Marathon Coach · Train Smarter
Training Load in Plain Language (From Someone Who Overcooked a Block)
A runner-friendly explanation of training load spikes, acute vs chronic stress, and how to respond without panic or spreadsheet theater.
Load is just stress with a memory
Think of training load as “how hard recent running has been” compared with “what you’ve been handling lately.” When the recent chapter is much louder than the book so far, risk climbs — not always injury tomorrow, but often heavier legs and flatter paces.
I learned this by stacking a race, a long run PR, and “just one more” tempo into ten days. My log looked brave. My next month looked empty.
What researchers keep pointing at
Workload-spike research in team and endurance sports (including the acute:chronic workload conversation associated with Gabbett and many follow-ups) is debated in the details — ratios aren’t magic — but the practical consensus is sturdy: rapid increases in training stress deserve respect.
You can use apps, TSS-style scores, or a simple journal. The point is noticing the spike before you schedule another hammer session.
How I respond now
Spike + poor sleep + easy runs feeling hard = I delay quality. Spike alone after a planned peak week = I keep easy days easy and trust the cutback. I don’t try to out-train a hole I dug with enthusiasm.
Respond, don’t obsess. One noisy day is weather. Three noisy weeks is climate.