Reading a plan week: what each session says, and why it exists

The anatomy of a session

A short name, such as "W3 · Threshold 3 × 8 min", indicating the plan week and the session type. A structure in steps: warm-up, effort blocks, recoveries, cool-down. For each step, a duration or distance and a target.

The "why" is one sentence: what the session is for in the progression and what sensation to expect. It is what the coach reads to you before pushing the week, and it is the part to remember.

Targets: percent, pace, heart rate

The plan expresses targets in percent of VMA for quality sessions and in percent of max HR for easy runs and long runs. When sending the session to the watch, the coach converts to actual pace from your VMA read on Garmin: 90% of a 15 km/h VMA becomes 4:27 per kilometre.

If the VMA is unknown or too old, the coach says so and refuses to send a session at an invented pace. It is an absolute rule, not an option.

Asking for a change

You can move a session to another day, shorten it, or swap it with another from the same week: the coach does it on the watch and notes it. What it does not do: add a quality session or extend the long run beyond the 15% rule.

• — Name, steps, targets, "why".
• — Targets converted from your actual VMA.
• — Move or shorten: yes. Add quality: no.

A week pushed to the watch stays editable: each session is a Garmin calendar entry the coach can move or delete on request.

Frequently asked questions