Please help me work out my running distance.

Dofflin

Hi,




I'm a healthy and active 22 year old with no medical conditions. I do not need to lose weight.

I have enjoyed running for 3 months and want to increase my distance without getting hurt or causing future problems.




The week before last I ran ~55 km, and I found it to be too much. My knee seized up and below my calf ached like crazy so I did lots of stretching and rolling (and compressed and iced my knee for good measure). (I wonder how many people won't actually read this and just say "you did too much too soon!" lol) Anyway, I rested for almost a whole week, painfully resisting the urge to run by limiting myself to cycling, swimming and some free weights instead. I also bought some good running shoes in the meantime.




So, if 30 km=easy, 40 km=fun, and 55 km=injury...

Would it be WISE to assume my capacity is at 40 km now and SAFE to increase it to 44 km (+10%) NEXT WEEK?




Thanks!!

P.S. While I've got your attention, what race distance would be suitable for me in the next 3-9 months?

lockeddoor

I'm going to assume you are putting in some incorrect numbers there, because you're saying your "easy" run (30 kilometers) is over 18.6 miles... unless km means something besides kilometers.

SecretAgent27

If you can run 40K comfortably, I might go back and do that again for a week before bumping it up.

There are a couple of "rules" about adding mileage.

One is the 10% rule which you apparently know about.

Another one is that you can add one mile for every day of the week that you run. So if you run 3 days a week, you can add 3 miles. If you run 5 then you can add five. BUT, when you bump up the mileage, you have to stay at that level for 3 weeks before bumping it up again.

It's also a good idea to have a "recovery" week every 4 weeks (roughly) where you drop your mileage down a little bit.

Personally, I run more for time than distance. And my weekly mileage ends up being a product of the types of runs I'm doing during the week. And as I naturally get faster, the more distance I cover in the same amount of time. But I'm somewhat conservative in that my mileage is increasing by an average of 1 to 1.5 miles a week, even though at 35 miles/week I could theoretically add more than that. I'm sure I'll get to 40-50 miles/week, but I don't necessarily feel an urgent need to get there as quick as possible.

As far as what race, if you haven't run any before, I'd just start at a 5K and work your way up.

There's a neat chart on this site that gives recommended mileage for different race distances. Not sure how much stock i put into it. Take it for what it's worth.

http://www.runningforfitness.org/book/chapter-10-putting-it-together/how-far

SecretAgent27

I'm going to assume you are putting in some incorrect numbers there, because you're saying your "easy" run (30 kilometers) is over 18.6 miles...

I took it to mean she was talking about her weekly mileage . . . err. . . kilometers. Going from 40K (25 miles) to 55K (34 miles) is a big jump for one week. It would be huge if we were talking about individual runs.

lockeddoor

I'm going to assume you are putting in some incorrect numbers there, because you're saying your "easy" run (30 kilometers) is over 18.6 miles...

I took it to mean she was talking about her weekly mileage . . . err. . . kilometers. Going from 40K (25 miles) to 55K (34 miles) is a big jump for one week. It would be huge if we were talking about individual runs.

Oh, okay that makes WAY more sense! LOL

Dofflin

I'm going to assume you are putting in some incorrect numbers there, because you're saying your "easy" run (30 kilometers) is over 18.6 miles...

30km per week, that is! I can't run that far in one go yet!

lockeddoor

Okay, what I would do is just slowly increase like the previous poster said. If you've already hurt yourself, I would not do a 10% increase yet until you're fully recovered. I'd do a more conservative increase, and then see if there are specific types of exercises you can do to help prevent that injury in the future (do you have a sports med doc or physical therapist?). I don't know if you are working on your form at all, but that is one of the best ways to prevent future injuries and run more efficiently as you increase your distances. I video taped myself running and watched it on slow motion to see what i needed to correct.

lockeddoor

I also wanted to second the suggestion of taking an easy week every now and then, where you decrease your mileage and "rest" so to speak. I recently started increasing my mileage, and this is my "rest" week where I've reduced back to my previous weekly mileage. It helps me not burn out.

Dofflin

If you can run 40K comfortably, I might go back and do that again for a week before bumping it up.

There are a couple of "rules" about adding mileage.

One is the 10% rule which you apparently know about.

Another one is that you can add one mile for every day of the week that you run. So if you run 3 days a week, you can add 3 miles. If you run 5 then you can add five. BUT, when you bump up the mileage, you have to stay at that level for 3 weeks before bumping it up again.

It's also a good idea to have a "recovery" week every 4 weeks (roughly) where you drop your mileage down a little bit.

