Running — Foundation Movement at Cardiovascular Load

The same fasted route as Walking and Rucking, run. Session 12 converted the protocol into near-continuous running. Session 13 tested heat durability. Session 14 restored economy. Session 15 deliberately changed the question—using repeated max-speed intervals and walking recovery in very humid conditions to add a distinct high-intensity stimulus.

The TrailGenic™ Running Longitudinal Dataset is the cardiovascular-scaling stage of the movement-based longevity and adaptation system. Same flat fasted route as Walking and Rucking. The variable that changes: cardiovascular demand.

Across fifteen fasted sessions, the run progressed from approximately 2.4 miles with meaningful walk relief to a matched 3.16–3.17-mile Foundation route and, in Session 12, a near-continuous run. Sessions 13 and 14 then separated heat durability from controlled-condition economy. Session 15 is a protocol fork rather than the next steady-state comparison: deliberate max-speed run intervals separated by walking recovery in very humid conditions.

The honest signals are HR drift, run ratio, pace, cadence, power, ground contact time, recovery readiness, and environmental context. Cardiac Efficiency Index is read only within the matched-distance block because it scales mechanically with distance and does not independently account for pace or duration.

Read alongside the Longevity Hub and interpreted through Ella and the TrailGenic™ Personal World Model.


The TrailGenic Progression Ladder

Running is stage three. Each stage is repeatable, fasted, and longitudinally tracked.


Headline Metrics

The current state of the Running dataset now has two clearly separated tracks. Sessions 12–14 remain the steady-state references for continuity, heat durability, and controlled-condition economy. Session 15 is the first deliberate interval-stimulus session and is interpreted with interval-appropriate signals rather than folded into the steady-state trend.

Latest Cardiac Efficiency
45.1
Not trend-comparable
Walking recovery lowered average HR; the value should not be ranked against continuous or near-continuous sessions.
Ending Stamina
75%
71% minimum
Capacity remained intact through repeated max-speed efforts; perceived effort was 3/5.
Latest Sweat Loss
548 ml
Very humid · no electrolytes
Humidity is recorded as a material environmental qualifier for the session.
VO2Max (Garmin)
45
Unchanged
The device estimate held while the session added a new anaerobic training signal.
TrailGenic™ Field Finding — Interval Stimulus Without Steady-State Regression
Very humid · max-speed intervals · 175 max HR · 3.0 aerobic TE · 1.2 anaerobic TE · 75% ending stamina · recovery ready

Session 15 intentionally alternated maximum-speed running with walking recovery. That protocol produced the strongest anaerobic training effect in the Running dataset at 1.2 while preserving a productive 3.0 aerobic effect and an exercise load of 75. Average HR was 144 bpm, max HR reached 175 bpm, and Zone 3/4+ accounted for 57% of the session.

The 4.5% HR drift, 125 spm average cadence, 172 W average power, 46.9% run ratio, and 12:53 full-session pace are shaped by both the recovery walks and very humid conditions. They should not be used to call regression or to rank Session 15 against the continuous-run and economy peaks. The comparable finding is that a deliberate high-intensity stimulus was absorbed with stamina ending at 75%, perceived effort at 3/5, VO2Max holding at 45, and recovery still ready.



HR Drift Trajectory — Efficiency Floor, Ceiling Test, Conversion, Heat Durability, Economy Rebound, Then Protocol Shift

HR drift remains the cleanest distance-honest cardiovascular stability signal within a matched protocol. It fell to a Session 7 floor, spiked during the Session 9 ceiling test, normalized in Sessions 10 and 11, rose modestly during the Session 12 continuous-run conversion, improved to 3.5% during the 93°F Session 13 re-entry, and held at 3.5% as Session 14 converted cooler conditions into greater output. Session 15 reached 4.5%, but the deliberate sprint/walk structure and very humid conditions move it outside the steady-state trend.

S1
7.0% Baseline
S2
5.5% Building
S3
4.7% Improving
S4
3.6% Breakthrough
S5
2.7% Control
S6
2.0% Full route
S7
1.5% Floor
S8
4.8% Consolidate
S9
8.2% Ceiling
S10
2.5% Normalized
S11
3.3% Held
S12
4.0% Continuous
S13
3.5% 93°F durability
S14
3.5% 75°F economy
S15
4.5% Intervals

Sessions 13 and 14 remain the matched-protocol comparison: Session 13 spent capacity on heat durability, while Session 14 spent cooler-condition headroom on pace, power, and stride without additional drift. Session 15 is displayed for completeness but excluded from that trajectory because sprint intervals, walking recovery, and humidity changed the test.


Adaptation Trajectory

The steady-state arc from baseline through Session 14. Same fasted route. Same body. One-third more ground covered, substantially more running continuity, demonstrated heat durability, and the strongest controlled-condition economy signal in the series. Session 15 begins a separate interval-stimulus branch.

