEMENTS

Before starting any supplemental activities, complete a reference run or two (https://f1r2a.com/re-using/).

This will provide baseline RE measurements.

Then, while working on your form, complete additional reference runs to track whether the activities are improving your RE (and you should continue them), or whether you should try something different.

RE provides an objective way to assess whether form changes have improved how effectively you convert power into speed.

SHOULDN'T YOU BE RUNNING WITH POWER?
❓ Questions ⇒ from1runner2another (https://www.facebook.com/groups/from1runner2another)
📗 Get Started with the book (https://f1r2a.com/RwP_Start)

For more information on how to use Running Effectiveness, see Understanding ‘Running Effectiveness’ and its uses (Palladino) (https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTzjH-Ns_GInUm4lAxi3cVOQpzzKcWNF6VEX271s-QGYFHjwMgyLhhmu5i21-1_CaC3eL0B817rQo8k/pub)

TOPIC: RUNNING EFFECTIVENESS
⏩ What is Running Effectiveness? (https://f1r2a.com/what-is-re)
⏩ Is running effectiveness easy to use? (https://f1r2a.com/re-using)
⏩ Can you measure running form improvements? (https://f1r2a.com/re-form-improvements)
⏩ Can you measure changes in fatigue resistance? (https://f1r2a.com/re-fatigue-resistance)
⏩ How can I estimate my finish time? (https://f1r2a.com/re-race-planning)

25/08/2026

HOW DO I USE RUNNING EFFECTIVENESS?

Running Effectiveness (RE) uses speed and power (effort) – both are measurable numbers, so RE is easy to calculate (https://f1r2a.com/what-is-re/).

But RE measures how effectively you convert power into speed, and there are many things that can affect that conversion.

RUNNING INTENSITY

Differences in your running form at different intensities (jogging vs. running vs. sprinting) will affect how effectively you convert power into forward motion, impacting RE.

HILLS & WIND

When you run uphill, your power will be higher for the same speed – and your RE will be lower. The reverse is true when running downhill.

The same is true for running into a headwind (lower RE), or with a tailwind.

RUNNING SHOES

Running shoes are made from differing materials with differing stack heights. This can affect how effectively you convert power to speed.

YOUR POWER METER & CONFIGURED WEIGHT

There is no agreed standard for calculating running power – different power meters will produce differing numbers. This means RE (for identical runs) will differ if you use different power meters.

RE uses power divided by weight. If you change the weight configured for your power meter, RE calculations made before that change will not be comparable with RE calculations made after that change, unless you calculate RE using the weight configured at the time of each run.

REFERENCE RUNS

RE is easy to calculate, but it’s not so easy to use, with many things that can affect the calculation!

One way to monitor changes in RE is to use reference runs, a strategy that Fred Richardson (a fellow coach) shared with me. (https://mindfulrunner.co.za/ )

These are runs you include every 3-4 weeks in your training plan, where you run the same route at the same target intensities in the same running shoes.

Reference runs aim to minimise variations between runs, so that you can compare RE between runs and confirm improvements.

SHOULDN'T YOU BE RUNNING WITH POWER?
❓ Questions ⇒ from1runner2another (https://www.facebook.com/groups/from1runner2another)
📗 Get Started with the book (https://f1r2a.com/RwP_Start)

For more information on how to use Running Effectiveness, see Understanding ‘Running Effectiveness’ and its uses (Palladino) (https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTzjH-Ns_GInUm4lAxi3cVOQpzzKcWNF6VEX271s-QGYFHjwMgyLhhmu5i21-1_CaC3eL0B817rQo8k/pub)

TOPIC: RUNNING EFFECTIVENESS
⏩ What is Running Effectiveness? (https://f1r2a.com/what-is-re)
⏩ How do I use running effectiveness? (https://f1r2a.com/re-using)
⏩ Can you measure running form improvements? (https://f1r2a.com/re-form-improvements)
⏩ Can you measure changes in fatigue resistance? (https://f1r2a.com/re-fatigue-resistance)
⏩ How can I estimate my finish time? (https://f1r2a.com/re-race-planning)

24/08/2026

WHAT IS RUNNING EFFECTIVENESS?

