Should You Be Running 4 Days a Week?

likitisplit

I'm a new runner (less than a year and a half) and I'm currently working on building my base to at least 15 miles per week (I know). I currently run three days a week because that is what I have.

My question is - If your long run is supposed to be a max of 35% of your weekly mileage, doesn't that mean that you HAVE to run at least 4X per week? Otherwise the math dictates that all your runs need to be the same distance.

I'm working under the assumption that this doesn't really matter at my current level and I'm working to build in another day (the babies are getting older) but wanted to understand this for, perhaps, next year when it will matter.

CarsonRuns

More days is better if you are trying to maximize your potential as a runner. 4 is better than 3, but 5 is better than 4, etc. etc.

The long run should ideally be between 1/3 and 1/4 of your total weekly mileage. If a runner is not in a marathon training cycle, the long run usually caps out at 16 miles, so that allows a minimum of about 48 miles per week, which is a solid base level for an amateur runner whose goals it to run as fast as they can. At that many miles per week, it would be tough to do it in fewer than 5 days.

btsinmd

Tagging on to Varda's question, but I think that it applies too. What counts as "running" for a given day? If while waiting for something, as happened last night, I run a mile or a mile and a half and then an hour or so later run another mile, not a race speed, but faster than easy. Would that count as a run, as far as, helping to make the weekly long run more doable and reduce the chance of injury? These quick 8-15 minute, about a mile or so, runs are pretty easy to fit in, and are nice stress relief as well. But do they help with getting mileage up for long distance running? I'm talking about this in terms of a less than 20 mpw runner.

RunFarLiveHappy

I've always run often since I began running, even when I didn't consider myself a "runner" because I walked a lot (intervals) and was super slow lol. The more I ran regularly and actually notched out time to make running a priority the more I improved. I can totally empathize with having a little one at home and balancing family with running. I am lucky that I get to spend the entire day with my son even while I'm working and he's in school so it's easier to take time away in the evenings and weekends to run. Good luck on finding a balance that works for you Varda. Your conditioning will certainly help in your running progress! ❤️

davemunger

I would say it's not important to worry about that percentage until you are doing long runs of ~10 miles or more. At that point, yes, you should be doing more than 3 runs per week. But it's fine to run, say, 3, 4, and 5 miles as your three runs for the week. Technically that 5-miler is 42 percent of your weekly running, but since your overall mileage is low it's not a huge deal.

The problems come in when folks do a 20-mile long run and only 10 or 15 miles the entire rest of the week. You would be much better off running those 30-35 miles in smaller chunks.

CarsonRuns

I would say it's not important to worry about that percentage until you are doing long runs of ~10 miles or more. At that point, yes, you should be doing more than 3 runs per week. But it's fine to run, say, 3, 4, and 5 miles as your three runs for the week. Technically that 5-miler is 42 percent of your weekly running, but since your overall mileage is low it's not a huge deal.

The problems come in when folks do a 20-mile long run and only 10 or 15 miles the entire rest of the week. You would be much better off running those 30-35 miles in smaller chunks.

Good point Dave. I'll even be more specific and say that it's probably not important until your long run is over 90 minutes.

likitisplit

Thanks so much for your responses! I'm trying to take the advice last year I got to heart and run basically easy miles and just work to carve out more time on my feet. One of my runs is 90 minutes so I'll hold it there for now (LOL on 10 miles in 90 minutes) and I think I can see my way clear to another run of around 2 miles on a fourth day once I've maxed out my current run times.

SillyC2

You know, these suggestions about percentage of your mileage.... consider it a starting point, really, and you're going to have to find a way to make distance running work for you.


Over time, putting in more mileage during the "shorter" runs will tend to make you drastically faster, even on long run day. But only if you can manage to run faster on your short runs, and you don't burn out.

I know people, through ultras, that run a marathon to a 100 mile nearly every weekend, but don't run AT ALL during the week.... and have been doing just this for decades. I wouldn't recommend this plan.... because there's so little running and I personally LIKE running.... also, they admit that this has them running slower than they otherwise would.