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% of long run vs total weekly mileage (Read 345 times)


A Saucy Wench

    Let it alone unless she starts complaining of niggling pains.  It may or may not be a problem for her.  It's not going to optimize her training but it isnt necessarily an injury risk.  Some people physically handle long better than others.  It's more a matter of what you get out of it.

     

    I might answer differently if she had just started running 6 months ago, but with a fairly long history of running - even if it has been moderate mileage - she has likely built up some of the muscles and stabilizers that running needs.

    I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

     

    "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7

      I have found the "malmo" line of thinking tends to suit me best. I don't seem to get much extra out of running 17-18 miles vs running 13-14 (30% vs 20%) and I usually find myself a lot more sluggish from those longer runs. This might change if I were to train for a half/marathon, but for 5k type stuff I don't like having too long of a long run.

       

      That's just what seems to work for me though, everyone is different and I definitely know a few that absolutely swear by their long, long runs.

      They say golf is like life, but don't believe them. Golf is more complicated than that. "If I am still standing at the end of the race, hit me with a Board and knock me down, because that means I didn't run hard enough" If a lot of people gripped a knife and fork the way they do a golf club, they'd starve to death. "Don't fear moving slowly forward...fear standing still."

         

        But her uterus may fall out.

         

        The price one pays for un-ladylike behavior! Nothing a little duct tape  and some Bondo won't fix, tho.

        TeaOlive


        old woman w/hobby

           

          The price one pays for un-ladylike behavior! Nothing a little duct tape  and some Bondo won't fix, tho.

           

          Smile

          steph  

           

           

            I kinda agree with SRL in general principle.

             

            But I'd be more concerned about the jump from 14mi to 17mi for long run than % of weekly mileage her long run is. It sounds like she might have slowed down a little (extrapolated from your initial comments about your paces and your assumption of her 17-mi run pace) and could maybe run further and felt better. You didn't provide any feedback on how she feels after the 14-mi long runs vs the 17-mi one.

             

            If she has a busy work schedule, it may be that 3 days/wk of 5mi each during the week works for her, and she likes to get out longer on the weekend for the mental break. Yes, maybe having one run a little longer during the week might help with injury prevention or it might add weekday stress.

             

             

            In my own training, I really don't like weekly schedules, preferring something on the order of 2 wks for a microcycle, which means the longest run is every 2 wks, and a medium long run is about half way between them. When I trained for an ultra, I may have long runs near 60% of that 7-day period but only 35-40% of 14-day period, running 2 days on / 1 "off" ("off" may be nothing or may be some trail volunteer work = neither running nor recovery) . You try to cut my runs and have me run more frequently to meet some % figure, you add major mental stress.Wink But I come from a background of field work where I was on my feet outside hiking and measuring plants for 6-12 hr/day for many days during the summer, depending on the project.  (What I did when I was using Running Wizard for 5 wks of endurance training, was overlay my hilly / flat variations over their duration schedule to make their 7-day schedule provide some of the diversity of hill stimulus that my 14-day schedules do. Can't comprehend doing the same thing week after week.)

            "So many people get stuck in the routine of life that their dreams waste away. This is about living the dream." - Cave Dog

              Let it alone unless she starts complaining of niggling pains.  It may or may not be a problem for her.  It's not going to optimize her training but it isnt necessarily an injury risk.  Some people physically handle long better than others.  It's more a matter of what you get out of it.

               

              I might answer differently if she had just started running 6 months ago, but with a fairly long history of running - even if it has been moderate mileage - she has likely built up some of the muscles and stabilizers that running needs.

               

              Yeah, it's not a good way to train if you want to do well at racing, but since that's apparently not her goal, and she's feeling ok, I don't think it matters too much. I wouldn't say anything unless she specifically asks for your opinion. In my experience, people hate unsolicited running advice.

              Coastal


                Leave it alone if you value your friendship.  Just my 2 cents.

                 

                You have something you like to do together.  Keep doing it.  As someone already posted, most folks don't like unsolicited advice.


                SheCan

                  If she is a recreational runner with no goals and she is not being injured by the runs, what does the mileage matter? She obviously enjoys the runs. If the pace is easy for her then I wouldn't worry about it. 30 miles a week is not a ton of mileage.

                  +1

                  Is she complaining that she's hurt?  That its wearing her out, and that she's getting burned out?  As a long term runner, her body may already be adapted to handling an occasional long run like that.  Besides, its HER body.

                  Cherie

                  "We do not become the people who this world needs simply by turning our backs on anyone we don’t like, trust, or deem healthy enough to be in our presence. "  ---- Shasta Nelson

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