Base growth, recovery valleys, and long-run shareLive current inputs
Health & Fitness
Running Training Progress Plan Calculator
Create a periodized running progression from current weekly distance to a goal while controlling normal-week growth, planned recovery weeks, long-run concentration, and the number of running days.
Final planned distance —
Final gap to goal —
Peak planned week —
Total distance across plan —
Final long-run allocation —
Final average per run day —
Recovery weeks —
Ramp feasibility —
Periodized mileage staircase
Base growth, recovery valleys, and long-run share
The main stair shows weekly distance, recovery weeks form deliberate valleys, and a secondary layer keeps long-run concentration visible.
Progression schedule
Weekly distance, long run, remaining distance, and recovery role
The schedule distinguishes the unreduced base from actual recovery-week distance so the progression can be audited.
| Week | Base distance | Planned distance | Long run | Other running | Vs prior week | Role |
|---|
Progress-plan setup
Make the goal conditional on adaptation
- Start from mileage maintained without escalating pain or recovery problems.
- Choose a horizon that allows the cap to reach the goal.
- Place recovery weeks around known stressors or races.
- Treat the long-run share as a ceiling, not a quota.
- Revise future weeks when completed training does not match the assumed response.
Why preserve the base
A recovery week reduces exposure without resetting the entire plan
If the next week grew from the reduced recovery mileage, the program would repeatedly re-climb the same level. The unreduced base preserves the intended progression while keeping the actual reduction honest.
The feasibility output does not push the plan past the cap. It reports a remaining gap when the requested goal and horizon conflict.
Capped periodization method
Move toward the goal without exceeding the selected normal-week ramp
An even target path is calculated first. Each normal week is capped against the previous unreduced base; recovery weeks reduce actual distance while preserving that base for the following week.
Detailed calculation process and general formulas
Desired_w = Start + (Goal - Start) × (w - 1) / (W - 1)Base_w = min(Desired_w, Base_{w-1} × (1 + gmax))Planned_w = Base_w × (1 - c) on recovery weeksLong run_w = Planned_w × long-run shareOther running_w = Planned_w - Long run_wSymbols, meanings, and units
- Desired
- even interpolation toward the goalkm/week
- Base
- unreduced progression levelkm/week
- gmax
- normal-week growth capdecimal/week
- c
- recovery-week reductiondecimal
- W, w
- plan length and current weekweeks
Plan checkpoints
Evidence that supports advancing the stair
The next increase depends on response to the completed week, not merely on the calendar.
Pain and function
New or escalating pain changes the plan before the mileage equation does.
Recovery
Sleep, soreness, energy, and easy-run response should support the next step.
Concentration
—The long run should not quietly absorb most of the weekly increase.
Goal fit
—A remaining gap means the horizon or cap must change.
Decision takeaway: Do not force the goal by violating the growth cap; change the timeline or goal instead.
Applied decisions
How the plan behaves under different constraints
Reachable twelve-week build
The goal fits inside the selected ramp cap with three planned recovery weeks.
What the result clarifies: The staircase reaches the target without hiding the recovery valleys.
Aggressive short horizon
The goal demands more growth than the cap allows.
What the result clarifies: The final gap stays visible rather than being erased by an unsafe mathematical jump.
Worked default scenario
Current-input substitution and reconciliation
Method references
Evidence used to frame this specific model
Scope and limitations
This is a planning model, not an injury-prevention guarantee. Fixed growth limits are not universal safety rules. Pain, prior injury, illness, terrain, intensity, footwear, strength training, recovery, and professional guidance can justify a slower or paused progression.
Running Training Progress Plan Calculator | Periodized Mileage Build FAQ
Why can the final week miss the goal?
The calculator honors the selected growth cap and reports the conflict instead of forcing an oversized increase.
Does the long-run percentage need to stay constant?
No. It is a planning simplification and can be adjusted as the program changes.
Why include total plan distance?
It exposes the cumulative volume behind a progression, not just the final week.
Should recovery weeks always occur every four weeks?
No. Frequency should reflect training history, event timing, and observed recovery.