Imagine you want to run a faster marathon or a faster 5k.

You have a couple of choices.

IMPROVE YOUR FITNESS

If you’re fitter, you should be able to maintain a higher effort over the event distance.

A higher effort should mean a faster speed, resulting in a quicker finish time.

You can improve your fitness by training, and you can measure fitness improvements by tracking your threshold power (https://f1r2a.com/what-is-threshold-power/)

IMPROVE YOUR EFFECTIVENESS

Rather than improving your fitness, you could work on how you run.

If you’re more effective at converting your effort (power) into forward motion (speed), you can run faster for the same effort, resulting in a quicker finish time.

You can work on how you run (your running form) using drills, plyometrics, strength and conditioning, and other supplemental work.

But how can you measure whether that work has improved your running form?

RUNNING EFFECTIVENESS

Running Effectiveness (RE) was proposed by Andrew Coggan, PhD, and measures how effectively you convert power into speed.

It’s a field-based measure similar to, but different from Running Economy (oxygen consumption at various speeds) or Running Efficiency (external mechanical power vs. metabolic power production), which both require lab-based testing.

👉 RE = speed / power, where speed is in metres per second and power is in Watts per kilogram.

For an easy way to calculate RE from your power meter data, you can use SuperPower Calculator, as demonstrated by Steve Palladino in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNIjgDGc_0I)

SHOULDN'T YOU BE RUNNING WITH POWER?
❓ Questions ⇒ from1runner2another (https://www.facebook.com/groups/from1runner2another)
📗 Get Started with the book (https://f1r2a.com/RwP_Start)

For more information on:
🔹 The definition of Running Effectiveness, see WKO4: New Metrics for Running With Power (Coggan) (https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/wko4-new-metrics-for-running-with-power/)
🔹 How to use Running Effectiveness, see Understanding ‘Running Effectiveness’ and its uses (Palladino) (https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTzjH-Ns_GInUm4lAxi3cVOQpzzKcWNF6VEX271s-QGYFHjwMgyLhhmu5i21-1_CaC3eL0B817rQo8k/pub)

TOPIC: RUNNING EFFECTIVENESS
⏩ What is Running Effectiveness? (https://f1r2a.com/what-is-re)
⏩ How do I use running effectiveness? (https://f1r2a.com/re-using)
⏩ Can you measure running form improvements? (https://f1r2a.com/re-form-improvements)
⏩ Can you measure changes in fatigue resistance? (https://f1r2a.com/re-fatigue-resistance)
⏩ How can I estimate my finish time? (https://f1r2a.com/re-race-planning)

21/08/2026

MIXING YOUR TRAINING INTENSITIES

Training Load Balance (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-balance/), based on your Training Load Scores (https://f1r2a.com/what-is-training-load/), 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 can be quite different than those from lower intensities.

And you may want to match those adaptations to your goal race – training for a marathon should 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 zones, then displays the result as a stacked bar chart, with each stacked bar representing a week of training.

The chart can show percentage of time in each zone (with the stacked bars all the same 100% height), or actual time spent in each zone (with the height of each zone representing the time spent in that zone).

When Running with Power, the zones 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 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 ⇒ from1runner2another (https://www.facebook.com/groups/from1runner2another)
📗 Get Started with the book (https://f1r2a.com/RwP_Start)

TOPIC: TRAINING LOAD
⏩ What is Training Load? (https://f1r2a.com/what-is-training-load)
⏩ The impact of training (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-impact)
⏩ Balancing your training load (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-balance)
⏩ The danger of ramping up too quickly (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-ramp-rate)
⏩ Mixing your training intensities (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-intensity-mix)

20/08/2026

THE DANGER OF RAMPING UP TOO QUICKLY

Training loads your body, encouraging it to adapt (https://f1r2a.com/what-is-training-load/).

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.

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 (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-balance/) indicates whether your training is productive, with a negative (but not too negative) score indicating productive training. You may use a different name for this metric – Training Stress Balance (TSB) or Running Stress Balance (RSB).

