I love to run, so I run as many miles as my body wants or I feel like. Looking back there has been a few times I've run too much before a marathon maybe not tapering enough. But, overall I've run consistent, moderate miles. I'm not a hard trainer. I run moderate and consistent, maybe thats an influence of the 1970's roots, Bill Rodgers, the Joe Henderson books I read or simply I do what I love to do which is run.
By high mileage standards I've run very few weeks over 100 miles, maybe 3 or 4 times in my life (and one of those was a 100 mile race). My biggest average was about 70 miles a week back in the late 1970's. I think that 70 miles a week is the regular guys 100 miles.
This week I've been off work working at home doing various home projects like installing ceiling fans, lights, fixing roof, yard cleanup etc. I decided I would see if I could average 10 miles a day. I recovered heart wise from Lake Mingo but my legs feel a bit achy and tired so my pace is less but my heart is low. Maybe that is from doing the physical work around the house, going up and down on a stool. Not exactly sure.
Yesterday, in the morning I ran my (lately) usual bike path run of 60 mins with Chris, or more rightly he runs with me as he is much faster. I got up and was tired. I ran okay, my HR was low but my hamstring was tight in left leg. I then worked on the roof for 4 hours and was tired. Physical work is hard. I got done what I wanted but decided I needed to eat abit and 30mins later I was napping on the couch for 1.5 hours.
Later in the afternoon Tom rode his bike from champaign to discuss our backpack trip in Sept. then he asked if I was running the full 5 mile trail at the regular Buffalo run. I was tired and said probably not but after he recovered also, we ran the full 5 miles with walk breaks and I felt pretty good, no hamstring soreness.
So far this week thru 5 days I got 49 miles. Today(Friday) is a recovery day so I go very easy, maybe walk 5 mins every mile.....if today goes well I'll do a few miles tonight then I hope 10-12 on Saturday for 70 miles....but Does it matter??
It matters only if it matters to you, was it fun, was it enjoyable,was it mostly pain free.....I'm a moderate effort long distance runner who loves to run so I do it as much as it matters to me and not one step more.
Does it matter? It matters only within a context of what you are trying to achieve. If you want health and fitness, it doesn't take much more than 12-15 miles of easy aerobic running every week. Seems like MOST runners want something more than just health or fitness. If you want to lose weight, it takes more miles (but not necessarily faster miles). If you want to race a good 5K, then you need faster runs. Marathons and ultras require long runs on a regular basis. If you want to be competitive (at any race distance), you'll need serious training with high weekly mileage, long runs, hills, and speed work.
ReplyDeleteSeems easier to just run gently.