True or false: It's easier to run 6-7 days a week than 2 or 3. I say true!!

[quote]rojo wrote:

4) The more you run, the less likely you are to get hurt.

I 100% agree with this. Starting up as a runner is the hardest. Once your body gets used to running, it's much easier to not get injured.

If I run more than 3 days a week, I get injured. Damn flat feet. But I bike, lift, swim, etc.

So, in my world, working out 6-7 days a week is easier than 3-4 day. Just not all running.

As for the health aspect, it is unbelievable how closely tied running/lifting is to my mental health. I get runner's high x 100 - chills up my spin, singing music etc.... it's unreal.

rojo wrote:

Along these lines, I also remember reading in the NY Times that it's hard for former 'elite' athletes to stay fit after retirement. Not that I was ever truly elite, but I agree. Now that I have no time goal or PR I'll ever hit, it's like "what''s the point." If I go some sort of treadmill class where people are giving each other high fives for running for an hour, it's hard not to think what I used to do.

Not that I was ever elite either, but even though I’m past the age of setting PRs I can still motivate myself just trying to limit how much slower I get each year.

Also, there are people who train because it allows them to compete, and others who just enjoy the training itself. I feel like the latter have a much easier time keeping it up once they’re past their prime.

Exactly. It's about intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation. Those who have intrinsic motivation love running for running's sake; those with extrinsic find their motivation from chasing success, reward, running "fast" (whatever that was to them). Of course, if you're elite level, a large part of your motivation must be found extrinsically (otherwise why work so hard and sacrifice so much to be good?) which would make staying in the sport for a lifetime much harder.

On the other hand, even when I'm out of shape compared to my mediocre-university runner self I'm somehow comforted by the fact that no matter my speed (which will undoubtedly decrease after a certain age), I can still enjoy the feeling of working hard and giving it my all. It might necessitate a bit of a mental shift once that all-out effort becomes like, a 30 minute 5k and not an 18 minute 5k, but I have faith that I will always enjoy running for its own sake.

I agree with all the rest of OP's first post.

agree.

I kept on running six days a week long after any chance of PRs was gone.

What stopped me, was injury.. lots of different ones, spend more time on pre- and rehab now, than running.

This is hilarious: I remember my 90+ grandmother saying to me, "I can imagine nothing worse than waking up and realizing I had to run 15 miles that day."

I think it's easier to run 6 days per week than two. For a while, I set a monthly minimum running goal of 30 miles. Easy, right? But I was completely unmotivated, and just running 3 miles on Saturday and Sunday was torturous.

I think running 7 days a week, though, is hard. If you have kids and a job, stuff comes up. Having one day off to allow some flexibility is very helpful.

I'm currently running 4 days per week with a 3 month old baby, and dealing with lack of fitness, etc. I do find it helpful to run on the same four days every week. That way I'm not deciding whether to run on any given day. Time is so tight right now that I know I have to run on my scheduled days or it won't happen.

I keep running as an example for my family. And in case my kid decides to make running his hobby I'd like to be fit enough to keep up when I get older. Those two things are motivational enough for me.

Sorry to disappoint you rojo )) ....but running 2-3 days will always feel easier when 100% loaded

with energy and fresh legs, to feel "the flow" 2-3 days in the week.

how old you are. If older, an interval workout, recovery run, and long run work quite well.

it's the 100% rule.

it's easier to do anything you fully commit to rather than half-arsing it...or even 99%ing it.

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Once I hit 40, I started using "Age Grade" to compare my current times to my younger PRs. So now my goal is to hit an equivalent time based on my age. So a 5K PR of 17:00 at age 20 is 76.5%. At age 45, a 76.5% age-graded 5K would be 18:35.

http://www.howardgrubb.co.uk/athletics/wmaroad15.html

Ok, Greg

Yeah.

Is it easier to shovel snow for the entire neighborhood as opposed to only clearing the snow in your own driveway?

?‍♂️

Matt’s article is titled “Why it’s easier to run 6 times a week than 2”. I agree with that 100%, even though it’s pretty easy to pick through the studies he sites and find that none really tests his hypothesis directly. As with so many articles you have to question whether the author developed a theory or hypothesis and then went looking for studies to support the hypothesis. Granted, don’t many of us do that? The amount of data on the web is so vast you can find support for just about any idea you can think up if you go looking for it.

With that said….yes, he does find good support for his hypothesis. All each of us can do is read, digest, and compare to our own lives. If it rings “true” then we tend to trust the author and information.

This rings true for 2 days a week. I think there's a threshold of running where, go below that threshold, and you are basically wasting your time. But I think that threshold is unique to each of us. What about those who lift weights, swim, and ride the bike hard? It’s not so simple for them. What about people my age (61) with long histories of injuries?

I’m trying to locate an article on RW from years ago about a guy who ran one 20 miler run per week and it seemed to work for him. He had a job where he absolutely had only one day a week he could run.

Personally, over 45 years I’ve tried everything: I was a streak runner, then 6 days a week, 5, and now 4 days a week. It’s “easier” for me to run 4 days a week and stay healthy and somewhat competitive than to do nothing at all.

So what are you going to do? Run 6 days a week or nothing at all? This type of dichotomous thinking is deeply dysfunctional and, in general, a poor way to function in the real world that contains thousands of shades of gray between “black” and “white”.

Surely running “something” is better than nothing? The threshold of value is unique to each individual. Is it insane to think you can make one 20 mile run per week work? For at least one person, the answer was yes!

used to be old and in the way wrote:

agree.

I kept on running six days a week long after any chance of PRs was gone.

What stopped me, was injury.. lots of different ones, spend more time on pre- and rehab now, than running.

This^

And yes it is much easier to to run 6-7 days than 1-3 because you are fit. In the other area you never do enough to get over the hump so every run is a struggle.

After a string of injuries and trying to come back and get fit I told a friend that "now I know what its like to be mortal. Running sucks! It hurrrrttttssss!"

When you are really fit and the wheels are rolling, it's pure joy. You know that today you could go for 5M or you could go for 15M, it doesn't matter. When you are fat, out of shape and every step is painful, you are just like allll those other people shuffling around the walking paths, barely moving on the treadmills- all the people doing this activity and just waiting for it to end.

It is humbling and frustrating as hell.

I am on a run streak right now, nearing 100 days. I keep thinking I am going to feel too tired one day and need a day off but that hasn't happened yet. Seems it just keeps getting easier actually. Granted I am only doing a minimum of 1 mile so on days where I'd normally not run I just jog an easy mile which lately ends up being 1 day week.

I definitely find that its 'easier' in the sense that faster paces come easier and I have less random pains.

On the injury topic I should also add that I've been doing a strength routine 2-3 times a week and it for sure seems to make a big difference. Struggled with calf pain for a few years now but has pretty much disappeared at this point.

It depends wrote:

how old you are. If older, an interval workout, recovery run, and long run work quite well.

Last spring i was doing 2 workouts, a recovery run and a long run (only 5 to 7 miles). Never felt better. 5k plus success is limited on such a schedule, but i had some pretty decent 800 to 3200 time trials. I wrote everything out 2 weeks ahead of time, so like with the 6 to 7 times per week person, it wasn't a choice, it was just something I had to do on that day.

People who only try to work out 2-3 times a week are always "trying to get in shape" and never "in shape." They like the idea of working out but it's a low priority and if anything more fun comes up on any given day they will skip their workout. There's a big difference in mentality between them and those who make exercise a daily habit.