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How Often To Run

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[[File:Supercompensation-small.png|right|thumb|500px| [[Supercompensation]] is the idea that exercise initially weakens the body, but it repairs itself to become stronger.]]There is a natural human belief that if some is good, more is better. This idea is all too often false, and can very be destructive with training. It is important to realize There's an old adage that "running does not make you a better runner - , it is 's the rest that follows running that makes you a better runner (See [[Supercompensation and Why exercise does not make you fit|Supercompensation]])". So Getting the key to effective training is to right balance the training with the rest.==How Often I Run==I have tried many different patterns of training running and rest. I have found the most effective pattern for me is to run four days a week. These four days are all 'quality days'; I run for three hours Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then run four hours on Saturday. This gives me lots critical part of long running, with enough rest to support that mileage. If I were your training for the marathon distance or shorter, I would train three days per week. The key to running three or four days a week is that every run is a quality run that requires rest to recover. I don't take extra days off to make things easier, but to make things harder. Running four days a week enables me to train on those four days much harder than I could if I trained more frequently.
My Friday/Saturday runs =Supercompensation and Monotony =It's well accepted that exercise improves fitness, and there are the only time I run consecutive daysmany different [[Endurance Adaptations]] that occur. The idea primary mechanism for these adaptations is that I have not fully recovered from Friday when I do exercise causes damage and this damage is repaired to be stronger than before the exercise. This is seen in the Saturday runfatigue that occurs after exercise, so I am doing my longest run on tired legsand the need for rest. I do The term for this because I cannot afford mechanism is [[Supercompensation]], and is a key principle for creating training programs. One way of evaluating a training program is {{TrainingMonotony}} which looks at the time that it would take variation in daily training stress. Higher levels of {{TrainingMonotony}} are associated with reduced benefits and a greater risk of [[Overtraining Syndrome]]. This need to run optimize the distances that would otherwise be requiredratio and timing of exercise and rest has been known for many years. I consider Friday/Saturday to be a single Weight training unit, though not as effective as the mileage would be if I could do it regimes have exercised particular muscle groups on a single dayalternating days and most endurance training programs have used harder days and easier days.
Running four days a week =Easy Days and Junk Miles=[[[[File:Supercompensation-continued-small.png|right|thumb|500px|The correct balance of exercise stress, rest, and the timing of the two is toughimportant for achieving improved fitness. It ]]A common approach to optimizing [[Supercompensation]] and {{TrainingMonotony}} is tough to run have 3 or fewer hard enough training days combined with a number of easier days. For this approach to work, the easy days need the 48 hours recoveryto be sufficiently easy. But it is also psychologically tough; taking three Carl Foster said "for best results make your hard days very, very hard and your easy days off is not as very, very easy as it seems". The feeling that Running on the easy days off mean not doing enough, or that a rest day will cause fitness is often referred to dissipate as "junk miles" as the only result of these miles is corrosive. ==Exceptions==There are exceptions to this adviceimpairing recovery. If your running the benefits of training is not hard enough to require 48 hours recoverygo down as the effort on easy days increases, you will be better off running more often. If you are just [[Starting why train at all on the easy days? So far I have found no evidence to run]], then indicate there is any training benefit from running 5-6 on the easy days a week may work for you. If you are running for general fitness and not pushing your body to its limits, then running 5therefore I recommend only 3-6 days 4 times a week may work for you. If you are have [[Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness|DOMS]], such as after a long race, [[Recovery Runs]] may helpmost people.
=Running Patterns=Training Plans==The There are various patterns of running that I would generally recommend. * '''3 days/week'''. This is the pattern used by [[FIRST]] plan is based around running three days a week, and which is the only marathon training plan I am aware of 've found that has undergone performed scientific evaluation about studies to evaluate its effectiveness. Hal Higdon's Advanced II Marathon<ref name="Hal"Running 3 days/> plan has 6 week requires that every days of runningis hard, but and typically involves a [[Long Run]] and two speedwork days are trivial. Jeff Galloway<ref name="Jeff"/> uses four The ratio of running to rest gives 2 days/weekof rest, and these typically follow the long run. The Runner * '''s World beginners plan <ref name="RW"/>is four 4 days/week'''. (The RW intermediary & advanced are 5 Having two back to back running daysallows for one training day that has incomplete recovery.) Typically these two back to back days are used for long runs, so that the second day simulates a longer distance [[Jack Daniels Running Formula|Jack DanielsLong Run]] (my favorite coach) defines just . It is possible to arrange 4 days/week as two work outs sets of back to back days, but this is not common.* '''3.5 days/week'''. Running every other day is a weekgreat pattern, and leaves but logistically it up is hard to you how you fit in the other milesorganize.
==Active Recovery/Easy Days==
What about 'active recovery'? I've only found one scientific study <ref name="neuro"/><ref name="Active"/> and that indicated that active recovery does nothing to help. On the other hand, it did not indicate that active recovery does any damage either.
==Active Recovery – Other meanings==
* 'Active Recovery' can refer to doing low intensity exercise between the work periods of [[Introduction to Interval Training|Interval Training]], which is effective.