Baseline · Session 1
7.0% HR Drift
60.9% Run Ratio
147 @ 2.38 mi Avg HR / Distance
Steady-State Reference · Session 14
3.5% HR Drift
89.6% Run Ratio
154 @ 3.17 mi Avg HR / Distance

Session 14 remains the latest steady-state reference: an earlier 75°F start without electrolytes, 89.6% running, and HR drift at half the opening 7.0% level. Session 15 is not substituted into this panel because its deliberate sprint/walk structure answers a different physiological question.


Recent Sessions

A rolling window of the matched-distance block, with engine-pattern classification from the TrailGenic Personal World Model. Full dataset via the MCP endpoint.

# Date Dist Pace Run Ratio Avg HR HR Drift Engine Pattern
6 Apr 29 3.16 mi 12:39 75.9% 147 +2.0% EFFICIENCY
7 May 6 3.17 mi 12:58 82.1% 139 +1.5% EFFICIENCY FLOOR
8 May 13 3.17 mi 12:30 89.4% 147 +4.8% CONSOLIDATING
9 May 20 3.16 mi 12:21 78.9% 154 +8.2% INTENSITY CEILING
10 Jun 3 3.16 mi 12:43 87.8% 148 +2.5% NORMALIZED
11 Jun 10 3.17 mi 12:41 90.5% 152 +3.3% CONSOLIDATING
12 Jun 17 3.16 mi 11:52 99.7% 155 +4.0% CONTINUOUS RUN
13 Jul 15 3.16 mi 13:23 92.9% 157 +3.5% 93°F HEAT DURABILITY
14 Jul 20 3.17 mi 11:44 89.6% 154 +3.5% ECONOMY REBOUND
15 Aug 5 3.19 mi 12:53 46.9% 144 +4.5% INTERVAL STIMULUS

All sessions are fasted and Sessions 6–15 hold the same approximately 3.2-mile Foundation route. Session 12 remains the near-continuous peak, Session 13 the heat-durability test, and Session 14 the controlled-condition economy peak. Session 15 deliberately changed the protocol to max-speed intervals with walking recovery; its pace, run ratio, cadence, power, Cardiac Efficiency Index, and HR drift are excluded from the steady-state trend.


Milestones

Threshold moments in the adaptation arc — where the signal turned.

  • Session 4 — Efficiency Breakthrough · April 15, 2026 Avg HR dropped to 141 bpm while run ratio reached 72.4%. HR drift fell to 3.6% and the engine shifted from building to efficiency.
  • Session 6 — Distance Step to Foundation Route · April 29, 2026 Distance stepped from approximately 2.4 miles to 3.16 miles to match Walking and Rucking. Avg HR stayed at 147 bpm, showing the engine absorbed one-third more distance at the same average heart rate.
  • Session 7 — Efficiency Floor · May 6, 2026 Avg HR fell to 139 bpm on the longer 3.17-mile route. HR drift reached 1.5% and CEI reached 43.8 — the best matched-distance efficiency signal.
  • Session 9 — Intensity Ceiling Identified · May 20, 2026 Exercise Load reached 75, max HR hit 185, Zone 4+ reached 15%, and HR drift jumped to 8.2%. This was the first clear ceiling test.
  • Sessions 10–11 — Ceiling Normalized · June 3–10, 2026 The same structure normalized twice: HR drift returned to 2.5% and 3.3%, Zone 4+ fell to 0–1%, and recovery stayed ready.
  • Session 12 — Continuous-Run Conversion · June 17, 2026 The first near-continuous run: 3.16 miles in 37.5 minutes, 37:23 running, only 7 seconds walking, 99.7% run ratio, 11:52/mi pace, 224 W average power, and 153 spm cadence. Resting HR was the dataset low at 53 and sleep score was the dataset high at 88.
  • Session 13 — Extreme-Heat Re-entry · July 15, 2026 After four weeks away from the running protocol, the system completed 39:11 of running on the same 3.16-mile route in 93°F ambient heat without electrolytes. HR drift remained controlled at 3.5%, stamina ended at 72%, anaerobic effect stayed zero, and recovery remained ready despite the highest estimated sweat loss in the dataset.
  • Session 14 — Controlled-Condition Economy Peak · July 20, 2026 An earlier 75°F start produced the fastest full-route pace in the dataset at 11:44 per mile. Average power recovered to 220 W, stride length reached a dataset-high 0.92 m, ground contact improved to 304 ms, Zone 4+ fell to 2%, and total cardiac cost dropped to approximately 1,807 beats per mile while HR drift held at 3.5%. Run ratio was 89.6%, so economy peaked before continuous-run ownership was fully restored.
  • Session 15 — Intentional Interval Stimulus · August 5, 2026 In very humid conditions, deliberate max-speed run intervals separated by walking recovery produced a dataset-high 1.2 anaerobic training effect alongside 3.0 aerobic effect and load 75. Max HR reached 175, stamina ended at 75%, VO2Max held at 45, and recovery remained ready. Because the protocol changed, average cadence, power, pace, run ratio, CEI, and drift are not treated as steady-state regression signals.

