Cutting Mileage Every Fourth Week (Read 119 times)

I’ve continued to enjoy the Logic of Long Distance blog.  This entry about breaking the cycle of suffering injuries/burn out spoke to me.

http://www.logicoflongdistance.com/2012/04/runners-cycle-of-suffering-and-how-to.html

He nailed it in that it is tempting to keep pushing when things are going well.  You’re running farther and faster so keep up or increase the training, right?

I’ve continued to enjoy my entry back into the running world since February after a background of being an avid cyclist for eight years.  Limiting my runs to 3 or 4 per week seems to be working quite well.  I stopped cycling entirely in October but hope to reintroduce at least one ride per week when the weather improves.

I’ve had a few minor injury issues but haven’t had to miss many runs.  I’m asking myself though whether I should be incorporating the cut-back week once per month as a safety valve.  I’ve heard the figure of a 50% reduction in mileage.  Is that really necessary?  Especially given that I have relatively low mileage anyway and at least three off days per week, could I get away with a much smaller reduction?  Or could I avoid it entirely just by continuing to listen to my body and just being careful?

I haven’t bumped up my long run past 9.2 miles yet because of trying to exercise caution and restraint.  Honestly, I’m loathe to cut my mileage back every fourth week but if that will improve my chances of staying injury-free, it would be worth it.

So I’m looking for feedback from those who follow this practice and whether it’s made a difference in their long-term running health.  Thanks.

A 50% reduction ever fourth week sounds crazy big. I don't run huge mileage but I still think that sounds like a lot.

Paul makes a good point about how you decrease, whether you do it by intensity or mileage. Myself, when I have done cutback weeks, the cutback is usually about the length of my long run, not the rest.

I agree with the cut back every four weeks or so.  As you build, the cut back weeks will be more than the weeks you run now.

The thing that you have to worry about is something that I have concerns for every time I train a bike athlete.  You are already aerobically fit which makes you dangerous to yourself because your skeletal muscular connections are overly stressed when your run and you are not adapted for that which makes you a likely candidate for injury.

At least when a beginner runner that does not otherwise exercise starts out they can not generally go fast enough in training to hurt themselves.  Being fit, you are able to run at an intensity that can be harmful.  It takes a long time for your bone density to increase and your connective tissue to also adjust.

So, in my opinion I believe a big reduction every 4 weeks would be the way to go for you.

A few thoughts:

I think Jeff was writing to a fairly advanced audience when he described the cycle of suffering--people who had years of training and racing behind them and who are running 6 or 7 days a week, with 2 workouts and a long run, etc. People who were well past their newbie improvement curve and were looking to maybe squeeze a couple of seconds PR out of a half a year of focussed training, etc. Jeff was (is) also an extremely tough and competitive runner who was particularly prone to the temptation to try to do one or two "killer" workouts at the end of a training cycle when gearing up for a goal race, especially when training was "going well."

I agree that a 50% cutback in mileage is extreme and unnecessary. Basically cutback weeks are a hack for people who for whatever reason can't build in enough recovery, otherwise. At times in training, it is important to know yourself, know where your blind spots are and build in whatever safety valves you need to protect you from yourself. If cutback weeks are that thing, fine, but there's no universal need for them. Lots of runners have figured out how to listen to their bodies and back off on either volume or intensity as needed without pre-planned cutback weeks.

I agree with the cut back every four weeks or so.  As you build, the cut back weeks will be more than the weeks you run now.

 

The thing that you have to worry about is something that I have concerns for every time I train a bike athlete.  You are already aerobically fit which makes you dangerous to yourself because your skeletal muscular connections are overly stressed when your run and you are not adapted for that which makes you a likely candidate for injury.

 

At least when a beginner runner that does not otherwise exercise starts out they can not generally go fast enough in training to hurt themselves.  Being fit, you are able to run at an intensity that can be harmful.  It takes a long time for your bone density to increase and your connective tissue to also adjust.

 

So, in my opinion I believe a big reduction every 4 weeks would be the way to go for you.

Yes, this concern has been present with me since first running now almost a year ago.  It’s a whole new mindset as well because with cycling, especially once you’ve been doing it for a while, you have an almost unlimited capacity to hammer with minimal injury risk.  My last full year of cycling was in 2018 and I rode about 6800 miles, mostly with just three hard rides per week, without injury.  I knew that I’d have to approach things far differently with running.  It’s been challenging at times as my nature is to push hard.  I’ve tweaked various body parts but my longest layoff has only been 5 days and I was able to cycle during that time.

I think the cardio fitness was borne out when I raced the 5K in August with just six or so months of running.  I’ve done one tempo run per week but only rarely have gone all out.  Still, I can kind of sense that my body may be in need of a bit of a cutback as I haven’t taken any real reduction in a while.  I’ve been dealing with a few minor issues – sciatica, bursitis, and knee discomfort – lately and while I don’t feel them that much during runs, it might be time for me to implement the safety valve reduction week.

Thanks for your insight.  It sounds like you may coach runners including some from cycling backgrounds.

A few thoughts:

 

I think Jeff was writing to a fairly advanced audience when he described the cycle of suffering--people who had years of training and racing behind them and who are running 6 or 7 days a week, with 2 workouts and a long run, etc. People who were well past their newbie improvement curve and were looking to maybe squeeze a couple of seconds PR out of a half a year of focussed training, etc. Jeff was (is) also an extremely tough and competitive runner who was particularly prone to the temptation to try to do one or two "killer" workouts at the end of a training cycle when gearing up for a goal race, especially when training was "going well."

 

I agree that a 50% cutback in mileage is extreme and unnecessary. Basically cutback weeks are a hack for people who for whatever reason can't build in enough recovery, otherwise. At times in training, it is important to know yourself, know where your blind spots are and build in whatever safety valves you need to protect you from yourself. If cutback weeks are that thing, fine, but there's no universal need for them. Lots of runners have figured out how to listen to their bodies and back off on either volume or intensity as needed without pre-planned cutback weeks.

Thanks for your thoughts.  As I mentioned to otter above, my tendency is to push hard.  I think as I’ve gotten older and know my body better, I’m more disciplined in not overdoing it but it’s something I have to constantly watch.  From reading Jeff’s blog, it seems that he’s vacillated between high mileage and more focused efforts in fewer miles.  I know he’s dealt with injuries so I’m not sure if he took his own advice about breaking the cycle of suffering.

One of the interesting things about running as against cycling is that it really does force one to listen to their body.  I think I’m getting better at it.  To just be able to sense whether I’m doing damage as against maybe scaling back intensity but still running.  Maybe a compromise is in order in that a fourth week would have a small cutback but still something.  I think that’s where cycling could still be of value for me as I could ramp that up for one week per month to make up for the reduction in running.