What is the best amount of time to take between runs if you are doing doubles? I plan on running 10-13 in the morning around 830-9 and then went to do an easy 4-6 sometime in the afternoon. How many hours between runs is optimum for your body?
What is the best amount of time to take between runs if you are doing doubles? I plan on running 10-13 in the morning around 830-9 and then went to do an easy 4-6 sometime in the afternoon. How many hours between runs is optimum for your body?
I try to put 8 hours between runs, but I've heard of people only waiting 6 hours or less. One sprinter I knew in HS was doing doing sessions only 3 hours apart or something, and he had his best season that year, but it was probably due to an attitude change.
Kenyans run doubles 4 hrs apart, with an early morning jog of 60 minutes at 6am, and then their main session of the day at 10 am. At certain times of the year, they will run a third session (easy run) at 4-5pm.
When the Kenyans only do doubles, they like to run at 6am and 10am, and they get very good results like that.
Other example: Bernie Ford, Great Britain - best times, 13:23/27:43/2:10. He ran doubles every day, about 5 hours apart, with his first session (6 miles) at 7am, followed by his second session (6-8 miles) at 12 noon. This was a great schedule for him and he ran top times in the UK for a period of over 10 years.
In summation: You don't need to wait 8 hours to do your second run - 4 hrs is more than enough.
Ghost in Korea
60 min at 6:00 am and a second session at ten means three hours rest, not four like you suggest for the Kenyans.
I manage 5miles steady at 6am 3 mornings a week, then main workout at 7pm, either fartlek, track reps, steady runs etc.This is to get in the mileage and cope with 9-5 job.
Need to be disciplined and motivated though.
Think my body and mind need more than 4 hours to fully recover and rest between sessions.
If you do the same morning run everyday (same time, same course)by yourself, does your mind ever blank it out? Do you find yourself asking, did I run this morning?
I don't know what is optimum, but 6 hours works well for me.
I've always done best with three to five hours between doubles, easy first run and specific run later.
There are a few studies that have shown that this (3-5 hours) window generates the best training response. I'll see if I can dig them up.
I lived on doubles when I was competitive.
Generally I ran at 7 AM and again at noon. So maybe 4-5 hours.
Trial and error will tell you more surely than a hundred different responses.
Five hours works for me. In addition to some rest, you also need to eat and digest. If I ran 10-13 in the AM, I'd probably sneak in two meals before the afternoon run.
Maybe those who run more like 10+10 do better with 9-12 hours between runs, but when one run's short and easy (usually the morning run for me) that's not necessary in my experience.