How to extend my run?

June 7, 2006 3:07 AM

For those that run: I run two miles every other day. Used to run one, just to keep in shape, but now I do two. How long will it take me to run, say five miles if I run every other day?
posted by peglam to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (14 answers total)

I used to do a lot of jogging. The general rule of thumb is to increase one of your runs by 10% each week. So if you do this, next week it'd be 2.2 miles, the week after 2.4 miles, the week after that 2.7, then 2.9, then 3.2, 3.5, 3.9, 4.3, Should be doiong near enough 5 miles in about 8 week's time. That's fairly conservative.
posted by handee at 3:54 AM on June 7, 2006

ok.. so hypothetically speaking...

if someone was to.. say.. start from running zero miles per week... how long would it take to get being able to run five miles, three times a week :)

I mean.. you can't really apply the increase by 10% rule then..

Seriously tho.. how do you go from not running to starting to run.
posted by snarkle at 4:07 AM on June 7, 2006

if you can run 2, you can probably run, 3, or maybe even 4 without too much difficulty. how spent are you after running 2 miles?

you could follow the 10% rule, or you could set a more aggressive goal and give it a shot. start with 2.5, and up it a half mile or more until you hit 4. walk if you're hurting.

if the question is how long it will take you to build your endurance to double your mileage, i'd say that it's all up to you and whatever you feel comfortable with.
posted by puddles at 4:16 AM on June 7, 2006

You start with run-walk plans. I went from 0 (couldn't run for a bus) to 3 miles (non stop but slow) in about 12 weeks - to begin with it was jog 2 mins walk 3 for 1/2 an hour at a time, then you ramp up the % of time jogging week by week. I think the important bit is the time on your feet so it's better to run-walk for half an hour than to run as far as you can then stop dead.

I remember one particular day very clearly - I set out to jog 9 minutes walk 1, and I jogged straight through for 25 minutes. Fantastic feeling.
posted by handee at 4:16 AM on June 7, 2006

Sorry that reply was to snarkle, didn't make it clear.
posted by handee at 4:16 AM on June 7, 2006

There are tons of programs out there to help you do just that. The one I used to learn how to run was this one - I went from no running to running in 3 5Ks last summer. Try it!
posted by cajo at 4:52 AM on June 7, 2006

The general rule is 10% increase on total mileage per week.

If you are already running 2 miles every other day, you can and should be able to run 5 miles whenever you want, considering you are already running 6 miles a week.

That's not to say it will be easy, but your body is prepared to do 5 miles safely. After you've done it, take a few days off, and then run a mile and a half or so, or a mile and a quarter, so that your total mileage for the week doesn't exceed 6.25 or 6.5.

Next week build up a bit more, using the 10% rule, and eventually 5 miles will be nothing.

But to answer your question, you can safely run 5 miles now, according to your weekly mileage.
posted by dead_ at 5:36 AM on June 7, 2006

I think five miles is quite a bit tougher than two. If you are not a fast runner -- say 9 or 10 minute pace -- you're talking about changing from a 20 minute cardio workout to a 50 minute one.

Also, in my personal experience, running has a strength component and a cardio component. The strength part, when I start to get soreness in my legs, doesn't kick in for me until mile 4 or 5.
posted by smackfu at 6:37 AM on June 7, 2006

i'll add one more tip that worked for me. run with a partner and at a pace you can converse comfortably. i was stuck at the 2 mile wall forever. add one very interesting running partner, and an hour of scintillating conversation later, you've run 6 miles or more.
posted by puddles at 8:32 AM on June 7, 2006

I find that something seems to kick in after about 20 minutes running: lactic actic/endorphins/boredom? where I can just switch off and just run without thinking about it. I think I read some sort of physical explanation for this in a magazine but try and get past the 20 minute barrier and see if it works for you. Running with someone else can definitely help with this and I find running by distance (e.g. to a particular landmark) rather than by time works better. You haven't said if you run outside or on a treadmill, if on a treadmill try outside, time passes quicker!
posted by janecr at 9:07 AM on June 7, 2006

I think that once you get to the 3 mile mark or so, anything up to 6 or 8 miles feels kind of the same. after 3 or 4 miles my pace stays the same - I feel like I could keep going forever. I mean, I feel tired, but I don't really run out of steam at that point - I kind of go into autopilot.
posted by soplerfo at 10:20 AM on June 7, 2006

Forget about mileage and start running for time. If you are doing two miles every day, I bet you can do that in less than 20 minutes. Add a couple minutes of running every other day by making an extra loop around the block or something. Basically you want to get yourself up to running 45 min to do the five miles slowly, and I'd say that'd take a couple weeks if you push yourself or a month if you take it easy and don't want to injure yourself.
posted by mathowie at 12:24 PM on June 7, 2006

I highly recommend the non runners marathon trainer. Despite the word "marathon" in the title, it's helpful for anyone looking to increase their distance or speed. The training schedule works quite well, and you can stop once you get to your desired mileage.
posted by yorick at 2:49 PM on June 7, 2006

While there is much good advice above, I'll propose one more alternative that has worked for me.

As mathowie hinted at, the real goal is to keep going for longer amounts of time. The distance travelled is incidental. So my solution was to add in a walking day. My goal on that day was to walk for the amount of time that I wanted to run --in my case it was 60 minutes. So on my walking day, I just focused on walking at a decent pace for one hour. On my other two days each week I would jog at my normal pace.

As I progressed, I would start jogging on my walking days, first for one minute out of ten, then three, then eight. I added in the jogging fairly quickly, and at the end of three months I was jogging for an hour on the weekends. On the weekdays, over the same three months, I slowly increased my time from twenty minutes to forty minutes.

I should also note that I carry a water bottle for any run over forty minutes. Staying hydrated is very important.

Good luck with your goal.
posted by zueod at 3:06 PM on June 7, 2006