Good or bad to run 5km nearly everyday?

kwb87

Hi,

Sorry if similar things have been asked, I'm just wanting some advice from those more experienced.

I enjoy running and over the past couple of years have very steadily gone up from running once a month to once a week and then for the past couple of months, twice a week. I'm not very fast. I tend to average 9kmph varying between 10kmph (jogging), 12 (running) and 6.5 (fast walking). I really enjoy 5km and I've managed to get my time down from 38mins to just over 30. I'm hoping to do a 10km race in May in under an hour - that would be a massive achievement. I really enjoy trying to improve on my times. I started increasing my running for weight loss as I've gained 12kg over the past couple of years but would also like to build on my strength, stamina and speed gradually.

Now that I've been running twice a week for some time I was wondering if my body would now adjust well to running 5km 6 or 7 days a week?

FYI. I eat plenty of protein and have a balanced diet. I'm 26 years old, 64kg and generally fit and healthy. I also do 3 x 30 minute fitness classes each week which contain a mix of pilates, ballet, weight training, core strength and areobics.

Thanks for reading.

Kwb

ZenInTexas

There is no reason why you can't do that. Just start adding in more days slowly and build up to running 5 days a week so you don't get injured. The best way to run faster is to run more. I run more than 5k 5 days a week and know many many others who do way more than that. Happy running!!

timeasterday

Twice a week to 7 days a week? I'm thinking nope, nope, nope.

Run 3 days a week for a while and see how your body handles it. After a few months add a day. Then repeat.

Don't try to increase too many things at once. I'd say get in 3 quality runs a week with one of those focused on speedwork and one focused on increasing endurance. Give your body time to recover.

SonicDeathMonkey80

Hi,

Sorry if similar things have been asked, I'm just wanting some advice from those more experienced.

I enjoy running and over the past couple of years have very steadily gone up from running once a month to once a week and then for the past couple of months, twice a week. I'm not very fast. I tend to average 9kmph varying between 10kmph (jogging), 12 (running) and 6.5 (fast walking). I really enjoy 5km and I've managed to get my time down from 38mins to just over 30. I'm hoping to do a 10km race in May in under an hour - that would be a massive achievement. I really enjoy trying to improve on my times. I started increasing my running for weight loss as I've gained 12kg over the past couple of years but would also like to build on my strength, stamina and speed gradually.

Now that I've been running twice a week for some time I was wondering if my body would now adjust well to running 5km 6 or 7 days a week?

FYI. I eat plenty of protein and have a balanced diet. I'm 26 years old, 64kg and generally fit and healthy. I also do 3 x 30 minute fitness classes each week which contain a mix of pilates, ballet, weight training, core strength and areobics.

Thanks for reading.

Kwb

Jumping from once a month, to once a week, to twice a week to 6-7x/week? I say hold up. Try adding a third 5K in the week, and after your body adjusts, add a long run to your weekend. Sounds like your aerobic base could support it, but your body needs time to recover from the new stresses introduced. I don't see the rush or need to jump into 6-7 days right off the bat.

davidsonl13

I've been running for 2 months now, I regularly run 3 times a week, every other week I run 4 times. I have tried to run more than that, but my body won't let me, it needs the recovery days between runs.

I do strength training and aerobics on the days I'm not running, and as and when I feel ready to train for a half marathon I might try to up my running days, but my body won't let me just now.

sjp_511

It is fine to run 6-7 days a week. You will have to build up to it. Listen to your body and learn to distinguish the normal aches that come from a good workout apart from the aches and fatigue that come from over doing things.

Each run should not be a "how fast can I do a 5K" type of run. Vary your runs. Have one day be a fast 5k. Another be a long run. One or 2 just be easy runs, where you can hold a conversation through the whole thing. You can add in speed workouts or hills. The important thing when running every day (or close to it) is to have those easy runs. They help you body recover.

PeteWhoLikesToRunAlot

There are many people with streaks of well over 100+ days of running with no off days. That being said, that's only smart to do if some of those runs are at an extremely easy pace (recovery-type runs). And those people have gradually built up to that kind of stress on their supporting infrastructure. Lots of people follow the 10% rule - don't increase your weekly mileage by more than 10 percent over the previous week. I've done higher percentage increases, but only after having a base of at least 25mpw.

