Lesson 10 of 11
What a running coach assesses before writing your plan
Before an Athlevo plan is written, the coach profiles you across five dimensions. The plan comes from the profile, not from a template.
1. Training age and base quality
How many years have you run consistently? What is the longest period you have trained without a break longer than 2 weeks? A runner with 3 years of steady training and a runner with 6 months can have the same 5k time and still need different loading. Training age decides how hard a phase can be loaded.
2. Current aerobic level: the MAS test
Maximal aerobic speed is estimated from a 1500 to 2000 m time trial at maximal effort. That gives a pace reference for setting every zone.
| Zone | Share of MAS pace | Adjustment above 30°C |
|---|---|---|
| Ground | 65 to 75% | Lower by 5 to 10%. Use effort and heart rate as the main guide. |
| Control | 75 to 83% | Lower by 5% and shorten the session. |
| Threshold | 83 to 92% | Lower by 3 to 5% and watch your heart rate ceiling. |
| Edge | Above 95% | Hill sprints are run by effort, with no pace target. |
3. Speed ceiling: ASR profiling
Maximal sprinting speed is estimated from a flying 20 to 30 m sprint on flat ground or a slight downhill. Anaerobic speed reserve is MSS minus MAS, both in km/h. The profile helps decide whether the speed ceiling needs work before Threshold becomes the priority. See hill sprints and the speed ceiling.
4. Lifestyle load profile
A structured intake conversation covers average sleep duration and quality, work schedule and intensity, commute, family and social obligations, eating habits and meal consistency, and any history of burnout, overtraining or chronic injury. This sets the base assumption for how much capacity you have to plan with. See total cost.
5. Heat adaptation status
How long have you been training consistently in your current climate? Heat adaptation fades within a few weeks without heat exposure, so a runner who has just come back from a cooler place, or who trains mostly indoors, carries a higher environmental cost per session. See running in the heat.
From profile to plan
The profile sets your zones, your starting phase, how aggressively the block can load you and how much heat adjustment each session needs. Then the weekly structure takes over. See how a training week is built.
The five profiling dimensions and the zone percentages are Athlevo's own design.
This lesson is general training education. It is not medical advice. If you are unwell, injured or unsure, talk to a doctor before you train.