Trail Running Transition
Designed for athletes who already have a strong aerobic base from winter endurance sports—such as backcountry skiing or splitboarding—and want to transition safely into trail running.
Training Plan Overview
Meet Your Coach
Plan Description
While many mountain athletes finish winter with excellent cardiovascular fitness, the impact demands of running require a thoughtful transition. This plan focuses on gradually introducing running volume while allowing your muscles, tendons, and connective tissue to adapt to the repetitive loading unique to running.
Sample Week
- Rest Day
- Tissue Readiness: Isometric Knee Calf Raise, Isometric Bent Knee Calf Raise, and Split Squat Isometric Hold
- Warm Up: Ankle Circles, Hip Leg Swings, Torsa Rotations, Mini Calf Raises, Standing Hip Hinge, Marching High Knees, Brisk Walk
- 35-45 minutes easy on flatter or rolling terrain at a RPE of 3-4. The terrain can be road/trail/whatever works best for you, but we do want to avoid anything especially steep or technical.
- Warm Up: Ankle Circles, Hip Leg Swings, Torsa Rotations, Mini Calf Raises, Standing Hip Hinge, Marching High Knees, Brisk Walk
- 15-20 minutes warmup (RPE 2-4). Near the end, allow yourself to progress in effort for 3-4 minutes up to RPE 6.
- 15x1 min moderate -> mod/hard, 1 min easy inb/w intervals.
- Remainder of the time easy/cool down!
- Warm Up: Ankle Circles, Hip Leg Swings, Torsa Rotations, Mini Calf Raises, Standing Hip Hinge, Marching High Knees, Brisk Walk
- 30-40 minutes easy on flatter or rolling terrain at a RPE of 3-4.
- Tissue Readiness: Isometric Knee Calf Raise, Isometric Bent Knee Calf Raise, and Split Squat Isometric Hold
- 30-60 min easy x-train or rest. Duration can be longer than what is assigned as well but keep an emphasis on keeping the legs feeling good on runs and avoid unnecessary levels of accumulating fatigue!
- Warm Up: Ankle Circles, Hip Leg Swings, Torsa Rotations, Mini Calf Raises, Standing Hip Hinge, Marching High Knees, Brisk Walk
- 60-90 minutes easy! RPE 3-4. Today can include both longer duration and/or more climbing/descending.
- Warm Up: Ankle Circles, Hip Leg Swings, Torsa Rotations, Mini Calf Raises, Standing Hip Hinge, Marching High Knees, Brisk Walk
- 45-60 minutes easy! RPE 3-4. Additionally, today can certainly be an unstructured low impact adventure (bike/ski/etc...)
Get Started with
Trail Running Transition
Frequently Asked Questions
All of our training plans are hosted through the platform TrainingPeaks. Upon purchasing one of our plans, you’ll create an account with TrainingPeaks and access the plan via desktop or mobile app.
With our training plans, you get access for life. This means that you can use the training plan for as many cycles as you wish, year after year.
This varies between plans but it is often recommended that you have access to a gym.
Of course! Plenty of our athletes live nowhere near mountains. We make a point of giving a variety of training options in each of our plans.