* Doing gentle exercise immediately after intense exercise (the cool down) may have some benefits. There is anecdotal evidence that walking for 20-30 minutes after a long run reduces [[Muscle|muscle]] soreness.
=Exceptions=If your running is not hard enough to require 48 hours recovery, you may be better off running more often. * If you are just [[Starting to run]] then you may not running hard enough to require the days off. However, I believe that 3 days/week is probably optimal.* If you are running for fun and not pushing your body hard, then running 5-6 days a week may work for you. * If you have [[Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness| DOMS]], such as after a long race, more frequent [[Recovery Runs]] may help.* During a [[Practical Tapering| Taper]] it may be appropriate to increase frequency while dramatically reducing intensity and duration. Currently there is insufficient evidence to reach a recommendation.  =Mental Health Runs=One of the complaints concerning running 3 or 4 days/week is that every run is hard and therefore there is no running for fun. Sometimes a short, easy run can provide mental benefits, and these can be worthwhile overall, even if these "mental health runs" degrade the overall training program effectiveness. =Overload Training=Running hard or long everyday will build up cumulative fatigue as the body does not have sufficient time to recover. If this is kept up too longer, then some type of failure will occur; either injury or some form of [[Overtraining]]. However, it is possible to run for a number of days consecutively, building up deeper cumulative fatigue, and then taking a longer rest period. This is one of the principles of the [[Three Phase Taper]]. =Doubles=Running 3 or 4 days/week does not mean running at most once per day. It can be effective or necessary to run more than once per day while running fewer days per week. Running more than once in a day can provide some of the training stress of a single longer run. =Cross Training=Running is different to many other forms of exercise because a [[Downhill Running| large portion of the training stress is eccentric]], and eccentric exercise tends to require a longer recovery period. Performing some non-eccentric cross training such as cycling may be possible between running days without unduly compromising recovery. The research performed with the [[FIRST]] training program suggests that this cross training may be useful.  =Training Plans=The [[FIRST]] plan is based around running three days a week, and is the only plan I am aware of that has undergone scientific evaluation about its effectiveness. Hal Higdon's Advanced II Marathon<ref name="Hal"/> plan has 6 days of running, but two days are trivial. Jeff Galloway<ref name="Jeff"/> uses four days/week. The Runner's World beginners plan <ref name="RW"/>is four days/week. (The RW intermediary & advanced are 5 days.) [[Jack Daniels Running Formula| Jack Daniels]] defines just two work outs a week, and leaves it up to you how you fit in the other miles. =Active Recovery=What about 'active recovery'? This is the idea that low intensity exercise improves recovery from high intensity exercise. In the context of easy exercise on the day after hard exercise, I've only found one scientific study <ref name="neuro"/><ref name="Active"/> and that indicated that active recovery does nothing to help. Note that "Active Recovery" can have other meanings:* 'Active Recovery' can refer to doing low intensity exercise between the work periods of [[Introduction to Interval Training| Interval Training]], which is effective. * Doing gentle exercise immediately after intense exercise as a [[Cooldown]] may have some benefits. There is anecdotal evidence that walking for 20-30 minutes after a [[Long Run]] reduces [[Muscle| muscle]] soreness.  =How Often I Run=I did my first ultra in 2005 using a fairly conventional pattern of running. I would run six days a week, with two days as the long run back-to-back days. Around July 2008 I started to focus on making my hard days harder and my easy days easier. Gradually this became more extreme, and I won my first race in April 2009. In August 2009 I started running 4 days/week and I found my performance continue to improve. I tried [[Notes from a high mileage experiment| running more frequently]] for six months and found it ineffective and counterproductive. * I have found the most effective pattern for me is to run four days a week. I aim to run 16-27 miles, which gives me lots of long running, with enough rest to support that mileage. * Two of my runs are back to back. The idea is that I have not fully recovered from Friday when I do the Saturday run, so I am doing a [[Long Run]] on tired legs. I do this because I cannot afford the time that it would take to run the distances that would otherwise be required. I consider Friday/Saturday to be a single training unit, though not as effective as the mileage would be if I could do it on a single day.* If I were training for the marathon distance or shorter, I would train three days per week. For these shorter races it would not be as difficult to get an adequately long [[Long Run]].* I will occasionally do extra "mental health runs", but I keep these short, typically only 10-15% of the length of my usual runs.* I will often run more frequently during a [[Practical Tapering| Taper]] or after a race, especially if I have [[Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness| DOMS]]. =The Psychology of Running Frequency=Running 3-4 days a week is not just tough physically; it's tough mentally as well. Obviously it is tough to run hard enough to need the 48 hours recovery. However, the feeling that days off mean not doing enough, or that a rest day will cause fitness to dissipate is corrosive.  =See Also==
* [[Supercompensation and Why exercise does not make you fit]]
* [[Toxic Miles]]
* [[FIRST]]
==References==
<references>
<ref name="neuro">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18202563 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18202563 Neuromuscular fatigue and recovery in elite female soccer: effects of active recovery.</ref>
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