More questions for runners

[dreamyjeanie]

How many times per week should a person run? Is there a minimum or maximum number of times per week? Is it OK to run back to back days or should you put a day between your run days? Do you do weight training on the same day as your run or do you always keep them separate? Last question, Besides here, Where is a good place to get information about running?

Jean

 

[Imafitnessfreak]

"How many times per week should a person run?" Depends on the person, fitness level and goals. My goals are distance so I run 3-4 days per week because mileage gets high. The more high mileage days you have, the more likely you will get injured.

"Is there a minimum or maximum number of times per week?" Depends on the person and the mileage. If mileage is some what low, 5-6 days a week is fine.

"Is it OK to run back to back days or should you put a day between your run days?" It's o.k. to do consecutive days. I, however, feel better when I put a day between my runs. I'll do elliptical instead.

"Do you do weight training on the same day as your run or do you always keep them separate?" I do same day but the type of run dictates the type of strength training. I wouldn't try to work legs anywhere near a speed workout.

"Last question, Besides here, Where is a good place to get information about running?" runnersworld.com and halhigdon.com also coolrunnings.com


Added note: I use to run 6 days a week. Once I started running 3-4 days a week, the runs felt way better and were much more quality because my body was more rested and I was stronger. I do elliptical the other days and I am thrilled with the results.

 

[JeanneMarie]

>
>Added note: I use to run 6 days a week. Once I started
>running 3-4 days a week, the runs felt way better and were
>much more quality because my body was more rested and I was
>stronger. I do elliptical the other days and I am thrilled
>with the results.

Sarah,

It's really good for me to hear you say this. I have run for years, and for all those years ran every single day. I felt like I was cheating if I didn't. I'll be 50 this year, and the last few months I've felt like the every day running was getting to be too much. I was sore all the time. I started to feel like every run was a struggle. I've cut back some now and feel better. I should probably cut back more, but for now just knocking off a few of my running days per week has helped. Now I run about 5 days a week instead of 7.

I still do a workout of some sort every day though. I've also learned to take it easier on some of my workouts every few days. I've found that my good results haven't changed, and I am feeling better!

 

[Sunshine 1528]

Jean Marie and Sarah,

How far are you typically running daily?

 

[dreamyjeanie]

Jacque,
I've just worked up to be able to do 4 miles consistently. I'm trying to increase my speed, since I run really slow. So I've been trying to figure out how often to run so I can build up my endurance and speed. I want to continue doing weights so I'm trying to plan it all out to get everything in without causing injury or sabatoging my efforts.

Jean

 

[Mckmain]

You have already gotten some great answers...Sarah knows her stuff!

"How many times per week should a person run?" It depends also if you are starting out as a beginner or are training for a specific event. Beginning I'd say 3 times a week. When I train for a long running event (I do alot of distance) I run 6 days a week.

"Is it OK to run back to back days or should you put a day between your run days?" I have run back to back days for a long time. But it is a preference. You have to work up to this slowly if you are just starting out. Crosstraining with other cardio in between running days is a good idea too.

"Do you do weight training on the same day as your run or do you always keep them separate?" I do weight training on the same days I run and I agree with Sarah that lower body lifting days should not be done on speedwork running days.

Sarah gave the same answer I would have for getting more info...

 

[JeanneMarie]

>Jean Marie and Sarah,
>
>How far are you typically running daily?

If I run every single day, I do 3 miles. If I skip a day, I go about 4 miles. My route is very, very hilly. I find that hills train me better for distance and endurance.

 

[dreamyjeanie]

Thanks everyone. You have given me some words of wisdom. Now all I have to do is sit down and plan. I've been kind of willy nilly each day as to what type of workout to do and have not seen the improvement that I've been looking for. So my plan this weekend is to put next week's workout's on paper and stick with as much as possible.

thanks again,

Jean