Forums >Running 101>How Often to Race
My introductory story can be found here:
https://www.runningahead.com/forums/topic/df9c16a6e00d48f2bc828ebe4afa5204/resume#focus
Things have been going quite well. I’ve worked through a few problems but my body seems to be toughening up. I continue to follow the general guidelines in ‘Run Less, Run Faster’ and never run more than three times per week. I just did my first race last week since getting back into running with a time of 20:18 for a 5K. That was an all-out effort. It was also run on pavement which I never run on as all my training runs are on a dirt rail trail. I suffered no ill effects from the race.
So, my question involves how often it is safe to race. I want to do a 10K next. Knowing my personality, I won’t do any race at less than maximum intensity. There are several 10K events around the middle of September but my “long” run is still only around 6.5 miles because of working through a few injury situations and not wanting to exacerbate things. I did my last 6.5 mile run at 8:03/mile pace yesterday and feel fine today. So, I’ll be increasing the distance slowly.
Would it be best to leave it at one race for this year and then reach for more starting in the spring?
Personal Records:
5K - 20:07 ran in September 2021 (The second half split during the 10K run listed below.)
10K - 41:10 ran in September 2021
8 miles - 56:15 ran in November 2021
Half Marathon - 1:39:06 ran in September 2020
Are we there, yet?
Since you intend to run all your races as all out efforts, I wouldn't race any more frequently than once a month because you need some time to train between as well as time to recover and time to taper. I'd like to know your reasoning for opting to follow the "Run Less, Run Faster" approach because it is not one I would recommend in general. It's suitable in some situations, but is usually associated with a lot of cross training on non-running days. You mentioned cycling in your intro post, but I'm wondering if that means too many intense workouts each week. When running 3 days a week none of those runs are easy, so that makes for at least 5 good workouts and no easy days. The key is getting sufficient recovery after long runs and hard workouts and I'm not sure two days off, unless you have other workouts besides the cycling and running, is enough.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
The ‘Run Less, Run Faster’ approach appealed to me because of only running three times per week. Given my injury history with running, it at least at the time seemed wise to limit it to that. I can cycle at any intensity and not get injured so I wasn’t worried about those two cross-training workouts.
However, you raise a good point about the overall intensity. I have scaled the length of my rides back somewhat but they’re still pretty significant. If I can stay relatively injury-free running, I would consider limiting the cycling even more. I’ve pushed cycling pretty much as far as I can go particularly given my age of 47. Running, however, I feel has lots of untapped potential and I’m much more excited about it. I want to err on the side of caution with racing but perhaps a 10K sometime next month would work.
Thanks for the feedback.
Overweight per CDC BMI
I started out just like you when I got back into running, especially last Summer/Fall, only I didn’t have the cardio base from cycling. I was extremely motivated by improving my times and I would be running half mile intervals of 5k twice per week and then test my new 5k time on the weekend to try to set a new PR. I was mixing in cycling 1-2 times per week to help build my cardio but I was also motivated to cycle faster to show cardio improvement instead of using the cross training to recover. This intense weekly regiment was certainly improving my cardio and 5k times but my lower body was never getting a rest. I started getting bad pain in my arches and shin splints. After I ran a 10-miler in November, I was in so much pain that I ended up putting my left foot in a medical boot for a week to help heal. This pain forced me to take a recovery period for two months.
Because I was committed during this time to not running fast at all, it was actually a blessing because all the slow running 3-5 days per week helped be build up my base. At the end of this two months, I was feeling good one morning and actually cranked out a 10k which beat my previous PR by over 5 minutes.
The reason it is recommended to only run fast once per week is because running fast is a lot of pounding on the road. When you are new, your joints, tendons, and muscles have to get adjusted. Running slow and doing mid-intensity cycling help recovery due to blood flow and a break from the intense pounding on the road. I learned this lesson the hard way and now just do a hard tempo run once per week for my fast runs, only setting PR's during actual races.
