Lesson 2 of 11
How to build a running training week
An Athlevo week is built around one primary intent, not around filling a calendar with sessions. Pick the goal for the week first. The sessions follow from it.
Start with one intent
Before choosing sessions, choose what the week is for. Athlevo uses four: a volume week, Threshold accumulation, recovery or maintenance. Every session in the week should support that target or protect it.
The five planning steps
- Name the week's main physiological target.
- Check where you are in the block and what your life load is likely to be that week. See total cost.
- Put the main quality session on the day with the highest expected available capacity. By default that is not Monday, when fatigue from the weekend is still around, and not Friday, when the week's life load has piled up.
- Fill the other days with Ground running that supports recovery and keeps your rhythm without getting in the way of the quality session.
- Place Edge work on a day next to a quality session, but not straight before it.
How the week's volume is split
| Zone | Share of weekly volume | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Ground | 65 to 75% | The foundation. Not reduced below 60% except during a taper. |
| Control | 15 to 20% | The bridge. Builds fatigue resistance without emptying you. |
| Threshold | 5 to 10% | The stimulus, carefully dosed. Peak weeks may briefly reach 12 to 13%. |
| Edge | Under 5% | The sharpener. It never adds volume. It adds quality and precision over time. |
Daily execution adapts, weekly intent stays fixed
If a session has to change, the purpose of the week does not. You are still building the same quality, by a different route. A hard session that becomes an easy run does not turn a Threshold week into a recovery week. See the Conversion Run.
What progresses first
If your training has been stable for 3 to 4 weeks, it means you have capacity, and the system uses it. The order of progression is:
- Frequency, running on more days.
- Volume, running more in total.
- Density, packing the same work closer together.
- Precision, executing the same sessions better.
- Intensity, only as a last option.
Most runners reach for intensity first. Athlevo reaches for it last.
The weekly structure and the zone shares in this lesson 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.