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| Last Run in CDA for a while - Thanksgiving Day 2019 - Tubbs Hill |
Often I hear/read discussions about whether one should be running/riding by time or mileage. So, I am going to add to the conversations with some thoughts on the subject.
First, let me say I run/ride by mileage for a couple reasons. First is that it is just what I have done for 47 years and it is hard to change. That said the second reason is that for me since I know the pace of what I am going to do in many ways mileage and time are all one. Thus for me when I set out for a certain amount of running miles or riding miles I usually have a time in mind as well.
For most, especially those starting out, I would suggest training by time over mileage. This does not mean you may not have a run or ride in your schedule that is a set distance as it relates to preparing for a particular event you may have but the bulk of your training should be about time on your feet or your seat. The reason for this will be discussed next as there are a couple reasons, well at least a couple.
The first reason I see that time is important is that terrain and conditions change such that, for example, an hour run could cover 4 miles on a trail and 8 miles on the road but both runs would exercise your aerobic system for the same time. You may use different muscles but the overall work time-wise is the same. If you just do mileage you may look at your distance and neglect to see the actual work on your system via time, leading possibly to overtraining. For me I may pick a distance to run but when doing it I am thinking about how much time I will be out there so as mentioned before for me often time and mileage are about the same.
Another reason is that for many that look at how others train and see their miles and, since they may be successful, figure they will copy their training plan. The issue is most of those we look up to run their mileage faster than we will. Thus, say one person runs 100 miles a week and their easy pace is 7:00/mile they thus spend, on average, about 11:40 training to get in those 100 miles. Now we look at the one copying that training plan who averages 9:00 mile, or maybe even slower, and for them to do 100 miles will thus spend 15:00, or longer. Due to the slower pace, but equal effort, one would spend 4 hours or more training than the one they are copying. If you want to use the training plan of one who is faster I suggest using time or if you like mileage then adjust the mileage to be the same time. So, for example using the 100 mile/week scenario at 7:00/mile pace but at 9:00/mile pace you would run from 78 miles or less for the week to get in the same effort. Let me add here I am not advocating that much time on ones feet but am using 100 miles just an example. You can do the same maths for a 50 mile week and so on.
Also, I would add here time is also good from an aerobic training perspective. I think I mentioned this in my article on MAF training, but when it comes to training one’s aerobic system time is time no matter the method of getting it in but milage is not. Often people ask what amount of mileage is equivalent between say running and riding or even running, riding and swimming – but if you go for time then the mileage is of no consequence – that is from working once aerobic system.
I hope that gives you some idea as to why time is a good way to track your training however I do think there is a time to choose a distance to run or ride. From the mental aspect I like to do a long run or ride to let me know I am prepared to be on my feet, or butt, for an extended time. This is much better to do for riding than running as running is much harder on ones body. For example for a marathon or 50K I do not usually train longer than a 20 miler and truth is even for 50 milers running I do not go longer than 20 or so, even though I did do a 50k training run once but it was hard enough on me that I needed an extra day off so not sure it was productive. This is also one reason that you should see each Ultra you may do as a stepping stone to improvement in later runs. For riding I do ride longer, even up to the distance I will race, to train for long rides and this is simply because it is so far less harsh on my body. I would add that you need to be careful that you do not hammer every long ride you do and simply get the distance/time in. My mindset is to just ride non-stop but it is interesting that in Europe the racers often do very long rides with a stop for coffee in the midst of the ride as the goal is simply time out and if it is slower overall that is not an issue.
All that said if you want to stick to mileage just be careful to look at your time training. As most that probably read this are not pro athletes with much time to train. The goal is to use one’s time as efficiently as possible. Training by time helps with this as you have the limit you set in front of you instead of trying to figure out how to shoehorn in some set mileage goal. Again, if you are like me and think of time and mileage together then there may be no issue but even then I often get too focused on mileage and then stress when I do not get what I want only to find that my time spent training was just what I needed as I was not paying enough attention to the terrain or environment I trained in that week.
Week’s Running Overview:
This week with travel coming up I wanted to get my mileage in before Friday and did so. My plan was to run 30 miles and ended up with 32 so pretty close and even got in a longer run of 10.5 on Thanksgiving. I did find that the 10.5 was probably a little far for my foot in that while it was not too bad when running after the run it was not feeling too good. As I will share later I am going to take a week off, will actually end up being 10 days, from running to rest it up and see how it feels.
Was a cold, and for the last two days windy, week but runs felt good. Pace was about right and while I did not use my HR monitor other than a few tempo segments the rest of how I ran was well within a “conversational” pace. I for sure can tell that right now running so many days in a row is not optimal as it does not give time for my ankle/foot to rest after the run. With being able to get back to riding I should be able to rectify this.
It was good to be able to be able to get a ride in this week, even if it was the last day of the week. I had not really planned on riding but as I had time Sunday and next week is showing a fair amount of rain I thought I would get in a ride. It was a pretty easy ride but did push a little on a few segments just to get my legs moving after a day of travel the day before. Felt good so nice to get back to riding
Overview of Weeks Runs and Rides:
- Monday: Run – 9.5 Miles
- Tuesday: Run – 5.75 Miles
- Wednesday: Run – 6.26 Miles
- Thursday: Run - 10.5 Miles
- Friday: Rest Day
- Saturday: Rest Day
- Sunday: Ride – 25.6
Totals:
- Running Miles – 32 Miles
- Riding Miles – 25.6 Miles
- Total Time – 5:56 Hours
Weekly Diet Notes;
A little better week, carb wise, but have sort of looked at the last three weeks as more of a “get through it time” and even though I will be on travel for 3 more weeks will try and get back on track the best I can. As I wrote last week on my LCHF Diet, having eaten this way for some time other than some gastrointestinal issues in general I can come right back and have no issues.
Conclusions and the Week Ahead:
For the coming week I will be in CA and able to ride, although uncharacteristically it is supposed to be raining a fair bit next week. We will see how that goes. As I have had some good weeks running and my ankle has been slowly getting better to give it a rest from running I will be taking next week off from running. Weather permitting, I want to do a couple short rides during the week and, again, depending on conditions ride a long one next Saturday. I did find that while my foot is feeling better running it does have times it is quite uncomfortable when not running so another reason to a take a week off from running. I will try and get in a couple 2-3 mile walks and see how my foot feels as often if I do nothing it gets no better and sometimes feels worse. Good part about riding is it does keep it moving but without the pounding. After this next week off I will see how it is and decide on my mileage for the rest of the month.
As always if you have questions let me know in the comments below.
Last Week's Overview #24
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