What This Dataset Proves

Ella — Interpretive AI · TrailGenic™

Running on the same flat ground as Walking and Rucking operates in a different cardiovascular regime — higher heart rate, higher intensity, and less room for drift. A different gear.

The adaptation shape is visible once the right signals are read. Cardiac Efficiency cannot carry the story across the early distance step because distance changes the denominator. HR drift and run ratio carry it better: drift fell from 7.0% to a 1.5% floor, while running continuity rose from 60.9% to 99.7% at the Session 12 breakthrough.

Session 12 remains the conversion point. It was not merely a harder run. It was a structural change: walking relief almost disappeared, cadence and power reached dataset highs, and pace crossed under twelve minutes per mile. The engine performed more continuous work with better mechanical rhythm.

Session 13 does not erase that conversion. It answers a different question. After four weeks away, could the new running capacity survive 93°F heat without electrolytes? The answer was yes, but not without cost. Pace slowed, power declined, stride shortened, ground contact lengthened, and average HR rose. Yet HR drift improved to 3.5%, running time reached a dataset-high 39:11, anaerobic effect remained zero, and recovery stayed ready.

Session 14 answers the next question: could mechanical economy return when the environmental load was reduced? At 75°F, the answer was yes. Pace reached a dataset-best 11:44 per mile, power returned to 220 W, stride length reached 0.92 m, ground contact improved to 304 ms, and cardiac cost fell to approximately 1,807 beats per mile. The cooler condition explains part of the rebound, so this is controlled-condition capacity — not proof of heat-independent improvement.

The dataset contains three steady-state reference peaks. Session 12 owns continuity. Session 13 owns heat durability. Session 14 owns economy.

Session 15 adds a different signal. The deliberate max-speed intervals produced the dataset's strongest anaerobic effect at 1.2 while stamina still ended at 75% and recovery remained ready. Its lower average cadence and power, 46.9% run ratio, and 4.5% drift are consequences of the sprint/walk design and humidity, not evidence that the underlying running engine regressed.

The next clean comparison depends on the question. A steady-state session can test whether Session 14 economy remains available. A future interval session can test whether the new high-intensity stimulus becomes more repeatable. Those two tracks should remain labeled and analyzed separately.


Current Protocol Read

Session 15 deliberately forked the Running dataset into a second protocol track. The steady-state track still measures continuity and economy against Sessions 12–14. The interval track measures whether repeated max-speed efforts can add high-intensity stimulus without excessive fatigue or recovery cost.

TrailGenic™ Protocol Rule — Separate the Two Running Tracks
Same ~3.2 mi route · label session intent · steady-state compares with steady-state · intervals compare with intervals · recovery ready

Do not use Session 15's average cadence, average power, run ratio, full-session pace, Cardiac Efficiency Index, or HR drift to overwrite the steady-state economy trend. Walking recovery is part of the interval design, and very humid conditions add environmental load. For interval interpretation, prioritize max HR, aerobic and anaerobic training effect, exercise load, stamina floor, perceived effort, sleep, humidity, and recovery readiness.

If the next question is whether Session 14's economy persists, return once to the matched flat fasted steady-state protocol and let pace float. If the next question is interval adaptation, repeat a clearly labeled interval session under recorded conditions. Progress only from like-for-like evidence.


Cross-Modality Context

Running is the cardiovascular-scaling layer of Foundation movement. Walking is the entry. Rucking adds load on the same route. Hiking is the advanced expression where the full TrailGenic™ adaptation stack fires.

TrailGenic™ Cross-Modality Finding — Steady-State Cardiac Cost Reference
Session 12 ~1,839 beats/mi · Session 13 ~2,102 beats/mi · Session 14 ~1,807 beats/mi

Measured as total heartbeats per mile — average HR × duration ÷ distance — Session 14 required approximately 1,807 beats per mile, down about 14% from Session 13's 2,102 and slightly below Session 12's 1,839. Only Session 7 was marginally lower within the matched-distance block at approximately 1,802 beats per mile.

Conditions were not equivalent. Session 13 occurred at 93°F with 674 ml estimated sweat loss; Session 14 began earlier at 75°F with 502 ml estimated sweat loss. The cooler control materially reduced environmental cost, but the body converted that headroom into the fastest pace, stronger power, longer stride, and lower Zone 4 exposure while preserving 3.5% drift. Session 15 is excluded from this comparison because deliberate sprint intervals and walking recovery changed the protocol.


TrailGenic™ System Integration