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 ⇒ from1runner2another (https://www.facebook.com/groups/from1runner2another)
📗 Get Started with the book (https://f1r2a.com/RwP_Start)

For more information on Training Load Balance, see:

🔹 ‘CTL Ramp Rate for Runners’ in the Facebook group Palladino Power Project.(https://www.facebook.com/groups/PalladinoPowerProject/posts/4164312423820782/)

TOPIC: TRAINING LOAD
⏩ What is Training Load? (https://f1r2a.com/what-is-training-load)
⏩ The impact of training (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-impact)
⏩ Balancing your training load (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-balance)
⏩ The danger of ramping up too quickly (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-ramp-rate)
⏩ Mixing your training intensities (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-intensity-mix)

19/08/2026

BALANCING YOUR TRAINING LOAD

Training Load Scores (https://f1r2a.com/what-is-training-load), calculated for each workout, represent each workout’s metabolic stress.

You can use these scores to model the shorter-term and longer-term impacts (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-impact/) from each workout.

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

Training Load Balance is 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 ⇒ from1runner2another (https://www.facebook.com/groups/from1runner2another)
📗 Get Started with the book (https://f1r2a.com/RwP_Start)

For more information on Training Load Balance, see:
🔹 Running Training Load Metrics in the Palladino article library (https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRfJGTZYNZyz6Xu3gDkTxk6MCOPdiVD7sxwSytcd4B1473MsPWO7zq3YV1tYSWmX202A6A9nvjsVCSU/pub)

TOPIC: TRAINING LOAD
⏩ What is Training Load? (https://f1r2a.com/what-is-training-load)
⏩ The impact of training (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-impact)
⏩ Balancing your training load (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-balance)
⏩ The danger of ramping up too quickly (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-ramp-rate)
⏩ Mixing your training intensities (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-intensity-mix)

18/08/2026

THE IMPACT OF TRAINING

On one side of the coin, the reason you’re training – improving your performance, your fitness, your speed, your ability to run further for longer.

On the other, the impact of your workouts – fatigue, muscle soreness, dehydration, injury risk … the list could go on.

How can a single Training Load Score (per workout) (https://f1r2a.com/what-is-training-load) fully model training load – both the shorter-term impacts and the longer-term improvements?

THE RESEARCH

Research into the impacts of training has resulted in various models:
✅ Rowbottom proposed a Stimulus, Fatigue, Recovery, Adaptation model, sometimes referred to as the supercompensation model
✅ Banister proposed an Impulse-Response model, popularised in the TRIMP metric based on Heart Rate measurements
✅ Allen, Coggan and McGregor adapted the Impulse-Response model for use with power, encapsulating it in the Performance Manager model.

THE PERFORMANCE MANAGER MODEL

The model has the following components:

1️⃣ A Training Load Score, which the model calls a Training Stress Score (TSS)
2️⃣ An Acute Training Load (ATL), modelling shorter-term impacts
3️⃣ A Chronic Training Load (CTL), modelling longer-term adaptations
4️⃣ A Training Load Balance, which the model calls a Training Stress Balance (TSB), representing the balance between ATL and CTL

The Performance Manager model uses your Training Load Scores to calculate personal training metrics that indicate whether your training is productive – not too much, not too little, just right for you.

And with the two different load metrics (ATL and CTL), the model includes both the shorter-term impacts and the longer-term improvements.

You may have encountered ATL and CTL already (without knowing it) – they have equivalents in other models:
🔸 ATL is known as ‘7d avg’ in Stryd’s model, and ‘fatigue’ in heartrate-based models
🔸 CTL is known as ’42d avg’ in Stryd’s model, and ‘fitness’ in heartrate-based models

SHOULDN’T YOU BE RUNNING WITH POWER?
❓ Questions ⇒ from1runner2another (https://www.facebook.com/groups/from1runner2another)
📗 Get Started with the book (https://f1r2a.com/RwP_Start)

