How Far Should You Be Running Each Week
Whether you are a novice or an experienced runner who is getting back into stride (pun intended), you are probably asking yourself a range of questions regarding what’s considered safe and healthy. Well you’re not alone, many new pavement warriors have similar uncertainties and luckily for you, our expert physiotherapist and run enthusiast, Laura Hernandez, helps break down your concerns!
How much you should be running on a weekly basis?
The key to successful running over a week involves letting the body rest adequality and not overwhelming yourself consecutive days. To do this the aim should be 1 long run and 2-4 short runs on alternating days. A long run should be 1.5-2 times the length of your short run or 20-30% of your weekly mileage. On the other hand, a short run should last about 20 to 30 minutes (or roughly 2 to 4 miles) per run. Remember to divide the runs equally throughout the week.
How do you go about progressing your running?
The most popular anser is the 10 percent rule. The 10 Percent Rule states that its best to increase the distance you run each week by 10 percent. So if you are running 10 miles this week, you should only run 1 more miles next week.
However, this is hardly a rule and should be used as a guideline due to limited evidence supporting its role on minimizing injuries. You can continue using the 10% rule as a guide except:
1. When coming back from an injury where 10% increases are too much and too soon
2. When the training volume is already high, then adding 10% weekly increases may not be tolerated and weekly training load may need to be increased by a lower amount such as 0.1% for example
Aside from the 10% rule, you should also track your acute:chronic ratios. This approach has stronger support by available research as it accounts for distances and the perceived exertion. For example, if you ran 5 km in 30 minutes at an exertion level of 7/10 (0= no exertion and 10=maximal exertion) for 4 weeks, then your workload ratio is 30 x 7= 210 units.
On week 5, your maximal running time for that week should be 40 minutes at an exertion of 7/10. Alternatively, you can run for 35 minutes at 8/10 exertion level to reach the same workload = 280 units.
As shown in this example, you want to make sure you progress your load units by no more than 30% compared to the average of the last 4 weeks. In this example: 280 units/210 units= 1.3, which means 35 minutes at 8/10 or 40 minutes at 7/10 is the maximum you can progress for that week.
When using this approach called the acute to chronic workload ratio, research indicates that scores of 0.8-1.3 represent the ‘safe zone’ of loading with the lowest risk of injury (Gabbett 2016)
Next, we will discuss the role of warming up, reducing your step length by increasing cadence and the importance of recovery and rest days.
How do I warm up before running?
You should include simple, sport-specific, ‘dynamic’ stretches for 10-15 minutes, or until you feel ready. ‘Static’ stretches should be limited to 15-30 second holds, once per position after running. Below you can find some common stretches pre and post-run.
Pre-run dynamic stretches
https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/training/beginners/a33332574/standing-prerun-stretches/
Post-run static stretches
Cadence, slow runs and fast runs
On your running days, you should be performing a combination of slow and faster runs. Not running slow enough on easy days is an extremely common error that many runners make. Do not run your fast runs too slow and or your recovery runs too fast! Instead, use the 80/20 rule. Run slowly at a conversational speed as part as 80% of your training. Your faster runs will be at a faster speed as part of 20% percent of your training.
World’s leading runners spend on average 80% of their total training below ventilatory threshold or at a conversational speed (which falls between 77 and 79% of maximum heart rate). In other words, for every one hard run (20% of your training), you should run four easy runs (80% percent of your training) at a conversational speed. For more details on the 80/20 rule, please refer to the following resource https://www.pogophysio.com.au/blog/80-20-rule-running/.
How do you slow down your runs?
Start by increasing your step rate or cadence (number of steps per minute). According to Quinn et al. (2019) increasing step rate increases running economy by reducing knee flexion and hip adduction. Runners with good economy use less oxygen than runners with poor economy at the same steady state speed which translates to better performance.
Not only you will improve your running economy but also reduce your injury risk.
Here is a great summary explaining the benefits of increasing your cadence presented by a Physionetwork. Increasing step rate by 10% has been found to reduce peak knee flexion and hip adduction (Schubert et al. 2014) and reduce patellofemoral load (Lenhart et al. 2014). An increase in step rate has also been reported to reduce peak achilles load, (Lyght et al. 2016) tibial load (Edwards et al. 2009) and plantar fascial load (Wellenkotter et al. 2014). This means if you are dealing with achilles tendon, knee pain, or shin splints, you are better off by increasing your cadence towards 175-185 steps/min or around 90 individual foot strikes per minute.
Initially, you may feel that applying these gait changes are tiring and take a lot of mental effort. You may even notice your running economy decline in the short term, however, this is only in the short term and it improves over time with practice (Whittier et al. 2019)
https://www.physio-network.com/category/running/
What the best Recovery after running?
Great! By now you have been doing a combination of short and long runs, warming up and increasing your cadence. How about rest and recovery?
On your off-days, you should be working on active recovery and strength training. Rest and recovery days are as essential to training as the running itself.
Plan to take one day completely off each week. Rest days prevent overuse injuries, allow for restoration of glycogen stores, give the body time to heal and repair loaded tissues.
Summary
In short, you should plan 1 long run for every 2-4 short runs. A long run is typically 1.5-2 times longer than your short one. You can progress the distance of your run using the 10% rule as a guide. However, if you want to be more precise, or if you are already training at high volumes or getting back from an injury, you should calculate your target load units by multiplying running distance and perceived exertion as shown above. This way you can make sure you are not running at a load 30% higher than the average of the past 4 weeks.
If you have not guessed it by now, here it is: planning your runs beforehand by deciding the distance and number of short and long runs, taking short strides to find a comfortable rhythm and recommended cadence (approximately 90 individual foot trikes/min) along with warm up and recovery times will keep you running healthier and help you perform better. If you have any questions, feel free to contact our run expert & physiotherapist Laura. In the meantime, happy running!
References
https://www.pogophysio.com.au/blog/
https://www.physio-network.com/category/running/
Gabbett TJ. The training—injury prevention paradox: should athletes be training smarter and harder?. Br J Sports Med 2016;50:273-280.
Quinn, Timothy J.1; Dempsey, Shauna L.1; LaRoche, Dain P.1; Mackenzie, Allison M.2; Cook, Summer B.1 Step Frequency Training Improves Running Economy in Well-Trained Female Runners, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: July 11, 2019
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