So ive been on LR long enough to know that most people think doubles is the best way to train, and many people mention, all the elites do it so it must be the best.
My question is. most of the elites run 100< miles a week, so doubles may be the best option for them, and for people who run high milage, but for someone who runs 50-60 miles a week, is doing doubles the best option?
How old are you?
I am only up to 70 miles per week. still doing singles. 13,13,10,13,20
If you're training for shorter distances like the 5k, adding 1-2 doubles might make sense. If you're trying to increase mileage, running doubles might make sense. If you're training for the marathon and at 50-60 miles a week, stick with singles.
I double at 50-60 mpw.
6 - 7 - 4/8 - 7 - 4/6 - 6 - 12 (60 miles total).
6-8 is a good distance for me for an easy single day, and a 4/8 double works well for an easy morning shakeout plus an evening workout.
I normally run around 100 + mpw but if I'm coming off an injury or am at a low mileage for whatever reason I still do doubles. I do doubles at a low mileage because I feel like the am session warms up and stretches out my legs for the pm session. But understand that I'm not splitting up my goal mileage between these two runs. I set out what I want to do for the week in pm sessions then I just impulsively add on whatever I feel like doing in the morning. Really I would consider the am run more of a stretching session than an actual training run. Then when I get back into higher mileages I do start to get more serious about some of my morning sessions because the run increases from 2 or 3 miles to around 5-7 miles. But then even on days when I don't plan on doubling I still find myself getting out the door for a couple miles just because it makes the afternoon run more enjoyable.