For more information on the models, see:
🔹 Rowbottom, D.J., (2000), in Garrett, W.E., Kirkendall, D.T., (eds.). Periodization of Training. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
🔹 Calvert, T.W., Banister, E.W., Savage, M.V., Bach, T., (1976) A Systems Model of the Effects of Training on Physical Performance (https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/5409179)
🔹 Allen, H., Coggan, A. & McGregor, S. (2019) Training+Racing with a Power Meter, 3rd Edition (pp. 158-160). Boulder: Velopress.
🔹 The Science of the TrainingPeaks Performance Manager on the TrainingPeaks website (https://www.trainingpeaks.com/learn/articles/the-science-of-the-performance-manager/)

TOPIC: TRAINING LOAD
⏩ What is Training Load? (https://f1r2a.com/what-is-training-load)
⏩ The impact of training (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-impact)
⏩ Balancing your training load (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-balance)
⏩ The danger of ramping up too quickly (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-ramp-rate)
⏩ Mixing your training intensities (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-intensity-mix)

17/08/2026

WHAT IS TRAINING LOAD?

When you train, you don’t go for a run then wait until you’ve fully recovered before going for another.

Instead, you run three or more times each week (at the highest levels, perhaps running up to ten times a week). And while there will be recovery days included, mostly you’ll be running while still tired from the previous runs.

You’ll be accumulating load.

Your Training Load is the cumulative load from your training workouts.

It’s easy to overdo it, leading to injury and time spent recovering (rather than training).

But if you’re training for an event, regular (and repeated) workouts are a necessity.

It’s a balance. Load your 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.

TRAINING LOAD SCORES

How can you monitor your Training Load?

Using a Training Load Score calculated for each workout.

Training Load Scores combine ‘how hard?’ and ‘how long?’

They represent each workout’s metabolic stress – its impact on your body from the workout intensities and durations.

Training Load Scores are also known as Training Stress Scores (TSS) or Running Stress Scores (RSS) 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 SCORES ARE RELATIVE TO YOUR THRESHOLD POWER

A one-hour run at Threshold Power (https://f1r2a.com/what-is-threshold-power) produces a Training Load Score of 100.

Why?

Scoring relative to your Threshold Power means Training Load Scores:

match improvements in your fitness. As you become fitter, you can run the same workouts with less additional load; or you can handle harder workouts for the same additional load.

match individual capabilities. If our thresholds are different and we run a workout together, your training load score for the workout will differ from my training load score for the same workout, reflecting our individual capabilities.

Counter-intuitively, if your fitness improves, and you run the same workout as one you ran earlier in your training, you’ll run it at a higher intensity, but end up with the same Training Load Score.

In numbers, if your Threshold power has improved from 250 Watts to 270 Watts, and you run a workout with 16-minute intervals at 94-96% of Threshold power, you’ll run the intervals at 235-240 Watts initially, repeating the workout at 258-264 Watts later in your training (higher intensity) but end up with a Training Load Score of 80 for both runs – your fitness has improved, you can handle the harder workout, and the relative impact of your workout is the same.

Training Load Scores are the foundation for metrics you can use to monitor your training load.

SHOULDN’T YOU BE RUNNING WITH POWER?
❓ Questions ⇒ from1runner2another (https://www.facebook.com/groups/from1runner2another)
📗 Get Started with the book (https://f1r2a.com/RwP_Start)

For more information on Training Load Scores, see:
What is TSS? on the TrainingPeaks website (https://www.trainingpeaks.com/learn/articles/what-is-tss/)
Running Stress Score (RSS) on the Stryd website (https://help.stryd.com/en/articles/6879537-running-stress-score-rss)
Running Training Load Metrics in the Palladino article library (https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRfJGTZYNZyz6Xu3gDkTxk6MCOPdiVD7sxwSytcd4B1473MsPWO7zq3YV1tYSWmX202A6A9nvjsVCSU/pub)

TOPIC: TRAINING LOAD
⏩ What is Training Load? (https://f1r2a.com/what-is-training-load)
⏩ The impact of training (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-impact)
⏩ Balancing your training load (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-balance)
⏩ The danger of ramping up too quickly (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-ramp-rate)
⏩ Mixing your training intensities (https://f1r2a.com/trainingload-intensity-mix)

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