Base, maintenance & recovery plans
Most of a running year is not race prep: it is the space between goals, and that is where consistency is won or lost. HP3 base, maintenance and recovery plans keep you moving well there: repeatable base blocks, conditioning that fixes weak links, and structured post-race recovery that protects the fitness you just built. Written by the physio-led HP3 coaching team; delivered through TrainingPeaks.
Choose your block
Base Blocks
Repeatable foundations between goalsUltra & Trail Base Block – 6 Weeks
The base block runners come back to: six repeatable weeks of aerobic base, hills and strength that hold you together between race builds.
Trail/Ultra Base – 12 Weeks
The longer runway: three months of structured base for trail and ultra runners building towards a race plan that starts later in the year.
Running Maintenance – Repeatable
No race on the calendar? The maintenance block that keeps you fit, healthy and ready to say yes when the next goal appears.
Base Conditioning: Return to Running – 8 Weeks
Not injured, just out of the habit? Eight graded weeks that rebuild running load after a long break, with bike cross-training carrying the fitness while your legs catch up.
Conditioning Blocks
8-week blocks that fix one weak link at a timeBase Conditioning: Speed – 8 Weeks
Eight weeks of strides, hills and tempo that put the pop back in your legs before the next long, slow race build begins.
Base Conditioning: Drills & Skills – 8 Weeks
Run mechanics, drills and movement skills, coached over eight weeks: the technique block most runners never make time for.
Return to Running
Pick the plan that matches where you are starting fromCross-Training Bridge – 4 or 6 Weeks
Told not to run yet? Heart-rate cross-training and strength that keep your fitness while you heal, ending with a readiness check that points you to the right plan. Choose 6 weeks for a longer break.
Return to Running After Injury – 6 Weeks
For a minor injury that has settled and you can already jog for 10 minutes pain-free. Continuous easy running from day one, 20 to 30 minutes, with heart-rate bike sessions and strength twice a week.
Return to Running After Injury – 9 Weeks
Pain-free in daily life but not running yet? Walk-run to 30 minutes of continuous easy running, with a start-check, a simple pain rule on every run, repeat weeks built in and strength twice a week.
Return to Running After Injury – 12 Weeks
Our gentlest return: for three months or more out, an injury that keeps coming back, or a cleared low-risk bone stress injury. Walk-run from one-minute jogs to 30 minutes, with bike and strength.
Return to Running After Pregnancy – 12 Weeks
From 12 weeks after the birth. Walk-run to 30 minutes of easy running, with a readiness check, a symptom check on every run, a daily pelvic floor routine and strength twice a week.
Ask a physio first
Still in pain, unsure which plan fits, or coming back from surgery or a hip, navicular or front-of-shin stress fracture? Start with an assessment from one of our physiotherapists.
Book online physiotherapy →Post-Race Recovery
Structured returns, not stopping deadPost-Ultra Recovery – 4 or 6 Weeks
A structured return that eases you back in after an ultra. Choose HR 4wk, HR 6wk, Power 4wk or Power 6wk.
Post-Marathon Recovery – 4 Weeks
A structured month that eases you back after the marathon instead of stopping dead or limping straight into the next block.
Pick the next goal
Once the recovery block is done, the full HP3 catalogue is ready when you are: road marathon, trail, ultra and gravel.