Weekly Session Templates: Drills + Mobility Integration

Source of truth for how drills and mobility are distributed across the training week, how they coexist in the daily session flow, and how gait group classification shapes each session.

1. Daily Session Architecture

A complete training day has a defined order. Not every element is present every day — what's included depends on run type, gait group, and posture bucket.

Full session sequence (when all elements present)

Pre-run mobility  →  Pre-run drills (3 drills + bridge jog)  →  RUN  →  Post-run strides  →  Post-run mobility
     (5-6 min)        (8-12 min, incl 2-min bridge jog)                    (5-10 min)          (8-12 min)
    standing only    motor learning → bridge to running               strides only         can use floor

Why this order:

• Mobility first — opens joint ranges (hip flexor length, ankle dorsiflexion) that drills will then pattern
• Drills second — activates neuromuscular patterns IN the ranges just opened. Fresh nervous system = quality motor learning. Every pre-run drill session is 3 technical drills followed by a 2-minute bridge jog that carries the drill pattern into running movement
• Bridge jog → Run — the bridge jog (exercise #4 in every pre-run drill routine) flows directly into the run. The runner is already jogging when the drill session ends. They mark the drill session complete, open the run card, and continue. The gap is minimal because they're already moving
• Post-run strides — consolidates form while still warm. Short accelerations that reinforce pre-run drill patterns
• Post-run mobility last — decompresses after load. Can be done immediately or hours later (the app treats this as a separate completable item)

UX: No break before bridge jog. The app inserts a standard 5-second rest between drill exercises, but must NOT insert this rest between drill #3 and the bridge jog (exercise #4). The transition from the last technical drill into the bridge jog must be seamless — continuous movement is the whole point.

Run-type session maps

* Pre/post mobility on easy runs only for locked_up, tension_holder buckets, or active pain flags † Post-run strides on easy runs only for runners with the Fader flag

Sprint rule: Sprints are neuromuscular work. The sprint session itself IS the drill work — adding a separate drill slot is redundant and adds unnecessary fatigue. Sprints get mobility only.

2. Weekly Drill Distribution

The algorithm: which days get drills

Inputs:

• Weekly running schedule (run types + days)
• Training phase (base, build, peak, taper)
• Number of easy runs in the week
• Day of the long run

Two categories of drill session:

A. Post-long-run strides (mandatory, 1 per week)

Every week with a long run gets post-run strides. This is the highest-priority drill slot and never gets trimmed.

Why it's mandatory: The long run creates the highest fatigue state of the week. Post-run strides teach the runner to reset form under fatigue — the most race-specific skill in marathon training. This is where the Fader flag matters most: runners who fade need practice finding their form when tired.

Coaching note (shown in app): "These short strides after your long run aren't about speed — they're about teaching your body to find good form when it's tired. This is exactly what you'll need in the last 10km of your marathon."

B. Pre-easy-run drills (1-2 per week, variable by phase)

Easy runs are the best vehicle for drill work: the runner is fresh, the subsequent run is low-intensity so the nervous system can focus on the new motor patterns, and there's no performance target to compete with.

Selection algorithm:

1. List all easy runs in the week (exclude recovery runs)
2. Sort by day of week (Monday = 1 ... Sunday = 7)
3. Exclude any easy run the day before the long run — keep the pre-long-run day clean
4. Exclude any easy run the day before a quality session (threshold, intervals) — same reasoning
5. Take the first N eligible runs (N = drill budget for this phase, see table below)

Phase-based drill budget:

How to decide 1 vs 2 pre-easy drills (build/peak):

• If the runner has ≥ 3 easy runs → 2 pre-easy drill sessions
• If the runner has 2 easy runs → 1 pre-easy drill session
• If the runner has 1 easy run → 1 pre-easy drill session
• If the runner has 0 easy runs → 0 (only the post-LR strides)

Early-week clustering: By sorting eligible days ascending and taking the first N, drills naturally cluster toward Monday–Wednesday. This keeps the training load front-loaded: the runner does their neuromuscular learning work early in the week, then has drill-free days before the long run (typically Saturday or Sunday). The week's rhythm becomes: learn → practice → consolidate → long effort.

What about quality runs?

