Green, Amber, Red: A Simple Recovery Traffic Light for Trail Runners
Trail Notes | Recovery and Data
a simple way to decide what today needs
Green, Amber, Red:
Your Recovery Traffic Light.
Data is only useful if you know what to do with it. A traffic light turns your journal and your watch into a clear, calm decision about today's training.
It works by checking 3 layers: how you feel, how you are performing, and what your recovery markers are showing. One layer off is common. Two or three layers off together is a pattern worth responding to.
This is a guide to making the call early, before small fatigue becomes an injury or an illness.
Early is easier than late.
Catching under-recovery early usually costs you a session or two. Missing it can cost you weeks.
The 3 layers · 01
Check all 3 before you decide
How you feel
Your daily check-in: sleep, energy, body, mood and stress. This is often the first layer to change.
How you perform
Pace, power and heart rate compared with your effort. Easy runs feeling hard is a common early sign.
Recovery markers
Resting heart rate, HRV and sleep from your watch, compared with your own baseline, not anyone else's.
The lights · 02
What green, amber and red mean
Green
0 or 1 layer is off, and it has been for 1 day or less.
Train as planned. Keep sleeping, eating and hydrating well.
Amber
2 layers are off for 2 to 3 days, or 1 layer is clearly off and you feel flat.
Swap the hard session for easy, or shorten it. Prioritise sleep and fuel. Check in again tomorrow.
Red
All 3 layers are off together, or you have pain that changes how you run, or signs of illness.
Take 1 to 2 rest days. Speak with your coach. If it lingers, see your doctor or physio.
One rough day · 03
What does not trigger the light
A single bad night, one flat session or one low reading is not a reason to change anything. Life is noisy. The traffic light only asks you to respond to a pattern.
If you are unsure, look back over the last 7 days of your journal. A trend across several days is far more reliable than any one morning.
Skip the light · 04
Signals that need attention straight away
Do not wait for a pattern if you notice
Sharp, persistent or worsening pain, especially bone pain that is pinpoint and builds with impact.
Pain that changes the way you run or makes you limp during a session.
Missed or irregular periods, repeated illness, or recurring niggles and stress injuries. These may point to low energy availability, so please speak with a doctor.
Fever, chest symptoms, dizziness or feeling faint. Stop and seek medical advice.
Coming back · 05
How to return after amber or red
When your layers settle, ease back rather than catching up. Return with 1 or 2 easy sessions, check how you feel the next day, then rebuild towards your plan.
Missed sessions are rarely the problem. Chasing them is. If you are in a program, talk with your coach about adjusting the week rather than squeezing everything in.
Her Trails coaching cue
Check all 3 layers. One off is life. Two off for 2 to 3 days is amber. All 3 off, or pain that changes your run, is red. Respond early, return gently.
Keep reading
early is easier than late
Written by the Her Trails coaching team
This note is general coaching education, not individual medical advice. Wearable readings are estimates and differ between devices. Sharp, persistent or unexplained pain, ongoing fatigue, or any change in your cycle should be checked by a doctor or physiotherapist.
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