Runners....Mixing it up Question!

Im_NotPerfect
Im_NotPerfect Posts: 2,181 Member
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
It seems my body is getting used to my 3x per week 3 mile run and I seem to be backpeddling. After talking to a runner here at work, he suggested I start mixing it up a bit by adding fartleks or running a fast 1.5 mile instead of a slower 3 miles. By doing this, according to him, my "normal" runs will get easier and my endurance will increase. Any comments or suggestions on how I can "shake it up" to make running easier??

Replies

  • james123567
    james123567 Posts: 15 Member
    LSD (long, slow or fast consistent pace, distance) training consistently like the 3x/week x 3 miles/session, just like with drug/alcohol abuse your body will adapt to make that part of the homeostatic balance for your life function. You reach a peak or plateau with little/no change until you stop, and unless you replace the LSD training with another form of calorie burning your body will begin to store excess food as fat stores (primary energy substrate for LSD exercise). Your body's goal is to burn as little energy as possible in efforts to prolong your existence with everything that we do because the more highs/lows of all types in everything we do stresses your body, and carries the possibility of causing catastrophic failure (death), which is why your body adapts to be able to just overcome any consistent resistance. I can go into a long diatribe about evolution and environmental stressors but I will answer your question below:

    Add a strength program 2+ days a week to strengthen your leg muscles. Stronger muscles make any movement less strenuous on you. This will cause you to put on weight depending on the intensity/your body frame. The added weight is just more muscles fibers. It make take up to or a little more than a month for you to see the results. You may choose to do a light enough routine just to enhance the muscle neural coordination to enhance the efficiency of your muscle movement while you run. I'm saying this to you having taking courses in motor control & learning, exercise physiology and the underlying scientific basis of athletic conditioning. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors. :-)
  • elleloch
    elleloch Posts: 739 Member
    I am always switching up my running - Some weeks I run more, others I run less. Sometimes I run at the same pace the whole time, other times I run at intervals with jogging, walking and sprints.
  • SelkieDiver
    SelkieDiver Posts: 260 Member
    Absolutely mix it up! Extend one run a week into a longer distance. Take one of your mid-week runs and use it for speed work (fartleks, intervals, a tempo run, etc.). On your third run do hills. Run up the hill, walk or jog down, rinse, repeat. Your body does adapt if you don't shake things up.
  • kylTKe
    kylTKe Posts: 146 Member
    I would recommend just increasing mileage. Either add in another day or make your current days longer. No need to add specialized workouts.
  • sevsmom
    sevsmom Posts: 1,172 Member
    Fartleks are proven to improve times. I just haven't brought myself to do them yet! In all honesty and type of interval training in your runs should bust that plateau. Switch out the lengths of some runs. Go an extra mile one day and then go your standard mileage, but faster the next run. If you are looking to move your fitness level forward, you've got to keep challenging your body!!! Good luck!!
  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
    I've been trying to mix it up--some days I run a road course with hills, some days I do the gravel loop at the park, some days I run at the high school track, some days I run on the treadmill... Each is a slightly different distance, each has its own unique challenges. I've noticed over the last couple weeks that my heart rate isn't getting as high as it once was (I only started running in late May), so I throw in some speed intervals (even if it's only 50 meters at a time) to kick my heart rate up a little.
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
    What is your goal? You said "to make running easier". If this is the only goal, then running more will make it easier. :smile:

    Is your goal to be a better runner? Faster runner? At what distance? Is your goal just to loose weight? General fitness?
  • mwestonp
    mwestonp Posts: 77 Member
    I can share with you my experience. I'm training for a half marathon and recently started mixing up my mid-week training sessions which had been similar to yours - 3-4 miles, 2-3 times per week. I also do a long run on the weekends. The last few weeks I've been starting at a comfortable speed and then running either half mile or mile segments at a faster pace - adding 1 or 2 mph to my pace....a form of interval training. I cycle between those for the duration of my session (30-45 minutes). Surprisingly it has made what used to be my standard pace seem slow and I've been able to comfortably add mileage to my weekend long runs. Hope that helps.
  • ChaseAlder
    ChaseAlder Posts: 804 Member
    I just add mileage. I'm not into sprinting and stuff. It makes me cranky.
  • carlsoda
    carlsoda Posts: 3,426 Member
    I'm new to running but I'm doing the C10K program which keeps mixing things up. I do that three times a week, plus I follow the New Rules of Lifting books and on my non-running days I'm lifting. Then I get a day of active rest..biking :) I know it's working well for me because I'm getting more and more energy as the weeks pass!
  • RBXChas
    RBXChas Posts: 2,708 Member
    I am not interested in becoming a faster runner but would like running to be easier/more enjoyable and be able to do it over longer periods of time. So for me, sprints are kind of pointless, since I'm not trying to improve speed. I just try to run a little longer every time I run, which is fairly easy to do for me, since I only run 1-2x/week at this point (I Spin 4x/week). I recommend changing up your mileage and/or terrain.
  • Im_NotPerfect
    Im_NotPerfect Posts: 2,181 Member
    What is your goal? You said "to make running easier". If this is the only goal, then running more will make it easier. :smile:

    Is your goal to be a better runner? Faster runner? At what distance? Is your goal just to loose weight? General fitness?

    My goal is to enjoy running for the long term. I would like to run a 10K next spring, but in all honestly right now, I don't have ambitions to do a marathon...or heck, even a Half. Maybe as I get more into it? I would like to have a "long run" day at some point. But right now, I seem to only be able to manage 3 miles at a crack and even then just barely!

    Thanks for all the advice everyone! I think I'm going to start including some fartleks and interval running into my routine!
  • nejaustin
    nejaustin Posts: 76 Member
    A simple way to mix it up is to do your normal run for the first half mile then run start at a light pole run fast to the next, slow jog to the next, fast to the next etc. and then cool down in the last half mile with a slow job. You can vary ie run fast two light poles, walk/jog one etc. lots of variations.
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
    If you want your endurance to increase to run further easier then you have to progressively overload your body by running further at a moderate pace. It will be hard at first but then get easier over time.

    Doing intervals and fartleks don't really address this. They will make you faster for the distance that you have the endurance to run.
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
    If you want your endurance to increase to run further easier then you have to progressively overload your body by running further at a moderate pace. It will be hard at first but then get easier over time.

    Doing intervals and fartleks don't really address this. They will make you faster for the distance that you have the endurance to run.

    Yep. Run longer. Run slower. Run at a conversational pace.
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