As a trail runner, I am always striving to reach my full potential. In this article, I’ll share the training tools I use to plan, track, and analyse my running progression. From the essential physical devices to the software that unlocks valuable insights, we’ll explore how these elements work together. We’ll also delve into key training metrics that go beyond just distance and pace, helping you optimise your performance and minimise injury risk. By incorporating both data and a touch of self-awareness, you’ll gain a holistic understanding of your progress and make informed decisions to help you achieve your running goals.

Summary of Tools

This is a summary of the tools I use to plan, track and monitor my training. I use the physical devices to gather data. I use apps and software to store, record and analyse the data. And I use the software to monitor key training metrics to ensure I am progressing safely and neither over or under doing it.

• Physical Devices
  • GPS Watch; Garmin Forerunner 945
  • Heart rate monitor; Garmin HRM Pro
• Software and Apps
  • Garmin Connect
  • Strava
  • Intervals.icu
  • Google Sheets
  • HRV4Training
  • Others I use for fun
• Key Training Metrics
  • Volume – time, distance and elevation
  • Acute / Chronic workload ratio (ACWR)
  • Performance Management Chart
  • Qualitative data

Physical Devices

Software and Apps

Garmin Connect

Garmin Connect is the companion app for my Garmin watch. It lets you see all your fitness data in one place, from daily steps to detailed run breakdowns.

I use Garmin Connect as the central hub that stores all of my run data, essentially a database. Then I pull this data into other tools such as Strava and Intervals.icu. I only use this because it is required for my watch. It isn’t my favourite user interface for reviewing run data but they are currently overhauling the app so I may start using it more down the track.

Strava

Strava is a social network for athletes. It lets you track your runs, rides, swims, and other activities using your phone or GPS watch. You can share your workouts with friends, see their activities on a map, and even compete on virtual segments.

Strava is used as a social network for me to connect with running friends. I enjoy sharing my runs and looking at what others have been up to. I often get inspiration for new running routes or missions after seeing what others have been doing. There is definitely a toxic side to sharing runs on Strava especially when things get competitive. It is best to not feel self conscious about pace and let go of the ego. I sometimes take pride in how slow some of my recovery and endurance runs are because I know that time in the aerobic zone it the metric that truly matters, not pace or segment crowns.

Having said that, I do enjoy a friendly segment crown battle amongst mates. There are a few around Hobart that myself and a few friends covet. But we don’t take it too seriously. Strava is a great way to stay motivated, find new routes, and connect with other athletes. I also find it helps with accountability having friends watch me, the Hawthorne effect can help to stay motivated.

Intervals.icu

Intervals.icu is a website specifically designed for analysing endurance sports data. Think of it as a deep dive tool for runners, cyclists, and swimmers. It goes beyond basic stats like distance and pace, offering advanced metrics and charts to help you understand your training and optimise performance. It’s free to use and integrates with popular fitness trackers like Garmin and Strava.

I use intervals.icu as a free alternative to Training Peaks. Intervals.icu is setup to automatically sync activity data from Garmin. I use it to plan my weekly workouts using the workout builder and the calendar page. I find that building structured workouts in Intervals.icu is far easier than in Garmin Connect because it allows them to be written with plain text. The workouts automatically sync to my watch on the specific day that it is scheduled.

As well as planning I use intervals.icu to monitor my training load and volume. I track many metrics that I will mention further on in this article. Intervals.icu shows a fitness chart similar to training peaks but also allows for the creation of custom graphs. There is so much customisation available for the graphs. I used to use a spreadsheet to track certain items but Intervals.icu has now taken it’s place. I plan on writing a full blog post on how I use intervals.icu. It is an amazing tool and I highly recommend checking it out.

Google Sheets

I first made a spreadsheet to track my running after a visit to the Podiatrist who told me I had made a “Training Error”. He suggested I make a spreadsheet and track a metric called Acute Chronic Workload Ratio. This resulted in a lot of manual data entry that began with only a few numbers and ended up with far too much information being typed into a spreadsheet. When I discovered Intervals.icu I eventually neglected the spreadsheet since all of the metrics were available on there without the manual data entry.

