The V2.1 updates to this plan do not reflect a change in the training philosophy or methodology. We have added copious notes as well as more detailed explanations of workouts. These changes will help you self administer this plan and educate you on critical training principles along the way.

Notes.

Are you targeting mountain running race or event with major elevation gain and loss? Are you considering running one of the famous multi-day routes in the Alps? Do you have a good mountain running background? Can you handle routine 40 to 60 miles (65-100km) weeks? Are you mainly challenged by the daunting elevations demands of these runs and wonder how you'll even get your legs to handle that much vertical? Or do you live and train in a place that does not have easy access to mountains? Maybe you hit the mountains running, so to speak, after a snowy winter that limited your training options. If so, then continue reading. This is a plan designed to help you prepare for runs that contain a large (for you) amount of elevation gain and loss.

We have made this plan customizable to fit the needs of as many different runners and events as possible. The weekly volume (distance, time and vertical) totals shown in the plan summary do not show the actual progression you will make. You will determine the starting weekly distance and vertical gain/loss based on the event you are training for. Weekly distance and vertical will start at about 50% of that event's largest single day's total and then progress to about 100% of that figure for longer events and more than 100% for shorter events.

While we have done our best to make this plan customizable to fit a wide range of event lengths and included vertical it is not possible to accommodate every possibility. In cases where distance and vertical gain/loss do not fit your event please substitute hours as the way to calculate training volume.

The progression of the program will help those who need to develop running specific muscular endurance and boost their fatigue resistance. This will allow them to handle both the uphill work and the downhill pounding of the Big Vert. The key difference in this plan vs most other running plans is the inclusion of a special gym based circuit style strength workout to build the key muscular endurance. This workout is used 1x/week in a progressively more difficult from for the first 9 weeks (extendable up to 13 weeks) before moving to more traditional long uphill interval workouts for the next 8 weeks. Specific leg power is built using our famous hill sprint workout progressing through the first 10 weeks before transitioning into short uphill intervals for the development of anaerobic endurance during the remaining weeks.

For detailed information and to understand how this plan is constructed, please consult our book, “Training for the Uphill Athlete” published by Patagonia Books. Here’s useful beta about how to purchase and start your new plan and why we use TrainingPeaks. https://uphillathlete.com/how-to-purchase-and-apply-an-uphill-athlete-training-plan/

For specific questions about this training plan, or to send us your success story email us at coach@uphillathlete.com.

Thanks for becoming an #uphillathlete

Steve House