What does "build-up" mean on my running build-up?

In short

• Running build-up has four readings, and all four come from one measurement: what you ran in the last seven days, next to what you carried on average over the past four weeks.
• That band is not a norm but your own base: the sum of your running kilometres over the last twenty-eight days, divided by four.
• Build-up says exactly one thing: over the last seven days you have carried more than you are used to.
• From that point on, your planned running week does not grow faster than your legs are used to.

1.The four readings

Running build-up has four readings, and all four come from one measurement: what you ran in the last seven days, next to what you carried on average over the past four weeks. That goes in kilometres and in minutes on your feet, because for your tendons it is how often you land that counts.

To the left of the blue band it says "helping": you run less than you carry. Inside the band it is "neutral". To the right of it "build-up" begins. Beyond the point where your plan steps in, it says "holding you back".

2.What the blue band is

That band is not a norm but your own base: the sum of your running kilometres over the last twenty-eight days, divided by four. One exceptionally long run counts towards it only up to a limit, so it cannot lift your base on its own, and walking sits separately.

Around that base the band runs from ninety to a hundred and ten percent. Inside it your week looks like the weeks before it.

3.Why "build-up" is not a warning

Build-up says exactly one thing: over the last seven days you have carried more than you are used to. That is how you move forward, because growth happens above your own base. So your plan does not hold you back on this reading, and the chip carries the blue of information rather than the tint of caution.

You see that in what does not happen. Your session keeps its shape, the heaviest run of your week keeps its length, and no note says anything was shortened.

4.When it turns into "holding you back"

Above your band there is a point where the step becomes too big for tendons and joints. Where that point sits comes from research into running injuries, and it deliberately appears nowhere on your screen as a number. If you reported a complaint while running in the past two weeks, the app looks more strictly.

From that point on, your planned running week does not grow faster than your legs are used to. The heaviest run is shortened to the level of your other runs, and today’s run is the plain endurance run, without a brisk finish or strides.

Frequently asked questions

In the app

Further reading

Trimetra puts your running week next to your own base and attaches one word to it, so you see whether you stay inside your habit or build above it.