I use an Annual Training Plan spreadsheet for long term planning. It has a main page where I work out training blocks with planned events entered into it. I determine roughly the load and focus for each week. Then I have another tab in the spreadsheet for weekly planning. In here I lay out the workouts for the week till I reach my desired training volume and focus. This spreadsheet is a growing document and is a work in progress. Eventually I hope to share a template on the blog so watch this space.

I also use spreadsheets to create race plans, calculate sweat rate and track my nutrition. I have already made many posts about these use cases that you can read on the blog.

HRV4Training

HRV4Training is a mobile app focused on Heart Rate Variability (HRV) for athletes. It uses your phone’s camera or compatible wearables to measure HRV, a marker of stress and recovery. The app analyses this data to help you understand how your body is responding to training, sleep, and other lifestyle factors.

I’ve recently started using HRV4Training to provide some insight into how my body is adapting to training and other life stressors. I take a 1 minute reading first thing in the morning after going to the toilet. The app also asks for input about sleep quality, training, muscle soreness and other qualitative factors. After using the app for a few days it generates a baseline HRV measurement and highlights if you are above or below the typical zone.

What I like about this app is that it goes beyond the numerical data and incorporates qualitative information into the training recommendations. If my HRV is within the typical zone but I slept badly and am extremely sore it will recommend taking it easy for the day.

As a general rule higher HRV and a lower resting HR means things are going well. But it’s more important to monitor the averages of both and note if you are straying far from the average and adjust training accordingly. I am still new to using this app but I am finding it interesting to reflect on how I feel at the beginning of each day. I think that dynamic training is the future and blindly following a plan regardless of how you feel is dangerous and foolish.

Others I use for fun

• Smash run
  • This website provides cool data visualisation for your running data
  • It incentivises running by giving badges and encouragement based on your run details
  • This is a run one to play around with, I only use it for an extra way of looking at the long term data
• Elevate for Strava
  • This is a chrome addon that provides many extra metrics and data visualisation for Strava
  • It provides and fitness graph using the same metrics as training peaks and a yearly progression
  • I used to look to the fitness graph to monitor progress before using Interval.icu
  • The yearly progression chart is interesting to see how you compare to the previous years running volume

Key Training Metrics

Training Volume

I measure my training volume in hours. I have used distance in the past but have settled on time being more suitable for trail runners. Measuring volume by distance can confound the data because 5km on flat vs 5km with 1000m vertical are two extremely different beasts. All the body knows is that you spent 1 hour running, your physiology cannot tell how far it went in that time. The main driver for adaption is the amount of time you spend at a certain intensity.

Time is a good metric for weekly planning. You know exactly how long each workout is going to take and can plan your life around it. I roughly follow the 10% rule, and try to keep increases in volume to less than or equal to 10% of my previous weeks volume. Sometimes I bend this rule a bit and apply the 10% to the average of the past 4 weeks and I will also exceed it if it’s just a once off big week. I have a decent idea of what my body is capable of and try to stay within my capability. I use invervals.icu to track training volume and have a custom graph to display it.

Acute / Chronic Workload Ratio (ACWR)

Acute chronic workload ratio (ACWR) is a metric that can be used to minimise the risk of injury by aiming to stay within a safe zone. This was first suggested to me by my Podiatrist many years ago. Every since I started paying attention to this metric I haven’t had a serious injury.

ACWR compares an athlete’s recent training load (acute workload) to their average training load over a longer period (chronic workload). In simple terms, it’s a way to see if an athlete is suddenly doing much more activity than they’re used to, which can increase their risk of getting hurt.

Here’s a formula for calculating ACWR:

ACWR = Acute Workload / Chronic Workload

• Acute workload: This is typically the training load for the last week.
• Chronic workload: This is usually the average training load over the past 4 to 6 weeks.

A ratio between 0.8 and 1.3 is generally considered a safe zone.

