I’ve been running 35-40 miles per week pretty consistently since Sept (apart from a few week with unrelated injuries)… Initially my runs were following BarryP’s plan pretty tightly. Over the last month or two my runs have shifted to mostly 5-7 miles per run, 6-7 days a week. I’m starting to shift back towards the BarryP plan to get some longer runs in, but wondering which is more important, long runs or overall volume?
Overall volume is more important. I’d say volume is 75-85% of the picture with speed work and long run being the last chunk
There are so many different theories, studies, beliefs out there when I comes to running. Volume vs. consistency being an age old discussion that will continue on. I believe in and preach consistency first, volume second. Meaning running 5-6 days a week 6 miles a day is more beneficial than running 3 days a week for 10-12 miles a run. Running is a high impact sport. You can develop aerobic capacity through other means such as swimming, biking, elliptical trainers. However our muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bone need frequent exposure to the high impact of running to adapt and become more resilient.
Volume
When I went from 33 in the 10k to 30:33 I ran 60 - 80 mpw instead of 40 - 50. I ran slower, and paid attention to my easy days being really easy so my hard days could be harder. I was a HR monitor nazi, pissing off my teammates with my sandbagging runs. By the end of the season they all ran slower, except when they didn’t.
I’ve been running 35-40 miles per week pretty consistently since Sept (apart from a few week with unrelated injuries)… Initially my runs were following BarryP’s plan pretty tightly. Over the last month or two my runs have shifted to mostly 5-7 miles per run, 6-7 days a week. I’m starting to shift back towards the BarryP plan to get some longer runs in, but wondering which is more important, long runs or overall volume?
It is not an “either or” scenario. Overall volume is a key element. It is easier to recover from, and easier overall on the body to spread that volume out over several runs, rather than rely on fewer runs to get the volume. As a result, this looks a lot like consistency. 5 X 6 miles is easier on the body than 3 X 10 miles.
I’ve been running 35-40 miles per week pretty consistently since Sept (apart from a few week with unrelated injuries)… Initially my runs were following BarryP’s plan pretty tightly. Over the last month or two my runs have shifted to mostly 5-7 miles per run, 6-7 days a week. I’m starting to shift back towards the BarryP plan to get some longer runs in, but wondering which is more important, long runs or overall volume?
It is not an “either or” scenario. Overall volume is a key element. It is easier to recover from, and easier overall on the body to spread that volume out over several runs, rather than rely on fewer runs to get the volume. As a result, this looks a lot like consistency. 5 X 6 miles is easier on the body than 3 X 10 miles.
I understand the frequency piece, hence my running 6-7 times per week… My thought is how much focus needs to be placed on the long run. I can run approximately 42 as 7 runs of 6 miles, 6 runs of 7 miles or a mix of distances over 6 or 7 days each week. I’m starting to add some variability so I can extend my long run (more of a 1,2,3 format like BarryP’s plan), but I’m just looking for additional insight on the topic… My mileage will also build up higher then 35-40mpw as I get closer to my IM…
Long run is more about race distance no?
If your running race distance is 6 miles, a 6 or 7 mile long run every day seems fine. If your race is 26 miles, I sure hope you have a long run closer to 21 mile.
as other said, it s a combination of both.
but in the hypothetical situation where you cant have both… consistency will be better. You could get away with 6-7 run a week and going into a ironman as long as the overall volume is there. That said, i dont recommend it. medium long run would be a good addition and a wise one.
i don’t see much point in running past the 2h 2h15 mark with any of my athletes. Seems like they all run very well off the bike using this approach and it keep us away from injuries!
My thought is how much focus needs to be placed on the long run
Very little. The long run is overrated.
Do a few of them but otherwise, don’t worry about it. You should be more concerned trying to do as much weekly mileage as you can fit into your plan.
Incidentally the term, “overall run volume” generally refers to total weekly mileage. Not merely the length of your longest run. So the terms “overall run volume” and “consistency” are not at odds at all. You do not need to choose between them. You use the latter to push the boundaries of the former. The length of your longest run is a lower priority than either of them.
You need both, but if you had to pick one, the total training volume is way more important than the long run.
For longer distance racing, long runs are important, but they don’t have to be done every week. For triathletes, 2 or3X (max) a month is great, esp. if you are biking a lot (say 6-10 hrs a week). And they seldom need to crack 2 hours and seldom need to be run faster than M pace + 30 sec. (often much slower than that).
My hierarchy has always been: 1. Frequency (daily) 2. Mileage/consistency 3. Long runs 4. Tempo or M pace 5. “Speed” if you can fit it in. This should work for people focusing on halfs, IMs & marathons, even sub3 & sub10 guys I reckon.
You need both, but if you had to pick one, the total training volume is way more important than the long run.
Thank you for your contributions to this forum. I frequently have to make hard decisions about training and you answered today’s question, at least for me!
I set a minimum core training standards for myself per week. For running the minimum is 4 sessions: 1) tempo run 4- 9 miles, 2) long run 13- 23 miles, 3) easy run, 4) easy run. I have similar minimums set for cycling and swimming. If I am att the low end of the range on one workout, that frees up time and energy for other workouts.
For example, if I am a “triathlete” training for a half marathon, I might keep my long run to 15 and my long ride to 2 hrs. That would give me time for an extra easy run and maybe an interval workout.
To me consistency is always making minimum core (modified on recovery weeks), not just doing lots of short runs for a couple of months.
Running 80 mpw is full on dedication. Running a 10k in 30.xx is fast as hell. There is no “or” in your training. It’s all “and”.
Volume
When I went from 33 in the 10k to 30:33 I ran 60 - 80 mpw instead of 40 - 50. I ran slower, and paid attention to my easy days being really easy so my hard days could be harder. I was a HR monitor nazi, pissing off my teammates with my sandbagging runs. By the end of the season they all ran slower, except when they didn’t.
Consistency > total volume, as long as you get long runs in. Although consistency leads to volume, I don’t see how you could get high total volume without consistency.
as other said, it s a combination of both.
but in the hypothetical situation where you cant have both… consistency will be better. You could get away with 6-7 run a week and going into a ironman as long as the overall volume is there. That said, i dont recommend it. medium long run would be a good addition and a wise one.
i don’t see much point in running past the 2h 2h15 mark with any of my athletes. Seems like they all run very well off the bike using this approach and it keep us away from injuries!
Thanks… This is what I was trying to get at… I plan on getting a few long runs in but my total weekly mileage and run frequency has been my primary focus.
You need both, but if you had to pick one, the total training volume is way more important than the long run.
Thanks… Not planning on skipping the long runs, just trying to gauge how much importance I needed to place on regular “long runs” vs total weekly mileage.
Frequency x Consistency = Volume
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Frequency x duration = volume 
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It depends, but both are important.
Many triathletes relatively new to endurance sports fail on the consistency part because they don’t understand that to really start to build a base, build durability and efficiency, you have to run almost every day for a period of time. They’ll NOT get this information from any of their coaches. They also fail to realize that it takes a long time ( typically measured in 2 - 4 month chunks of time) to really start to move the needle here.
But the overall volume is important to - that gradually needs to be built up. However, after a number of years, yes, that’s right years ( You love to do this right?), volume can be cut back, and overall fitness maintained with less overall volume and a more specific structure to the running regime. But, as noted, most/many triathletes are YEARS away from this.
So get out there and get at it!