Rated Perceived Effort

Also called RPE or Relative Perceived Effort

This method may seem the simplest… we use it a lot. Our athletes are pretty fast, have run a lot of miles and races, and are pretty in tune with their body. As a coach, I don’t like to micromanage specific paces. Our goal is to build the athlete’s decision-making ability during workouts and races. In races, the athlete is alone and must be able to adjust to tactics, pain, and problems. We want very reputable training programs at CTC, but more, we want athletes who are willing to go for it in a race when crap hits the fan. This article by 4-time Olympian and medalist, Lorraine Moller, points to what I am talking about.

Basically, RPE is the language that a coach and athlete use to describe the effort we are aiming for in a practice session. A true RPE is a scale, from 0-10. Zero being a day off and 10 being like racing a PR in the 800 meters where your muscles seize up at the finish and you are carted off into the medical tent (my definition).

For us, it is important that 0-5 RPE days are kept in those zones.

At CTC, we use the following terms as custom substitutes on our 01-10 RPE scale. We also use emojis:)

0 = Day off, peace, get away from the sport mentally

1 = Recovery run / jog. Be happy. No stress on this run or just do Drills

2 = Easy Runs: SHORT recovery runs, easy talking pace. No stress today.

3 = Easy Runs: Runs at easy talking pace, low stress - could be LONGER runs; Weekly Sprint Drill Session; Short & Sweet Hill Sessions;

4 = Good Work: Weekly Long Run #2 / Short, 15K-20K Regular Runs

5 = Solid Work: Weekly Quality Long Run: 24-25K, VO2 Easy Days, Easy / Low Volume Mile Pace Reps; Moderate Hill Sessions

6 = Very Solid Work: Tempo (Anaerobic Threshold) Session, need a recovery day tomorrow (about 46 per year). Weekly Quality Long Run: 26-28K

7 = Hard Practice: Quality VO2 session - moderate volume, Mile Pace work - medium volume, 36 hour recovery needed, 30K monthly fast run, etc… (about 30 per year).

8 = Hard Practice: nasty hill session, Extra Hard VO2 session,36-48 hour recovery needed, Mile Pace work - good volume, etc.. (about 12 times per year). 3K - 10K Time Trial - controlled effort (5 times per year).

9 = Very Hard Practice: 48-60 hour recovery (about 8 times per year). PR attempt at a 3000m or above (about 4 times per year).

10 = Super hard practice, VO2 FULL w/ Time Trial, 72+ hour recovery (about 3 times per year). An 800m / 1500m type race that is a PR attempt - not a tactical race (about 2 times per year).

You may also change these descriptions with specific athletes as well. Different people communicate with different terms.