• A ratio lower than 0.8 suggests the athlete might not be challenged enough, and could be at risk of injury if they suddenly increase their workload.
• A ratio greater than 1.3 indicates a high acute workload compared to chronic workload, which can significantly increase injury risk.

This metric can be calculated using time, intensity, distance, elevation, training load etc. An increase in volume or intensity or both can push you into the danger zone. I use Intervals.icu to graph my ACWR and ensure I stay in the safe zone.

Performance Management Chart

The Performance Management Chart (PMC) tracks three key metrics that impact your performance:

• Fitness (CTL): This reflects your Chronic Training Load. It’s a value calculated based on the duration and intensity of your workouts over the past 42 days (roughly 3 months), giving weight to more recent workouts. Essentially, it shows your overall training fitness level.
• Fatigue (ATL): This reflects your Acute Training Load. It’s a 7-day average of your Training Stress Score (TSS), which considers both intensity and duration of each workout. Fatigue shows how your body is responding to your recent training demands.
• Form: This is a dynamic value calculated by subtracting your fatigue from your fitness. It reflects your current readiness to perform, taking into account both your built-up fitness and any accumulated fatigue.

The PMC graph visually shows these three metrics over time. You’ll typically see them plotted as lines on the same graph.

Here’s a breakdown of what the fitness graph (CTL) on the PMC tells you:

• Upward Trend: This indicates your fitness is improving as a result of your training.
• Flat Trend: This suggests you’re maintaining your current fitness level.
• Downward Trend: This could indicate a period of reduced training volume or intensity, illness, or insufficient recovery.

Intervals.icu generates a PMC. I aim to get my form into the green zone when trying to build fitness and pay attention to staying out of the red zone. It’s a good idea not get too caught up on this graph. It can be demoralising to see it trending downwards but it is impossible for it to always be trending up. At the end of the day consistency is key with gradual progression and this can be a helpful way of visualising the progression.

Qualitative Data

This is a training journal that is an account of how I felt during a run and things that worked and didn’t work. This stuff cannot be recorded by the Garmin. I think that keeping a training log is more important than recording the numbers. It documents the journey and is an incredibly helpful resource to look back upon.

It also helps to reflect and better know oneself since we are all different and things that work for you won’t work for everyone. You must perform experiments on yourself and this is a place to document the findings. I use a notetaking app called Obsidian and I add notes about each run in the Daily Note under a heading for the daily training log. With this app I can link notes together so I can pool each daily note into a weekly note to see my whole weeks training in one place.

Summing Up

I’ve covered a lot of ground in the post so I’ve summed up the trail running training tools and their purposes below in a list. I think the important takeaway is to look back at what you’ve been doing and how you are feeling to determine your plan for training going forwards. It is important to record how you felt and performed so you can reflect and look back on the journey. I hope you found this helpful and I hope it can help you keep running strong while avoiding injury.

• Physical Devices:
  • GPS watch (Garmin Forerunner 945) for recording distance, pace, heart rate, and more.
  • Heart rate monitor (Garmin HRM Pro) for accurate heart rate data and running dynamics.
• Software and Apps:
  • Garmin Connect: stores and displays activity and biometric data.
  • Strava: social network for sharing runs and tracking activities.
  • Intervals.icu: in-depth analysis of training data, planning workouts, and tracking metrics.
  • Google Sheets: long-term and weekly training plans, race plans (pacing, nutrition, hydration).
  • HRV4Training: tracks Heart Rate Variability (HRV) to understand recovery and training adaptation.
• Key Training Metrics:
  • Training Volume (measured in hours): ensures fitness gains and minimises injury risk.
  • Acute Chronic Workload Ratio (ACWR): helps manage training load to reduce injury risk.
  • Performance Management Chart (PMC): tracks fitness (CTL), fatigue (ATL), and form to optimise performance for events (using Intervals.icu).
• Qualitative Data:
  • Training log (using Obsidian app): records how you felt during training and reflections.

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