A dynamic training plan constantly adapts to your individual needs and your progress. Unlike a static plan, which sets fixed targets for a given period, a dynamic plan responds flexibly to changes in your training and in everyday life. This adaptability is crucial for avoiding overload, keeping your motivation high and making your training efficient. The dynamic approach at running.COACH takes into account changes in your fitness, soft factors like how your training feels, as well as unforeseen events such as illness or work commitments. In this article, we explain how the performance-based adjustments work.
Requirements for the performance-based dynamics
For running.COACH to adapt your training to your actual fitness, we need the training values from the running sessions you’ve completed. The easiest way is to upload your GPS data or to track your training directly with the running.COACH app.
How to easily upload your GPS data into your plan: Garmin, Polar, Suunto, Fitbit, Strava, Coros, Apple Health
Adjustment when your performance capacity changes
The graphic illustrates the analysed workouts and the performance development. It serves to explain the function in this blog article and isn’t visible in this form in the training plan.
After every uploaded workout, running.COACH determines your performance value for that session, whether it was done intensively, as a steady run or as a long jog. Factors such as pace, heart rate, elevation gain and recovery are taken into account. The value reflects the calculated race pace over a 10 km run that this workout expresses.
From these individual performance values, we calculate your Fitness Index: a weighted average of your most recent training sessions that updates after every activity. It therefore reacts immediately to every workout and shows you your current form.
Your performance level, the basis for your plan’s pace targets, deliberately stays more stable. It doesn’t change with every single activity, but only once your fitness has developed noticeably over a longer period. This way, your plan doesn’t constantly swing back and forth because of individual particularly good or bad workouts.
How often are adjustments made?
After every running workout, running.COACH updates your Fitness Index. If a clear change in your fitness shows up over time, your performance level — and with it your plan — is adjusted too. You get a notification each time, which you can undo with a click if needed.
You can deactivate the automatic training analysis and plan adjustment in the settings, if you don’t want it.
Special case: the running race
A running race has a strongly corrective effect on your plan. After your race time has been recorded, we convert your result to 10 km pace and use it as a new, reliable starting value for your performance level. This adjustment is only applied once you confirm it, though.
Prognoses for different distances
Based on your performance level, we also create prognoses for planned running races and other distances. You’ll find all your prognoses here:
https://runningcoach.me/users/statistics
App
In the app, you’ll find the overview with performance level and prognoses under Analysis → Performance.