Forums >General Running>Yes, run more, run easy.
Man in Tights
Does it really work?
Many of my running buddies run over 40 mpw. However it has not resulted in significant improvement in their race times. Though very fit many ar eyet to do a sub 1:45 HM.
Since I run HMs only I think its better to run about 30-35 mpw and concentrate more on improving pace.
So run less and faster seems to work better for me.
Cheers
Yes, it really works.
Runners run
Yep, it works. If you are happy running around 1:35 for the half marathon at your current mileage, there's nothing wrong with doing what you are doing. If you want to run around 1:25, then you'll need to do more.
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Many of my running buddies run over 40 mpw. However it has not resulted in significant improvement in their race times. Though very fit many ar eyet to do a sub 1:45 HM. Since I run HMs only I think its better to run about 30-35 mpw and concentrate more on improving pace. So run less and faster seems to work better for me.
You are lucky then in that your buddies represent a very unique portion of the population.
Run like a kid again!
I'm in the process of finding out how much of a difference it makes. What I can say is that I have run my fastest half marathon and 5K's during this period. However, who is to say I wouldn't have done that with lower miles and more speed work. What I will say is that I have been less injury prone but I am also running everyday now. I am running another half this weekend and hopefully I don't get any muscle cramps during this one. If so I should have a pretty good race time. The really big test comes in a month when I see what all of this running does for my marathon time.
I do believe that in a good running cycle you would be doing more speedwork then what I am doing with maybe less miles. However, I am just trying to enjoy the long easy runs that I have planned. I am getting tired of getting up at 4 AM to get my med runs in for the day I do like hitting mileage that I never thought I would ever be able to do. Honeslty, I don't think I will ever be at these levels again as after this I hope to start to transition over to tri-athlon stuff.
Maybe his buddies aren't running those extra miles in the smartest optimal way ...
"I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."
-- Dick LeBeau
It certainly worked for me. You can't ignore speed work as your body gets to the place to support that, it can't all be easy - but the increase of mileage is huge on improving and not getting injured as you do it in my experience. My race times at all distances (5k through marathon) had a drastic drop.
SMART Approach
Does it really work? Many of my running buddies run over 40 mpw. However it has not resulted in significant improvement in their race times. Though very fit many ar eyet to do a sub 1:45 HM. Since I run HMs only I think its better to run about 30-35 mpw and concentrate more on improving pace. So run less and faster seems to work better for me. Cheers
Mostly, but the quality work you do does make a big difference. We are saying the aerobic base of more miles gives you the best improvements but strategic quality work does make a difference. For me on 20-25 miles per week with quality vs no quality results in doing a half in 1:33 vs 1:30. Now if I ran 40-50 miles per week, I would probably be sub 1:25.
Run Coach. Recovery Coach. Founder of SMART Approach Training, Coaching & Recovery
Structured Marathon Adaptive Recovery Training
Safe Muscle Activation Recovery Technique
www.smartapproachtraining.com
Why is it sideways?
"I have a saying 'train, don't strain.' The Americans have the saying 'no pain, no gain' and that's why they have no distance running champions. They get down to the track with a stopwatch and flog their guts out thinking that it'll make them a champion, but they'll never make a champion that way." - Arthur Lydiard
Narsi,
When I was running 20-25 MPW my first HM was 2:05, improved to 2:00 over a year of running at this level. When I ran 30 MPW, Improved to about 1:51 again in about a year. Running about 35-40/week now, and will see where it'll get me in about 6 weeks (my next half is on Nov11). So yes a combination of more lifetime miles and running more per week seems to be working for me.
not bad for mile 25
I have no doubt that it's helping me. I've stopped running like a madman during my practice runs, and I have doubled my weekly miles (from 20 to 40). Now I don't feel winded at all after my 6-8 mile runs. Time will tell, but I think I can shave several minutes off my HM & marathon times.
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it's because you're special
The King of Beasts
Easy runs are just a waste of time.
"As a dreamer of dreams and a travelin' man I have chalked up many a mile. Read dozens of books about heroes and crooks, And I've learned much from both of their styles." ~ Jimmy Buffett
"I don't see much sense in that," said Rabbit. "No," said Pooh humbly, "there isn't. But there was going to be when I began it. It's just that something happened to it along the way."”
When I finally took the advice of the smart people on this stupid board and ran this way, a lot of things changed about my running. Now a 32 mile run is not that dififcult, my 5k time dropped, my daily easy runs are ~8 miles, and my mileage is between 50-60mpw. Back when I wore a watch every day and cared about pace, I was mostly injured, topped at 30mpw, 5k time was way slower and would never have thought a 20 miler was just another easy days run. So yeah...run more and run it easy...
mta: or listen to a1, but not all of us were born king of the beasts