Running A Lot: The Reality
I increased my running volume by a lot.
4 weeks of running a lot more.
Before we hit the lessons learned, let’s begin with the numbers:
- 4 weeks
- Total 405km
- Average 101km per week
- Each week:
- 1. 112km
- 2. 109km
- 3. 64km
- 4. 120km
Heart rate: zones… almost all mixed between what many call zones 1&2, below 80%HRmax.
I ran some sprints and moderate hill reps in there.
To support it all I performed some strength training, but less than planned.
This was an increase up from an average of 64km/week.
That’s the context and the numbers.
But there’s more to the story…
The Running Story
Running felt different almost everyday.
It was hard to predict how I would feel, except for one thing…
… If i ran harder and/or faster (hill reps or just pushed the run a bit more) then it took a lot out of me over the next couple of days.
The big increase in volume had me on the edge of recovery and absorbing the training.
I got it wrong
One of my long runs in week 2 was slow and short. I really struggled. But a couple days later I was feeling good and decided to make up that run.
This was a mistake.
Week 3 fell apart.
I felt terrible. No energy. My legs were getting stiff and staying sore.
So I took a day off and then jumped back into the scheduled long run.
Bang!
I needed another 2 days off.
Week 3 still covered 64km but I was way off the plan.
With the extra recovery at the end of week 3, the 4th week was back on track!
No injury
I made it through without injury.
Because I took the recovery I needed in the 3rd week I finished strong.
A 4 week dose of training that’s added to my fitness, not just survived through it all.
I avoided that risk.
Am I faster or slower?
Not really.
My easy runs are a little quicker on most of them for the same effort level. But that’s it on pace at the moment.
The sprints feel better now. I feel smoother when I run them. So I at least avoided any loss of speed or power.
The biggest change is running just feels better overall. Smooth and more natural.
My form feels good, maybe even improved. So I avoided that risk.
The original for the increase in running volume can be found in Increasing Running Volume By A Lot.
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