I think racing more than once per month will get mundane and you want to have dates circled on the calendar to target with your training. Races planned too far out can keep you from being focused on your improvement goals. Just my opinion.
Memphis / 38 male
5k - 20:39 / 10k - 43:48 / Half - 1:34:47 / Full - 3:38:10
It really depends on the distance you are racing. If your longest run is around 10k right now, racing a 10k will likely require about a week before you are fully recovered. I think you'd be fine doing other 5ks through the end of the year.
I've done a 5k on 3 consecutive weekends, no ill effects.
FYI, Brad Hudson's book also has some 3 day per week plans for master's runners. It has a 10k and marathon plan. His plans are more varied in the day to day runs than RLRF. You can probably pick the book up used on Amazon for a few bucks or possibly even check it out from your local library (ironically the copy I bought from Amazon was initially in circulation in my county's public library).
What if you targeted a 5K once per month with the goal of doing a new years 10K or something like that?? give you a bit of time to build up to the 10K effort while also still getting the thrill of racing a bit. You might get luck and even find a 4 miler or an 8K near you. there is one 8K in our area every fall that has a huge attendance because it is such a rare event
As often as you like, as long as your wallet is OK with it.
Some people use races as workouts or social outlets.
OR:
Just once, to get an official time if that's your goal.
TRAINING makes you fit, not racing.
If I want to know how fast I am, I do a time trial; I don't need no fancy races.
60-64 age group - University of Oregon alumni - Irreverent and Annoying
Thanks all. Honestly, if anyone had told me even six months ago that I would be in a position to even be considering these options, I wouldn’t have believed them. I pretty much thought my training would be limited to cycling. It just shows that by listening to one’s body we can often do things we didn’t think were possible.
I’m going to savor the 5K race result for a bit and make sure that I’m running injury-free before making my decision on what to race next. I think being able to do a proper long run on a consistent basis needs to be high on my priority list.
Mmmm Bop
As often as you like, as long as your wallet is OK with it. Some people use races as workouts or social outlets. OR: Just once, to get an official time if that's your goal. TRAINING makes you fit, not racing. If I want to know how fast I am, I do a time trial; I don't need no fancy races.
Yep, racing frequently can get expensive and also time consuming if it’s not local. Some people do the “race yourself into shape” and here’s an article on the pros and cons.... https://runnersconnect.net/coach-corner/racing-yourself-into-shape-the-pros-cons-and-specific-advice/
OP - If you’re serious about getting faster then I don’t think the Run Less Run Faster book is the way forward. Cut back on the cycling and add an extra 2 days of short runs at very comfortable (recovery) pace which imo will help prevent injury. What actually is your injury history? When someone says that they’re injury prone I always think it’s a cop out. Deal with the weak areas with strength training....and you don’t need to belong to a gym to do basis exercise which will ultimately benefit your running.
5k - 17:53 (4/19) 10k - 37:53 (11/18) Half - 1:23:18 (4/19) Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)
Just as a quiet side note, time trials are fine, but I always always always do better in actual races. For a variety of reasons.As for how often, it all depends on your goals.
I'm weird. Many of my PRs were in practice. Probably because middle distance racing was/is so tactical. I mean, 3:50 1500m won the last Olympics. I must have ran faster than that a couple dozen times in practice. Not in the same day, mind you...
Yep, racing frequently can get expensive and also time consuming if it’s not local. Some people do the “race yourself into shape” and here’s an article on the pros and cons.... https://runnersconnect.net/coach-corner/racing-yourself-into-shape-the-pros-cons-and-specific-advice/ OP - If you’re serious about getting faster then I don’t think the Run Less Run Faster book is the way forward. Cut back on the cycling and add an extra 2 days of short runs at very comfortable (recovery) pace which imo will help prevent injury. What actually is your injury history? When someone says that they’re injury prone I always think it’s a cop out. Deal with the weak areas with strength training....and you don’t need to belong to a gym to do basis exercise which will ultimately benefit your running.
Thanks for that link to that interesting and informative article. I don't think I'm going to overdo it on the races.