Agree with all the others who say to build up slowly. And ensure that you're managing your effort so that you're not busting your @ss on every run.

eldamiano

Hi,

Sorry if similar things have been asked, I'm just wanting some advice from those more experienced.

I enjoy running and over the past couple of years have very steadily gone up from running once a month to once a week and then for the past couple of months, twice a week. I'm not very fast. I tend to average 9kmph varying between 10kmph (jogging), 12 (running) and 6.5 (fast walking). I really enjoy 5km and I've managed to get my time down from 38mins to just over 30. I'm hoping to do a 10km race in May in under an hour - that would be a massive achievement. I really enjoy trying to improve on my times. I started increasing my running for weight loss as I've gained 12kg over the past couple of years but would also like to build on my strength, stamina and speed gradually.

Now that I've been running twice a week for some time I was wondering if my body would now adjust well to running 5km 6 or 7 days a week?

FYI. I eat plenty of protein and have a balanced diet. I'm 26 years old, 64kg and generally fit and healthy. I also do 3 x 30 minute fitness classes each week which contain a mix of pilates, ballet, weight training, core strength and areobics.

Thanks for reading.

Kwb

I wouldnt try and do this. I think that keeping your interest levels in training up is about varying your running. I tend to do my local 5km Parkrun every Saturday. In the week I would do a maximum of one 5km run, and that would be early in the week to give my body more time to recover for Saturday. I also do some speed and tempo runs and also run other distances such as 10k, 10 mile and half-marathon as I like to do races at these distances too.

But yeah, vary it up or you might just get bored.

melaniecheeks

Dont try to increase too soon.
Build in rest days.
Vary the routine.

And add some strength work as well.

bcattoes

For about 1.5 years I did that (ran 5k nearly every day). I ran any day that did not have heavy rain/snow or lightening and the temperature was above 25 degrees. I’m too wimpy to run if it’s colder than that. I was, and still am, healthy.

A foot injury, not related to running, caused me to stop and I never did get back into it.

BrianSharpe

There's no reason that an otherwise healthy person couldn't run 5km every day (in fact many very competitive runners will run twice a day several times per week) but, as others have said, it's a building process - don't try to do it overnight, that's just asking for an injury.

You may, however, benefit more from taking part in a variety of activities. Rather than running everyday why not cross-train (bike, swim, row etc) a couple of days per week and, if you're serious about improving as a runner, include strength training a couple of times a week to address muscular imbalances and improve injury resistance.

Here are a few ideas......

http://www.runnersworld.com/training/workouts

aussiesarah

I agree with lots of the previous posters - there's no reason why you can't do this but it's a good idea to build up slowly.

I always find that big jumps in my mileage result in really annoying injuries which then reduce my running for many weeks afterwards (shin-splints and tight IT bands in particular - not fun!)

So personally I would just add one extra day for a few weeks and see how you get on. Once your body is used to it then add another day etc etc

Good luck!

kwb87

Thank you so much for all the really useful posts and advice. It made complete sense and I decided against jumping from running a couple times a week to everyday. I enjoy running and want to carry on enjoying it! There is a chance of me getting bored if I suddenly try to go everyday but more importantly, my body needs to adjust.

I've just started running in my local park run and really love that. Now I don't have to do every run like its a race, I can pace myself and relax into my running and save my race mode for attempting to set a good time at the park run.

The more I get into running, the more I'm finding lots of very supportive people so thanks again for all the really helpful comments

melaniecheeks

Is there a Parkrun near you? They are a brilliant and fun way of improving your speed.

Mr_Knight

5k isn't a long or demanding distance - in fact A relaxed 5k is used by many athletes as a "rest day" activity.

It's absolutely fine to run it every day, once you build up to it.

Good luck, have fun!

JenniferT89

You can up it, but do it more slowly. Add in one or two days per week right now, and you can always go up from there. Maybe a shorter jog on your "off days." Also, instead of 6 days per week as your ultimate goal, how about 5? Your body needs recovery days. Believe me, I'm sitting here today jittery as heck because I only have the weekends off and I want to go lift some weights! But take those days and just go on a long walk or something instead, make a dog happy .

And of course, make sure you have AWESOME stability shoes, even if you have to go spend some money on them.