Once.. i ran nearly every day.. trying to get the mileage in and managed to get close to 150-200km/month and then i got injured cos I believe my body wasn't able to take it despite me actually just running moderately slow. So now, after 2 years, the achilles is still not completely better and i'm more cautious (scared actually) of restarting running.

I've picked up Trail running tho - supposedly less impactful. Supposed.

If you are someone who currently runs 4 days per week. Miles of 3-4-3 than 6-8 on the weekends, how would you build to running 6-7 days per week without injury? Cut the 6-8 mile run to 4 and add in 1 extra day per week until running 7 days?

The people I work with, I have them run for 30 min every other day for 5 weeks then move them to four 30 min runs per week for 5 weeks. If they are doing OK there I'll move them to 4-5 30 min runs for the next 5 weeks. After that I increase the time of two of the runs depending on how they are doing.

It's not an overnight process for everyone to be able to run 6-7 days a week. Some can not do it, some can do it in one cycle.

That’s 16-18 miles per week. Just spread that out over 6-7 days then start adding a litttle bit to each run every week or two.

BarryP style that would be three runs of 1.75 miles, two runs of 3.5 miles and one run of 5.25 for a weekly total of 17.5 miles.

Then the next week at .25 miles to the short runs. .5 miles to the medium runs and .75 miles to the long run.

Rinse and repeat.

RBR:

You need up to 7 hours of training a week total. For the run leg, 2-3 hours would be good. Get a base of steady runs in the 2-4 mile range, 4-5 days a week. Develop your sprint endurance run legs. Either year round or 3-4 months before building into the tri season. During the build weeks, keep the mileage and increase speed blocks. Use either Fartlek or intervals. Whatever you like more. During taper days into race day, add in some 150 Meter pick-ups for raw foot speed. Your swimming should build some arm strength that will allow you to pump your run arms for speed without endurance impairment. Be sure to run some strides up and down hills during build training. These will build your muscles and other soft tissue to minimize stress during runs. Also, trains the bone structure.

Know how to race too. That includes pacing, how to react to competitors, stay relaxed, and more. Minimize the weight on the bike. You don't need much in fluids during the race. It's a sprint. If you train an hour a day, your body will be trained for that experience.

Focus on transitions. If you spend 60 seconds longer between T1 & T2 than others, then realize you are giving up a 20 second/mile advantage to your competitors. That's a lot! Start and end with bike shoes in the pedal. Know how and peel your wetsuit to the waist when running out of the water. Take off your cap and goggles by the time you reach your bike. Put on your helmet, glasses, and run thru transition. You don't need socks. You don't needs a gel, or gloves, or anything else you didn't start the swim with a few minutes earlier. Know your exit and entry points and by all means, know where you bike is located and where to return.

Once you get your base in the swim, bike, and run; then speed focus will be your friend on race day to get you on the podium.

https://www.palmtreesahead.com/
https://www.palmtreesahead.com/tactical-learning

I answered that here and explain what to do after you've adapted to that here

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Thank you for your responses. I will add two small runs and work my up.

I'll add my n=1 as a FOPish triathlon runner (whose running days, are sadly numbered by worsening arthritis despite only being M40-45...)

I was a marathon runner before triathlon, so I put in a few cycles of 70+mpw Pfitz-style. The first time I did that it was hard as all getout, but for sure, going from averaging 35mpw to 70mpw (and luckily not getting injured) dramatically and apparently permanently improved my running. I had been plateaud in the 5k from my high school <30mpw PR of 20:50 for 15 years, but then after 1 cycle of the 70mpw Pfitz marathon plan, dropped a low-18 5k, which was a total shocker to me when i did it, as I really felt that I was scraping for seconds gained at 30mpw for the entire prior decade.

In my 10 years as a triathlete, I've experimented with run mileage from as low as 15-18mpw to 35-40ish per week (which I felt like was a lot if you're biking and swimming similiar/more amounts). Note that I was not run-focused at this time, so lots of time bike/swimming, too. I actually get better results in sprint-Oly with the lower mileage range, like in the 18-25 mpw range than I did from the 35-40mpw range. I suspect it's because the quality of the miles as a whole goes up, more emphasis on VO2max fast stuff, and as well the lower run mileage => better bike quality training.

I do think you need a good running base though to benefit from this .If you're the typical new AG triathlete who has never run more than 25mpw on average for several months, you're leaving a LOT on the table runwise. However, if you've got the run base like I did, lower miles don't necessarily mean worse run results.

Ironically, I took 5 months off from triathlon to train specifically for a marathon. Zero biking, zero swimming. Ran 70mpw on avg, which was probably too hard for me in retrospect. I bombed the race day (overtrained/sick) but set PRs in 10k & HM in the buildup.

The interesting part - once I got back to triathlo, my biking in particular was lagging in the start, and as a result, I ran one of my slowest Oly run splits, ever. It wasn't because I couldn't run a decent 10k - it was absolutely because I was underprepared for the bike, and I really felt it on race day. Won't let that happen again!

Then I was an over-achiever today! I managed to squeeze in 4.08 miles. (.08 was to get to a bridge to stretch after.)