In a previous blog, I already explained the reasoning behind the complete overhaul of our training plans. Here, we’ll zoom in on this specific part.
It’s important to explain how the plans are structured - you’ll find this info in our in-app FAQ as well. How is your plan built when you select what we call an ‘ultimate goal’ in the app?
In the final 12 weeks leading up to your goal race, you follow a specific training plan. This plan focuses on the specific fitness elements required to perform well at your chosen distance. To keep it simple: more volume for a marathon, more speed for a 5K.
That final phase obviously requires a strong base. Without a solid foundation, specific work is pointless. That base is built in our support plan. For the experts among you: this phase includes more capacity-oriented work. This new version is now live, specifically for the half marathon.
A more progressive build-up
The support plan for the half marathon spans 12 weeks. We’ve made the progression more gradual: volume starts a bit lower but also peaks slightly higher. That means the longest long runs are a bit longer than in the previous versions. However, the overall training load isn’t necessarily higher because we’ve upgraded the recovery weeks. That also makes it easier to fit sessions into your schedule, thanks to a clearer structure.
12 + 12: Ideally, you set your half marathon goal about 24 to 22 weeks in advance. The support plan is placed first, followed by the specific plan. That way, you go through the full cycle of base building and specific preparation.
But don’t worry if that timing doesn’t line up perfectly.
Important: this doesn’t mean you can go from zero to a half marathon in 24 weeks. If you’re a relatively new runner, I still recommend starting with our build-up plans. Being able to comfortably run 10K is an absolute prerequisite for tackling an ‘ultimate goal’ using both the support and specific plans.
More plan options and more training days
Also worth noting: Trenara has started attracting faster runners, something we didn’t initially expect. Thanks to this update, we’re now better catering to their needs too. The foundation for a fast half marathon isn’t built in just the final 12 weeks as mentioned earlier, it starts much earlier. Until now, our offering wasn’t well-developed for sub-1:20 runners.
As mentioned in the general blog, all plans are being updated to allow for up to 7 training days. That also applies here, although the specific half marathon plans will go live next week.
More true threshold work and some other tweaks
In the past, it was harder to accurately determine your thresholds, so I couldn’t always label workouts as such.
You probably remember a tempo run where the description didn’t match the effort: ‘this shouldn’t feel too hard,’ but you ended up screaming for your mom.
That won’t happen anymore by design. That’s not to say there won’t be tough workouts but when they’re tough, they’re meant to be. Of course, a bad day can still make things feel harder, but that’s no longer a design flaw.
We’ve also made some other tweaks: for runners training fewer days per week, we’ve removed the automatic recovery jog. Instead, we rely on passive recovery.
That doesn’t make the plan harder: we’ve optimized the classic trio of interval, tempo, and recovery around aerobic base building. For those training three times per week, the best combination is interval work, endurance runs (with strides!), and a weekly long slow distance (LSD) run.
