I’ve just started to run and wondered how fast people generally ramp up their miles while still avoiding injury? Having already injured myself going too hard too fast on the bike, I find that I’m pretty conservative on increasing my mileage.
I’m sure people’s experiences will vary quite a bit, but just getting a sense of how people ramp up the high-impact portion of their training would give me some idea of what to expect.
Increasing by 10% is the magic number. I’ve never found a doctor or anyone credible to verify or research this, but what it lacks in evidence it makes up for in easy math. If you ran 24 miles one week, you can easily determine 10% more is 26.4 miles. If 13.5% was the magic number, the math would be hard.
a commonly heard rule of thumb is no more than 10% additional mileage per week, applied to both total mileage and long run distance.
of course, i’ve yet to meet anyone that runs with their thumbs…
cheers!
-mistress k
10% seems to be about right to avoid injury…weather its running or cycling.
VERY slowly. Over and over again from more experienced runners, it seems the people that get injured are the ones that do too much too soon before the body is ready. Patience. Take it slow and careful now, and run stronger later.
Yeah, I had heard 10% was the magic number, but I feel that’s so arbitrary. Is there a minimum amount of mileage that ST runners feel where that ramp-up percentage number doesn’t apply? If I start burning through 50 mile weeks, I doubt 5 miles would make much of a difference.
Then again, I’ve never ran 50 miles in a week. Maybe the extra 5 puts you over the edge?
for the injury prone, 2-3 miles a week.
VERY slowly. Over and over again from more experienced runners, it seems the people that get injured are the ones that do too much too soon before the body is ready. Patience. Take it slow and careful now, and run stronger later.
Yep…very slowly. I also don’t like the 10% figure and agree that its arbitrary. How old are you, how heavy, how much prior athletic experience, what is your running history…all kinds of questions come to mind.
Ramping up very slowly allows you (with luck anyway) to gain experience, discipline, weight loss and perhaps even an edge over those who would add mileage too quickly. As they break down for three weeks, you’re out being careful and running without pain.
10% a week has you doubling your mileage in 7 1/2 weeks - say from 15 to 30 or from 20 to 40…ain’t gonna happen in most cases without injury.
Thanks everyone. I think I have a sense of what’s realistic in how to increase the volume of my running miles. I’m very impressed at the quick level of response from the ST community. One of the large reasons why this is the only forum I frequent.
Of course, now I need to look at my training log and see if I’m in trouble of hurting myself. (the answer is always yes)
Just to add to what was already said…build weekly mileage slowly (use 10% as an upper limit), always go with more runs vs longer runs when increasing volume (better to go from 3 days a week running to 4 then to increase the distance of each of the 3 runs you are currently doing), and build yearly mileage slowly. I think this last one gets people. Don’t go from averaging 20 miles per week this year to averaging 50 miles per week next year.
I have no scientific data to support the above claims but I am a scientist (sort of).
Hmmm, looked at my training and pretty much went from 7 miles a week to 16.4 miles last week. On track for 17 miles this week. Haven’t felt too bad, but it could be that I (like most ST’ers) have a pretty high pain tolerance. Maybe I just don’t recognize when my body is really hurting.
We’ll try to stick around 17-18 this week and keep it there for the next few prep cycles to see how it feels. Thanks for your scientific input.
It depends. What is your age, weight, fitness level, and experience? An ex-high school or college runner who is now in their mid 20s will likely be able to ramp up more quickly than an overweight, sedentary person in their mid 40s.
One of the keys to starting out is to run frequently, consistently, and fairly short easy runs. Work on building endurance before attempting to work on building speed. One of the things that frustrates newer runners is they want to be fast before they have developed their ability to carry any speed. This leads to pushing harder than their fitness level and often leads to injury.
I would go with the 10 percent rule till you hit 30-35 miles a week and knock the percentage down a bit as you get higher. See how your body reacts to it. Your body will tell you. i ramped mine up basically using the 10 % rule then did a few 70 mile weeks and then tried a 80 mile week and now I am in the hurt locker trying out my hurt leg every other day hoping it will be good to go by May 2nd. Some peoples bodies break down at different mileage . 50 miles a week could be great for you. But add 10% to that and that might be the straw on the camels back that breaks it. I have a 10k this weekend where I hoped to break 40 minutes or into 40’s but think I might have to lay back because I want to try to save myself ( my bum calf/shin ) for a May 2nd half mary and Half iron a week after the 1/2 mary. Listen to what your body is telling you!
where are you running at here in Houston?
10% rule. do not exceed 10% in any one or combined speed or distance per week. Light stretching (do not force your body to go further than what is comfortable.)
Be very careful, as 10% is a good figure, but realize that the pace will enter into your stresses. Vary your pace to include some hard efforts in small doses, but especially some very easy runs, where you feel you are getting little benefit. Many athletes go by time, and not miles, as that’s the true measure. I find most newer athletes make the mistake of having their runs too similar in pace, which is not the best. Do some runs where you really get engaged and work on proper form and drills also.
Would time and Hr be better than pace/distance as you mentioned below?
Thanks for the tip. I know I’ve got a problem doing runs that I feel are less intensive. It makes me feel like I’m being inefficient with my training if I’m not pushing myself all the time. I was definitely on the edge of over training yesterday, and just had to take a day off to recover. Learning to properly manage my training one step at a time thanks to all the input from the ST community.
Was reading an article by Pfitzinger in Running Times recently where he advocated a slightly different approach to the standard 10% week after week. (I’m totally going off memory here, so apologies if I misinterpreted)
But the premise was, he instead recommended running at a set level, say 20 miles per week, basically until it became easy, then bumping up to another level, say 25 mpw and maintaining there until it became easy, etc, etc. As opposed to the standard of steadily increasing, week after week. The argument was that the body never really gets a chance to fully adapt b/c the mileage is continuously changing, even if it’s small increments.
Is this the Flying Pig half mary perchance?