My question is simple. When should I start running doubles?
I'm 14 and as a teenager that wants to have success in his senior years I'm building my aerobic base while also building strenght and also touching a tiny bit on the anaerobic part.
I know it will take quite some time to start running doubles, but at what milage should I do it?
and also, should my doubles be equal (i.e. 40min/40min) or should I make one of them longer (i.e. 30min/45min)?
I wouldn't worry about doubles for a long time for you. You are super young. Consistency will benefit you the most in high school. Unless you are going under 16 minutes for the 5k, you probably won't be doubling
Consistency is most important.
Most people do doubles by adding a short run on the other side of the day as your main run. +-3 miles in the mornings or late afternoons. It adds mileage before you could handle it, otherwise.
What kind of mileage are you at right now? When you can run an hour or more 6 days a week, start adding in a 20-30 minute short run. To answer your question, your doubles should almost never be equal. Even at 140 mpw, my shorter run of the day has only gotten to 2/3 the length of my "main run".
My plan is to be the best I can, I'm not really worried about burning out. I'm more worried that I won't reach my full potencial because I didn't run a lot of km's. I handle really well the kilometres.
And I'm really consistent, I run every day.
At what age and milage should I do doubles, and are they even worth it while in high school.
I'm at 45mpw,(although I don't really count them) as a freshman and I've been running for a year and a half.
I want to focus on running more easy mileage to build a solid aerobic base, but I don't know how much is too much and how little is too little.
And another thing, before starting to run doubles to build mileage up, should I run a super easy 15-20 min the morning before a workout to feel better and looser?
1. Do you need to increase your mileage to improve from where you are now?
If you're sure the answer is yes, then:
2. Do you need to double to increase your mileage, or can you accomplish what you need with singles?
And there's your answer. Basically, as the man says, don't go there until you need to go there. If you need to double, fine, but there are probably other ways to get what you need first. When singles no longer work is when you go to doubles.
Ok,thanks!
But what do you mean when it doesn't work out any more...Is it because I can't recover propely, because the runs have passed the 1 hour and 5 min mark? Or any other thing?
And right now I don't think I need to increase mileage, but what are the signs that tell me I need to increase it?
I'm 37 with a lifetime of running and intense physical training. Even though most runner will tell you that doubles are beneficial, they are unnecessary. Volume is just one approach, and inferior to running fewer miles at a higher intensity.
uhm... interesting aproach..., but why do you say that? Personal testing/opinion or actual scientific proof, it seems counter intuitive to what I've been reading about traning and the amount of kilometers you need to run at a relative easy pace to be good aerobically.
Doubles are useful if you are running 110km+ a week.
I'm building up to that, and right now I'm doing 80 easily in singles. I'll start doubling with an easy 5km in the morning twice a week once im over 100km. Not sure if I'll do it on workout days or normal days, I'll try it out and see what feels better.
However, when I was running 105km a week I was still only doing singles and I enjoyed going for longer runs everyday, so doubles still aren't necessary at that level. Also, longer "normal" runs (13-16km in my case) are better for your endurance than 2 shorter ones. I'm also working on a 6 day schedule - if that helps.
At your age, I would remain with singles and not up your weekly mileage too quickly. Around 10-15 km a year would be good.
teen wrote:
My question is simple. When should I start running doubles?
I'm 14 and as a teenager that wants to have success in his senior years I'm building my aerobic base while also building strenght and also touching a tiny bit on the anaerobic part.
I know it will take quite some time to start running doubles, but at what milage should I do it?
and also, should my doubles be equal (i.e. 40min/40min) or should I make one of them longer (i.e. 30min/45min)?
Just listen to the magic wizard. :) Stay with singles as long as possible and see what you can do. There is plenty of time in a running career to add mileage if you see it will be necessary. I take it
once more: It`s not mainly about how many miles you run, it`s more about how you run your miles! Good luck!
Double, more time on your feet and a good training stimulus
If you need rest then you’ll get your sleep, don’t just run twice and neglect recovery. We have all this time so why not start training like it
I would also recommend to only run 6 days a week - especially during a base phase, taking a day of rest will aid you greatly in your recovery and prevent overuse injury. Use this day to do some strength training.
Just an example of the guys I coach. When he was 14 he ran only one run per day but his schedule was tough. When age 16 same mileage with one run per day and then he ran 3:40 at 1500, 13:25 at 5000 and 28:10 at 10000 up at high altitude ( 1900 m ). His schedule at age 16 was:
M: 60 min easy
Tu: 12 x 400m at 60 sec with 50 sec rest
We: 50 min easy
Th: Hard Fartlek / Tempo run 1 hour
Fr: 50 min easy
Sa: 90 min easy
Su: Day off
Now IS the time for you to do doubles. You are not in school at the moment so you are able to get your sleep! Most high schoolers don't sleep enough during the school year and sleep is more important than doubles. Since you can get a good night's sleep, get going with the doubles!
Doubling is good for a beginner. It doesn't really matter how many miles your are running, a short run in the morning/evening helps younger runners as long as it doesn't hurt you.
Check with your coach and see what he/she thinks. Don't be doing more than what your coach suggests.
SUPERIOR COACH JS wrote:
Just an example of the guys I coach. When he was 14 he ran only one run per day but his schedule was tough. When age 16 same mileage with one run per day and then he ran 3:40 at 1500, 13:25 at 5000 and 28:10 at 10000 up at high altitude ( 1900 m ). His schedule at age 16 was:
M: 60 min easy
Tu: 12 x 400m at 60 sec with 50 sec rest
We: 50 min easy
Th: Hard Fartlek / Tempo run 1 hour
Fr: 50 min easy
Sa: 90 min easy
Su: Day off
this guy didn't run those times as a 16 year old right? The only 16 year old to run that fast I know is Ingebritsen
doubling is silly if you aren't doing at least 70 mpw
teen wrote:
My question is simple. When should I start running doubles?
I'm 14 and as a teenager that wants to have success in his senior years I'm building my aerobic base while also building strenght and also touching a tiny bit on the anaerobic part.
I know it will take quite some time to start running doubles, but at what milage should I do it?
and also, should my doubles be equal (i.e. 40min/40min) or should I make one of them longer (i.e. 30min/45min)?
If you look at many of the best US runners, they didn't do anything crazy in HS. Most of them had pretty modest training in HS, and those that pushed the envelope often burnt out and didn't improve much after HS (with a few exceptions).
That said, I don't think you should double until you're in college, and even then, only under the guidance of a coach. For a HS body I recommend this progression:
Freshmen summer/fall: 25-30 mpw
Freshmen winter/spring: 30-35 mpw
Sophomore summer/fall: 35-40 mpw
Sophomore winter/spring: 40-45 mpw
Junior summer/fall: 45-50 mpw
Junior winter/spring: 50-55 mpw
Senior summer/fall: 55-60 mpw
Senior winter/spring: 60-65 mpw
Basically, if you stay healthy try to add 5 miles per week every 6 months (with 2 weeks completely off from training after xc and again after outdoor track). If you do this you add an additional 10 mpw each year, and by the time you're a senior in college, you'll be grinding out regular 100+ mile weeks.