Quality runs (threshold, intervals) do NOT get separate drill slots. The warmup protocol for quality sessions already includes progressive intensity and strides. Adding a full drill session before a tempo or interval effort:

• Adds fatigue before the runner needs to hit target paces
• Competes with the warmup for time and neural readiness
• Provides less motor learning benefit (the runner is focused on the workout, not the drills)

Quality runs do get pre-run and post-run mobility — that's separate from drills and lower-fatigue.

3. Gait Group Session Templates

The gait group determines WHAT drills appear in each slot. The weekly distribution (above) determines WHERE those slots land.

Pre-Run Drill Sessions (Easy Run Days)

Each gait group has a primary drill routine that addresses its dominant issue and a secondary routine for variety when 2 pre-run sessions are scheduled in a week.

With two sessions per week: Day 1 gets the primary routine, Day 2 gets the secondary. The anti-repeat penalty (-20 in scoring) enforces this automatically — you'll never see the same routine twice in one week.

The Fader modifier doesn't change pre-run routine selection. The primary gait group drives what drills to do. What the Fader flag changes is the coaching cue embedded in the drill: pre-run drills become an explicit form reference ("this is the pattern I'm maintaining today") rather than just a warm-up.

Post-Long-Run Strides

All gait groups get post-run strides after the long run. The routine varies by gait group because the stride focus differs:

Fader modifier on post-LR strides: When the Fader flag is set, post-long-run strides become the most important drill session of the week. The coaching note shifts from "consolidate your form" to "practice FINDING your form when tired." The group-specific cue (above) becomes the reset mantra.

Post-Easy-Run Strides (Fader Only)

Runners WITHOUT the Fader flag don't do strides after easy runs — the easy run is just an easy run.

Runners WITH the Fader flag get 4–6 short strides at the end of easy runs (on drill days only, to limit total load). These are form-reset strides, not speed strides:

Why drill days only: Adding post-easy strides to every easy run becomes tedious and risks the runner skipping them. Anchoring strides to the same days as pre-run drills creates a natural bookend — prime the pattern before, test the pattern after. The runner does 2–3 days of deliberate form work per week rather than spreading thin across 5.

4. Mobility Integration

Mobility and drills are complementary but independent systems with different owning agents (Body Agent for mobility, Running Agent for drills). Here's how they coexist:

Pre-run: mobility opens, drills activate

When both pre-run mobility AND pre-run drills are present on the same day:

1. Mobility runs first — opens ROM (hip flexor stretch, ankle circles, leg swings)
2. Drills run second — patterns movement IN the opened ranges (A-skip uses the hip extension just mobilised)
3. Run follows — applies the primed patterns at running speed

This is the physiological sequence: tissue preparation → neuromuscular activation → application. Reversing it (drills before mobility) means patterning movement in restricted ranges.

Post-run: strides consolidate, mobility decompresses

When both post-run strides AND post-run mobility are present:

1. Strides run first — form consolidation while the muscles are still warm and responsive
2. Mobility runs second — decompression and recovery. Can be done immediately or hours later

The app treats post-run mobility as a separate completable item precisely because the timing is flexible. Post-run strides should happen immediately (within a few minutes of finishing the run) while the runner is still warm.

When do both mobility and drills appear?

† Only with Fader flag

Key insight: The busiest training day is an easy drill day for a locked_up + Fader runner: pre-mobility → pre-drills → easy run → post-strides → post-mobility. Even then, total supporting work is ~25–30 minutes around a run. Most runners will have simpler days.

5. Phase Progression

How the weekly template evolves across the training plan:

Base phase (weeks 1–8 typically)

Focus: Establish drill habits, build coordination foundation

• 2 drill sessions per week (1 post-LR + 1 pre-easy)
• Primary routines only (no secondary rotation yet)
• Post-LR strides are short and technique-focused (4–6 × 80m at 70–80%)
• Coaching emphasis: "learn the movement pattern"

Build phase (weeks 9–16 typically)

Focus: Deepen motor patterns, add variety

• 2–3 drill sessions per week (1 post-LR + 1–2 pre-easy)
• Secondary routines introduced (when 2 pre-easy sessions scheduled)
• Post-LR strides can increase slightly (6 × 80m at 75–85%)
• Secondary routines (bouncer-cadence, wobbler-hip-control, natural-elastic) become available
• Coaching emphasis: "connect drill patterns to running"

Peak phase (weeks 17–20 typically)

Focus: Maintain form under increasing intensity

• 2–3 drill sessions per week (same as build)
• Same variety as build; don't introduce new drill types
• Post-LR strides maintain but don't increase
• Coaching emphasis: "hold your form when it matters most"

Taper phase (final 2–3 weeks)

Focus: Reduce volume, maintain neural activation

• 1–2 drill sessions per week (1 post-LR + 0–1 pre-easy)
• Pre-easy drills only if the runner has 2+ easy runs
• Post-LR strides reduce (4 × 60m at 70–80%)
• Coaching emphasis: "stay sharp, stay light"

6. Day-Before-Long-Run Protection

Rule: No drill sessions the day before the long run.

