Running Browser

Running Browser · Models and assumptions

Read training load across several days

One demanding workout and several demanding weeks are different things. Running Browser separates the effort assigned to a session from the training stress carried across days.

Start with the session

The effort model uses pace relative to threshold fitness, session structure and conditions. Distance then matters when the app combines sessions into training stress.

This lets a week contain different kinds of work rather than treating every kilometre as identical. It also means the result depends on the quality of the recorded sessions and the threshold pace in use.

Stress has a memory

Previous training contributes with a decay over time. The score responds to both recent work and the weeks behind it; a rest day does not erase the preceding block.

Planned sessions can show where the current plan would take that score. Keep projected work separate from what you have actually completed when reviewing the trend.

A planning aid with limits

The score does not measure injury risk, diagnose fatigue or replace your own observations. Strength work, sleep, illness and life outside running can affect how ready you feel in ways a running log cannot fully express.

Use changes in load to ask questions about the plan. Read the stress chapter for the exact formula, examples and interpretation, and keep notes alongside the numbers.

Background reading

These references are also cited in the full science book. They provide background, not independent validation of the app’s estimates.

  • Banister, E.W. (1991). Modeling elite athletic performance. Physiological Testing of Elite Athletes. Reference 1 in the book
  • Foster, C. et al. (2001). A new approach to monitoring exercise training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. Reference 2 in the book

Keep the plan and the run together

Use the free training log and planner. Create an account to save your running across devices, then connect Strava from Settings → Integrations.

Create a free account Try the training planner