Personally i feel anything under a half hour is a waste of time.
Personally i feel anything under a half hour is a waste of time.
I read somewhere that 20 mins done often throughout the week is ideal. I try to stay between 60-75% of max heart rate. When i hit 75% of max., I walk or jog until I get back down to 60% at which time I start running again. Lately, I've develop a routine wherein I don't have to change clothes. I simply run in my blue jean, hoodie, and running shoes which I wear around all day, no need to change anything. I just slip out the door and run, very simple and time efficient. However, I often end up running fartlek toward the end of a run but if I'm really tired, I just try to stay under the 75% for the whole run. I'm not going to break any records with that routine but at least I'm consistent every day.
1979 wrote:
The minimum effective run is 20 minutes.
I doubt it is. Someone who goes on one 20 minute run every day would run 16 MPW at an 8:45 min/mile pace and 20 MPW at a 7 min/mile pace. It may not be much, but a 16-20 MPW guy will almost always beat a 0 MPW guy in a 1500 or 5K.
In terms of maintaining running economy, I've heard that 20 mins a few times a week will help maintain the economy. If you can do that with your injury and then cross-train to maintain the cardiovascular fitness (getting HR into Zone 4/5), then you can prevent a lot of the detraining effect.