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| Increasing Easy Runs? (Read 798 times) |
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posted: 12/11/2007 at 7:43 PM |
| I've been running about 2.2 mi for my easy runs twice a week, then 4 mi for my long run. I was planning on increasing my long run by about .5 mi per week. How much and how often should I increase my easy run? |
| Raleigh Area Runners | Rocky Mount Endurance Club |
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| view log Blaine Moore |
posted: 12/11/2007 at 8:51 PM |
I'd say half a mile every other or every 3rd week. Go with what's comfortable; if it stops being easy then you increased it too much.
Don't forget to cut back every 4th or 5th week to lower mileage and give your body a chance to recuperate. |
Run to Win
I just started using Twitter - anybody else on there? http://twitter.com/BlaineMoore
I am now officially an older guy. Don't believe me? Ask Teresa's DS15. |
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Nbordrick |
posted: 12/12/2007 at 10:09 PM |
| Good advice here... I was searching around for the same answers. I think I'm going to have to give this a shot. |
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posted: 12/22/2007 at 7:46 PM |
| Increase .5 miles per week for 4 straight weeks and then cut back a bit on week 5. Repeat. If you keep up your 2.2 mile runs, I wouldn't go much above 6 miles on long run. You won't have enough base/foundation to withstand the pounding. What are your goals?? |
| Those who try, fail! Those who do what it takes to succeed, succeed!! |
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posted: 12/27/2007 at 2:17 PM |
Thanks for the advice.
Tchuck, I haven't really thought a whole lot about goals. I guess I'd like to run some 5k's and 10k's and maybe a HM next year sometime. I just want to gradually increase my base. |
| Raleigh Area Runners | Rocky Mount Endurance Club |
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posted: 12/27/2007 at 8:18 PM |
| Sounds good, but you will have to start increasing your miles and long run distance and run as many days per week as possible with most of the miles at an easy pace. |
| Those who try, fail! Those who do what it takes to succeed, succeed!! |
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posted: 12/27/2007 at 9:28 PM |
Why so cautious? You're young, seemingly healthy, not overweight. Why build up so gradually? You're running under 10 miles a week--what would happen if you just started running 3-4 miles a day starting right now? Are you feeling worn out from the running you're already doing?
I'm not picking on you, I'm seriously asking. |
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| view log i can has marathawn? |
posted: 12/28/2007 at 2:22 AM |
| Quote from mikeymike on 12/27/2007 at 9:28 PM: Why so cautious? You're young, seemingly healthy, not overweight.
And you're smarter than me, I started running at least ten years later than you and I regret the lost time. mikeymike is wise, there's nothing wrong with a young man flooring it every now and then to see what he can do and blow some carbon out of the old carburetor*.
*or whatever the damned fuel-injected equivalent is these days
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Ed
Bib #10 at the Tuesday night Good Times 5K series in Lowell, MA
2008 goal: HTFU and BQ at BayState Marathon
Beer is proof that God loves us, and wants us to be happy. |
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posted: 12/29/2007 at 2:55 AM |
mikey,
I've never really been a runner, so I've just been trying to read and do what others have said about taking it slow so I don't get any injuries.
Do you mean 3-4 miles each day without a long run?
Maybe I'll give it a try. |
| Raleigh Area Runners | Rocky Mount Endurance Club |
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| view log Dave |
posted: 12/29/2007 at 9:09 PM |
Jim,
What kind of a pace are you running? Is it "conversational"? If not, then you might want to think about backing off a bit on your longer days.
4 miles is probably only something like 50 minutes at the most right? If you're going all out, even two miles can really feel like a lot. If you slow down, you should be able to do that much without too much trouble. |
Pursuing the Pace Bunny, 1 Mile at a time
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posted: 12/29/2007 at 9:48 PM |
Dave,
I've been doing the 4 miles at about 40:00. I've heard that about "conversational" before. I thought I was going at that pace... I've tried talking to myself some, but how much should I be able to say. |
| Raleigh Area Runners | Rocky Mount Endurance Club |
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posted: 12/29/2007 at 10:05 PM |
Jim,
You've got some good direction here. Blaine always seems to have excellent advice. The only observation I can share is that newer runners tend to push too hard on the long run. Slow down the pace a bit as you increase the mileage. I checked your log. You are doing great (15 runs in the month). That type of consistency (getting out 3-5 times/week) will pay off quicker than you realize. Good luck.
Ken |
| Twin Cities Marathon 10.5.08 |
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| view log Dave |
posted: 12/29/2007 at 10:26 PM |
| Quote from baldjim on 12/29/2007 at 9:48 PM: Dave,
I've been doing the 4 miles at about 40:00. I've heard that about "conversational" before. I thought I was going at that pace... I've tried talking to myself some, but how much should I be able to say.
I just took a look at your log (duh  ). You could stand to slow down to something near a 10 -10:30 pace (as opposed to 9:40).
Your shorter runs are certainly faster than you need to run them at this point to build endurance but it is pretty obvious that you're making great progress. I would consider 8:30 a "fast" run for you at this point.
If you look back in my log to where it started in 2004, you'll see that I used to run almost all of miles in the 8-8:30 range. I ran before that some but not consistently. Now, I run most of my miles in the 9-9:30 range even though I am in WAY better shape now. Going out more slowly has allowed me to extend my long run well into the teens without injury or running out of steam.
As Ken said though, consistency is probably most important right now and at 15 runs a month, you're doing great. |
Pursuing the Pace Bunny, 1 Mile at a time
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posted: 12/29/2007 at 11:14 PM |
| Quote from baldjim on 12/29/2007 at 8:50 PM: Did my 4 miles today (to find out it was 4.25), and it seems like it'd be pretty tough if I did that several times/wk. Maybe I'll try a 3 as my easy and up the long run a little.
That seems like a good plan. My only point was that increasing like .5 miles per week seemed excessively cautious for a young, healthy guy. Since you're new at this you'll improve really quickly. You want to find the right level of stress to stimulate improvement without getting hurt and you sort of have to go by feel to start off. It's hard for anyone else to say what your easy pace should be. It takes practice to figure out what "easy" should feel like but once you do you'll always be able to produce it. One thing I do sometimes is count steps per breathing rate. For example, 4 steps per inhale and 4 steps per exhale = very easy pace for me. |
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