Forums >General Running>Running "rules of thumb"
...still can't make heads or tails of the "three-run rule", though.
It also strikes me that the "10% rule" is wildly whacked out. It would have one going from 20mpw to 100mpw in 4 months, and that is pretty steep, for most people. Ok, it is steep for me. 1-3% might be better, for my money.
There are no rules, though. If you can run faster, run faster. If you can run more, run more. If you are tired, quit if you want to, or keep going. If you can't run any more, don't run any more. I like to "go faster", so my training rules of thumb are: "Run more miles, run faster intervals, run more hills" or something like that. The balancing part of the equation has been my proclivity toward laziness and overeating.
...still can't make heads or tails of the "three-run rule", though. It also strikes me that the "10% rule" is wildly whacked out. It would have one going from 20mpw to 100mpw in 4 months, and that is pretty steep, for most people. Ok, it is steep for me. 1-3% might be better, for my money.
Completely agree. Having attempted various running schedules over the years, I am now a firm believer in the Daniels school of thought that you run at the same level for 4-6 weeks, and then increase a stress. Go another 4-6 weeks at that level, and then you can add another stress.
And that stress can be ONE thing - more miles, adding speed, etc. If you add miles and speedwork at the same time, something will give.
King of PhotoShop
When I get around to writing the first of my posts on these "rules of thumb" I am most definitely beginning with the mileage increase stuff, as that 10% rule is a dangerous one, and there was a lot of input here about it. One of the things that concerns me is its relationship to the canned marathon training plans of 18 weeks or so, which often begin with some minimum weekly mileage criterion.
To me, the danger is having someone look at one of these plans for "currently running 40 miles per week" who is running about half that, and saying, "Oh, I'll just increase my mileage to 40 and jump in at week 6, or something like that. Quick mileage buildups invite injury almost always.
Thank you all for these posts.
Has anyone commented on the one about doing 10-15% of your weekly mileage as quality? This is another "rule" that may vary wildly based on many factors. Spareribs
Well, that makes perfect sense. I know you know what you're doing. So would you recommend the shoe? Spareribs
So far so good... will try them on the trails today.
#RunEveryDay
I've never heard that one. I've heard the Long Run should be no more than 25-30% of total weekly mileage.
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I haven't heard that low. This book by Fitzgerald makes a very strong case for the 20 to 25% quality rule.
The trouble with saying that your LR should only be 25-30% of your total mileage is that it doesn't work for low mileage runners who only run 3 or 4 days a week. Not all marathoners run 60 mpw.
Exactly. I didn't say I agree with it, but just that it's the percentage to weekly mileage one I'd heard.
I think that's part of the point of that rule -- the implication is that if you are running less than ~60 mpw, you should not be doing 18-20m LR's, and will not be well trained for a marathon. Of course anyone can follow the rule or not; the idea is you will get a better result if you do.
Dave
Yeah. Note that on the Hansons' marathon plans they cap the long run at 16, citing this "rule".
Yes, that's another one that works for some, maybe not for others. As a young man running marathons I ran a ton of miles, well over 60/week. But as an older runner I can't do that any more because I can't recover well enough to sustain the high mileage, so I would be in the 40's per week. But one thing remains constant. I can't feel I am marathon trained unless I have done 4 or so runs of 20-22 during the marathon training. Spareribs
Here's my first post on the "rules of thumb" content. Thank you all who contributed, and I mean ALL of you. Spareribs
http://runningblog.dallasnews.com/2015/04/running-rules-of-thumb-and-a-boston-marathon-quiz.html/
Here is the second blog installment, this one on the 180 step cadence espoused by Jack Daniels.
http://runningblog.dallasnews.com/2015/05/running-rules-of-thumb-part-ii-the-ideal-stride-rate.html/
Spareribs
I've got a fever...
Nice columns, Spareribs!
Jack "180-proof" Daniels himself has an alternative the 10% rule that I've always liked. Paraphrasing, he suggests holding steady 3-4 weeks to allow your body to adapt, then increase your weekly mileage by the number of days you train per week (i.e if you run 4 days a week, increase your mileage by 4 miles).
I like this rule because it caps the weekly increase at 7 miles, avoiding the pitfalls of 10%-mania for high mileage runners. It also offers more reasonable increases for the low-mileage beginner, rather than offering absurdly low numbers.
On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office. But you will wish that you'd spent more time running. Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.
not bad for mile 25
Maybe I could increase my daily miles by seven every three weeks. Maybe I should. I probably won't.