Personally, I run more for time than distance. And my weekly mileage ends up being a product of the types of runs I'm doing during the week. And as I naturally get faster, the more distance I cover in the same amount of time. But I'm somewhat conservative in that my mileage is increasing by an average of 1 to 1.5 miles a week, even though at 35 miles/week I could theoretically add more than that. I'm sure I'll get to 40-50 miles/week, but I don't necessarily feel an urgent need to get there as quick as possible.

As far as what race, if you haven't run any before, I'd just start at a 5K and work your way up.

There's a neat chart on this site that gives recommended mileage for different race distances. Not sure how much stock i put into it. Take it for what it's worth.

http://www.runningforfitness.org/book/chapter-10-putting-it-together/how-far

Nice link, thanks!
These three weeks are the first time I've actually counted how far I've gone, sort of like an experiment that almost went wrong. Luckily I recovered quickly.
Usually my running is sporadic, but I think this around 40km/week is a good starting point, perhaps even sitting on that distance for a while until it becomes easy, then increasing slowly.
It's just so exciting and fun! But alas, we are mortal.

Dofflin

Okay, what I would do is just slowly increase like the previous poster said. If you've already hurt yourself, I would not do a 10% increase yet until you're fully recovered. I'd do a more conservative increase, and then see if there are specific types of exercises you can do to help prevent that injury in the future (do you have a sports med doc or physical therapist?). I don't know if you are working on your form at all, but that is one of the best ways to prevent future injuries and run more efficiently as you increase your distances. I video taped myself running and watched it on slow motion to see what i needed to correct.

//

I also wanted to second the suggestion of taking an easy week every now and then, where you decrease your mileage and "rest" so to speak. I recently started increasing my mileage, and this is my "rest" week where I've reduced back to my previous weekly mileage. It helps me not burn out.

Yes, that is actually a good idea, to not increase mileage (kilometer-age lol) for a little while. I feel I should do that.
I had a traumatic experience with a team of doctors before and try to avoid them.
Hmmm analysing your gait sounds like a smart idea! Good one!

Thanks for the advice guys!

twinmom_112002

When I wanted to increase my mileage I found a training plan (half marathon). I figured it would safely get me where I wanted to be. At the time I had no intention of running a race. Then I did and I am hooked.

JTick

When I wanted to increase my mileage I found a training plan (half marathon). I figured it would safely get me where I wanted to be. At the time I had no intention of running a race. Then I did and I am hooked.

I did this as well, but I would research what plan you use. I used Jeff Galloways because I run intervals, and I ended up having to tweak the mileage because it wasn't working for me. He has two 45 min runs during the week, and a long run on Saturday. Because I run so slow, my long runs ended up being a HUGE percentage of my total weekly mileage, but I didn't know any better at the time. I ended up getting through it and completed my half, but I think I would've been able to do so more comfortably if I had been running more miles during the week.

If I could do it again, I'd probably follow Hal Higdon's mileage, but just incorporate the intervals that I love so much.

Also, I concur with the other posters that you probably shouldn't increase mileage again until you are running pain free. There's nothing wrong with hanging out at a certain mileage for a little bit and letting your body adjust. Remember it takes time for bones and soft tissue to strengthen.

dougii

"Usually my running is sporadic, but I think this around 40km/week is a good starting point, perhaps even sitting on that distance for a while until it becomes easy, then increasing slowly."

If your running stays sporadic and 40km/week is fun, then I would agree that staying at this distance for a while is a really good plan. If your running becomes more consistent then I would either increase 10 - 15% per week or follow a beginners training plan for a half or full marathon. I agree with the advice you have already received and just wanted to write to caution you against increasing too fast - as I can attest it does lead to all sorts of injurys that can stop you from running entirely.

Run strong!

jchite84

A lot of good advice. I scanned quickly but did not see anybody ask about the speed/kind of running you are doing. If this has been addressed apologies. But, you might split up your weekly distance with some different kinds of runs. Example: I run 3 - 4 days per week, I generally do one short distance tempo run (at least 5k, pretty fast for me), one medium distance moderate run (usually a 10K at a pace where I can talk without getting winded, but wouldn't really want to), and one long slow run (usually 20 - 25K at a pace that would seem fairly slow even for a beginner). All of my significant distance increases happen on this last day, I will usually add on an extra kilometer every week for a month, and then keep at this distance for a week or 2 and then ramp up again increasing my other days appropriately.

As far as race distance, it seems like you might be a strong enough runner to hit a 10K. You don't have to run nearly as fast as a 5K, and it is a fun and respectable distance.