Kevin Montgomery
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Posts: 6
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« on: January 07, 2008, 02:39:12 pm » |
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I am working very hard to build up my base miles per day. Due to a very hectic schedule and my Slow motion pace (at present) I have to break up my daily runs in order to get my target of 10 miles/day at this point. (i.e. 6 -8 miles in the morning and 2-4 miles at lunch). Will breaking up my runs to get an overall target distance effectively help me to build desired marathon endurance?
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Jon Allen
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« Reply #1 on: January 07, 2008, 03:24:00 pm » |
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Good questions. 2 lines of thought- in some ways, miles are miles no matter how you get them. Better to do 2 short runs than to only do 1 short run, certainly.
However, when you are training specifically for a marathon, you need to make sure that you still get in enough mid and long runs. For example, two 9 mile runs do not provide the same marathon benefit as an 18 mile run. For base miles, splitting in 2 is ok. But as the race gets closer, I would encourage you to make sure you get 1 long run and 2 mid runs per week (long=16-22, mid=10-16). Just my opinion. This is assuming at least 60 miles per week. If your mileage is lower, chop miles off your mid runs, and make sure you get a long run at least every other week.
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« Last Edit: January 08, 2008, 08:37:35 am by Jonathan Allen »
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jtshad
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« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2008, 08:04:39 am » |
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I concur with Jon. I do mostly 2-a-days in order to get my mileage goals in and reach 70-90 miles consistent (at least in the better weather). As Jon indicated, you do need to ensure you get at least 1 long run in per week (10-15 miles) and some longer runs as the race approaches (again as Jon indicated). Make sure to incorporate some speed work into your shorter runs as well.
Good luck with the mileage buildup...you can do it.
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James Winzenz
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« Reply #3 on: January 08, 2008, 05:35:19 pm » |
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You will find, if you look at the schedule of the "elite" runners on the blog, or other elite runners, that they run more than once per day. For those of us with strict work schedules, it almost becomes a necessity once you hit a certain level of mileage to break up your daily runs into chunks (I think that level being 8-10 miles/day or higher). As Jon said, breaking up the base miles is not going to hurt you - as long as you get in some longer complete runs without breaking them up. For me personally, Saturday is my medium-long run day, and all other days I will break up my miles once I get to the point that I cannot feasibly run all my miles at one time during the day.
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Kevin Montgomery
Lurker
Posts: 6
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« Reply #4 on: January 09, 2008, 02:21:58 pm » |
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Thanks everyone for the great feedback. The major reason for raising the question is that on Saturdays (as of recent) when I have tried to get my long runs in 15 miles... at about 2 miles past my daily mileage (approx. 10 miles)... I have hit a wall per say. So I was wondering if I was truly building a base that would enable me to go long distances.
Obviously, I am very glad to hear the news that you can break up the mileage because as slow as I run I can not get my mileage in at one time and maintain a full time job anyway. I guess I still have some base building to accomplish! Thanks again for the great information and continued support!!
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Sasha Pachev
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« Reply #5 on: January 09, 2008, 04:27:49 pm » |
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Kevin:
You should not expect to increase your mileage to 10 miles a day and see the results in a long run in such a short period of time as only a couple of weeks. In fact, 10 miles a day from a much lesser mileage right away is not a good idea. You should increase more gradually. Probably do 6 miles a day with a long run of 12 for a while, then progress to 7 a day with the long run of 14 once you feel ready, and so on. In 6 months or so 10 miles a day will not be a big deal, and you will not be hitting the wall in the longer runs.
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Jon Allen
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« Reply #6 on: January 09, 2008, 10:33:52 pm » |
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A good mileage increase recommendation is 10% or 5 miles per week, then maintain for another week or two at that level before increasing again. For example, I've been in the 40's for a few weeks. This week is 50 miles total, and next week. Then 2 weeks of 55 miles per week.
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James Winzenz
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« Reply #7 on: January 09, 2008, 11:25:01 pm » |
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I fully agree with Sasha and Jon and can totally relate to what Sasha was saying. It is hard to believe that a 12-14 mile run right now does not feel hard any more. There shouldn't be any rush to drastically increase your weekly mileage - in fact, I can tell you from experience that every time I have tried to do this I have landed myself on the injured list. Be patient, you will reach your goals eventually, but it can take years for your aerobic base to fully develop. In fact, Arthur Lydiard writes that your aerobic base can continue to increase year after year.
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