This is a hard constraint in the selection algorithm, not a soft preference. The reasoning:

1. Pre-run drills add neuromuscular fatigue — not much, but enough to affect a 20+ km effort the next day
2. The long run demands the runner's best — both physically (endurance) and mentally (pacing discipline). Arriving with even mild drill-fatigue undermines this.
3. The day before the long run should feel easy — if it's an easy run day, it should be JUST an easy run. If it's a rest day, it stays a rest day.

Extension: Also avoid drills the day before quality sessions (threshold, intervals) for the same reason — arrive fresh for efforts that demand hitting target paces.

What IS allowed the day before the long run:

• A plain easy run (no drills, no strides)
• Pre-run mobility (if posture bucket warrants it — mobility is low-fatigue)
• Rest

7. Example Weeks by Gait Group

Example: The Stomper, build phase, 4 runs/week

Mon: Rest
Tue: stomper-cadence drills → Easy run (5km)
Wed: Rest
Thu: Mobility → Threshold run (8km) → Mobility
Fri: Easy run (5km) — no drills (day before long run)
Sat: Mobility → Long run (18km) → stomper-strides → Mobility
Sun: Rest

Drill sessions: Tue (pre-easy) + Sat (post-LR) = 2 total

Example: The Shuffler + Fader, build phase, 5 runs/week

Mon: shuffler-hip-drive drills → Easy run (6km) → form-reset strides
Tue: Recovery run
Wed: shuffler-coordination drills → Easy run (6km) → form-reset strides
Thu: Mobility → Intervals (10km) → Mobility
Fri: Easy run (5km) — no drills (day before long run)
Sat: Mobility → Long run (20km) → shuffler-strides → Mobility
Sun: Rest

Drill sessions: Mon (pre-easy) + Wed (pre-easy) + Sat (post-LR) = 3 total

Example: The Natural, base phase, 3 runs/week

Mon: Rest
Tue: natural-coordination drills → Easy run (5km)
Wed: Rest
Thu: Rest
Fri: Rest
Sat: Mobility → Long run (14km) → natural-strides → Mobility
Sun: Rest

Drill sessions: Tue (pre-easy) + Sat (post-LR) = 2 total

Example: The Wobbler (locked_up bucket), peak phase, 5 runs/week

Mon: Mobility → wobbler-stability drills → Easy run (6km) → Mobility
Tue: Mobility → Threshold run (10km) → Mobility
Wed: wobbler-hip-control drills → Easy run (6km)
Thu: Rest
Fri: Easy run (5km) — no drills (day before long run)
Sat: Mobility → Long run (22km) → wobbler-strides → Mobility
Sun: Rest

Drill sessions: Mon (pre-easy) + Wed (pre-easy) + Sat (post-LR) = 3 total

8. Implementation Notes

Sequence order assignment

When both mobility and drills land on the same day, the insertion order matters:

Pre-run mobility:  sequence_order = running.sequence_order - 2
Pre-run drills:    sequence_order = running.sequence_order - 1
Running:           sequence_order (as assigned by running agent)
Post-run strides:  sequence_order = running.sequence_order + 1
Post-run mobility: sequence_order = running.sequence_order + 2

Both agents (Body Agent for mobility, Running Agent for drills) must coordinate on sequence ordering to maintain the correct daily flow. The current system appends to max — this should be updated to use offset-from-run positioning.

iOS display logic

The iOS app uses context + sequence_order to arrange the daily view:

• Items before the run (lower sequence_order) display above
• Items after the run (higher sequence_order) display below
• Post-run mobility shows as a separate completable card (can be done hours later)

Coaching notes in the app

Each drill session should include a brief coaching note explaining WHY this specific work matters for the runner's gait group: