How to Safely and Effectively Add Running Mileage
Are you signed up for a race, thinking about an ultramarathon, just want to know how to start building up running mileage while not getting injured? Here is your guide on how to build up those miles in a safe and effective manner.
DETERMINE YOUR GOAL
What’s your “Why”?
Whether you’re trying to be a better runner, more fit, shed pounds, or do something you have never done before and reach new heights, these are all valid goals. BUT your reason affects how you approach gaining miles over time.
For those looking to be more fit, shed some pounds, and just become a better runner: More is not always better. The focus here would be on improving running efficiency and developing strength and correct body position during your running. Think about this like you would about developing a squat. Focus on technique first and develop a stable structure before adding volume and intensity.
For those looking to run a marathon or ultramarathon: Time on your feet is paramount, but not as much as you might think in order to be successful at those distances. Volume in running does help, but only if done incrementally, with good form, and consistently over time. Adding running volume on an unstable structure will inevitably lead to a broken structure and you will never reach your goals.
GETTING LEAN, FIT, AND FAST!
The correct running mileage for someone looking to get lean, fit and fast will be variable across different demographics, experience level, and lifestyle. You need to be realistic about what your training history is, injury susceptibility, and ability to put in the extra recovery time needed to handle the extra running volume.
Things to consider:
Time as an indicator of volume, not mileage. I suggest everyone that gets into running think more about time as an indicator of volume rather than mileage. Someone who is a fast runner and has been their entire life will put a lot more miles in during an hour of training than someone with a limited history of running who runs at a slower pace. 4 miles in one hour for someone new to running is more intensive and yields a higher risk than someone who can run 8 miles in an hour.
Making the most of your run. The one constant I have seen from most athletes that wish to improve their running is that they have found a pace that works for them, that they are very consistent at and they hardly ever deviate from it. This is the killer of running performance, because most athletes run in a zone called zone 3. This tends to tire the athlete out, make them feel that they got a good workout in, but isn’t challenging enough to elicit a major adaptation in the body. What we want to develop is the ability to run better. And in order to do so we need to build capillary density and the body’s ability to utilize oxygen more efficiently. Meaning, we need to develop a better gas exchange system. Running in a zone that feels easy for longer periods of time will do just that. This is a zone that helps you build your aerobic capacity, but not feeling drained afterwards. What’s nice is that you can recover from challenging CrossFit or strength workouts in this zone while building aerobic capacity.
Making the most of your run. Now the other area we need to develop is a little more painful. We need to run at a pace that is uncomfortable. “If it doesn’t challenge you it doesn’t change you.” This is zone 4 and 5, which is at and/or above your lactate threshold. These zones put a fair amount of strain on the body and need a fair amount of recovery between sessions. You cannot and should not do these everyday.
TWO EXAMPLES & HOW TO MOVE FORWARD
ATHLETE A: NEW TO RUNNING, BUT DOES CROSSFIT 3X WEEKLY AND ARE RELATIVELY ACTIVE
This athlete would be better off holding off a lot of intensity for a while in order for their body to develop tendon and muscle strength for the added intensity later on. We will add in some form drills and short bursts while building mileage here because we also don’t want to teach the athlete to just run slow.
Typical Starting Weekly Schedule:
Run #1:
4x100m Stride Builders…
Over the course of 100m build up to a 90% effort sprint, w/full walk back recovery
10 minute Run as
40sec run at 75-80%/20sec walk
4x100m Stride Builders…
Over the course of 100m build up to a 90% effort sprint, w/full walk back recovery
Run #2:
15 Minute Run/Walk
1min Run at 75% effort
30sec Walk
+ 4x10sec Steep Hill Sprints with full recovery
*this is to be added at the end of the running and helps develop running form and cadence through running specific strength work
Run #3:
30 Minute Run/Walk
30sec Run at 80%
30sec Walk for entirety of run
***Now you may be asking yourself why it looks like we are adding intensity here to our new-to-running athlete. I don’t want efforts to be in the range of anything greater than 80% for any longer than 30sec at a time. This helps develop running efficiency and economy while creating limited fatigue or chance of injury for the new athlete. Just running slow and building mileage will develop a cadence and style that will teach the body how to run at that slow, plodding pace, for longer periods of time, not develop a better runner.
ATHLETE B: RUNNING 2-3X WEEKLY FOR 30-40 MINUTES EACH TIME.
This athlete has built up some time on their feet and are more likely to benefit from putting in some challenging interval sessions, while also going a little longer than they normally do in order to develop new adaptations to running.
We will take this athlete as an athlete that runs 2-3x per week at 8:15-8:30pace (flat) every single run.
Run #1: Intensity Run and Speed Development. Pace is a better indicator for a run like this than heart rate because heart rate won’t adjust until mid interval
10min easy warm-up run at 9:00-10:00 pace
4x200m at 85-90% (at :50sec per)
R: 1min walking rest
4x400m Run at 85% (at 1:45 per)
R: 2min walking rest
4x200m Run at 85-90% (at :50sec per)
R: 1min walking rest
10min easy warm-up run at 9:00-10:00 pace
Run #2: Lactate Threshold Run
10 minutes at 9:10-9:40 per mile
6×3 minutes at 7:30/mile pace w/90sec easy at 9:30-10:00 pace between intervals
5 minutes at 9:10-9:40 per mile
Run #3: 45-60 Minute Run at Steady State Aerobic Threshold Effort. Let’s say their zone 3 effort was around 8:00-8:30/mile and they do that every time they run. I want this run at a consistent effort at 9:00-9:30 pace
Mixing paces allows for development of different energy systems and teaches the body how to run faster while allowing it to recover between challenging runs. What these suggestions are trying to point out is that the normal running pace that makes you tired and like you got a good workout should be utilized very little. Every one in a while putting in some segments at that comfortable hard pace are good for you, especially as you build up to 1/2 marathon and marathon distances, which will likely be closer to that actual pace of the race.
BUILDING MILEAGE FOR OUR AVATARS
Athlete A is starting at about 60 minutes of total time running and should build by adding about 10min/week to their total volume. They are better off adding just a little bit of time to each run and building volume across rather than just adding 10min to one run.
Athlete B is starting at about 2.5 hours of running and should add 20-30min weekly to their running volume. To get the best stress adaptation, I would suggest them to add a bigger junk to their long easier day and a little bit more volume to their lactate threshold run, let’s say another 3min segment, and just work on increasing speed on their speed development day as training speed is about hitting your paces and getting better at them rather than adding a significant dose of volume.
BUILDING BIG MILEAGE (ULTRA RACES AND ENDURANCE EVENTS)
Now, for our athletes trying to tackle a major endurance race or ultramarathon. Time on your feet is essential, but so is getting there in the first place. Many seasoned athletes will tell you that getting to the start of the race healthy is half the battle when tackling and endurance adventure. I would argue that the training for such an event is more of the feat than the endurance event itself.
This style of athlete needs to take into consideration some of the same concerns as the ones described above:
What’s your training history look like, both recently and in the past?
Are there any injury concerns that tend to pop up. i.e. plantar fasciitis, stress fractures, IT band syndrome, patellar tendonitis?
Knowing this will help you understand how fast and aggressive you can increase mileage. Everyone should proceed with a more more modest approach than they may think, and be honest with themselves:
How long will it realistically take for you to build up mileage safely?
How much time are you willing to train each week?
Understanding all the variables dictates the training plan – and in some instances – the race you choose. If you run 3x/week for 40 minutes, signing up for a 50 Mile running race 2 months away would be inappropriate, and likely cause injury. Thinking about the long term approach and how to build up mileage effectively in preparation for your race will yield huge results as well as mitigate injury concerns.
How to build mileage starting at 40 minutes for 3x/week:
Though it’s tempting, putting in one long day is not the best approach to building volume. Building it up gradually across more days will help your body adapt and handle the increase in output much better.
For first 3 weeks: Adding 10min to each run for the first 3 weeks, gradually building up to 3x60min runs is appropriate. Here, we’re focused on pumping up volume, rather than speed. Every run should be in that moderate/easy zone that feels conversational. Adding a long hike with friends is a great way to add extra volume without increasing stress on your body.
Next 3 weeks: Add in a 4th day, but reduce the overall volume on each day. For example, if we had 3x60min runs/week, up it to 3x40min runs + 1×60 minute run. This way, we still add, but decrease the stress each run has on the body.
Then: Build up the 60min run to 75-90min and have another one of the mid-week runs move up to 60min. So you might end up with a schedule that looks like the one below:
Run #1: 45 minutes (easy/recovery)
Run #2: 60 minutes (easy/moderate)
Run #3: 45 minutes (moderate/hard)
Run #4: 90 minutes (easy/moderate)
So we have built up over the course of 6 weeks from a total of 2 hours of running to 4 hours of running in a week. We have also added in one “Tempo” style run while we are at it. We have doubled our running over the course of 6 weeks with an incremental, smart approach.
Now that you have built this base mileage, it would be good to take a week easy and then start back up at this template schedule.
After that, you’ll want to incrementally add 15min to the two long runs you have each week. Build up to 60 minutes of an easy recovery run, and put in a 60-90 minute Tempo or Threshold Interval run. By the end of the next 6 week block, you might have added in one more run to your weekly routine as well. The small 15 minute increases to the long run will add a significant dose to the long run and now you are at a very sustainable weekly template that yields a lot of volume. Using 12 weeks to get there, you have done it safely, with the ability to add more down the line easily.
Now your weekly schedule looks like this for a total of 6.75 Hours of running.
Run #1: 60 minutes (easy/moderate)
Run #2: 90 minutes (Threshold Intervals: Mile Repeats at 85%)
Run #3: 60 minutes (easy/moderate)
Run #4: 45 minute (easy recovery run) + possibly add in some striders to add in some speed/technique work without adding too much volume
Run #5: Long Run of 2.5 Hours (Hilly Run) Walk the hills, work on quick feet on downhills, and steady state the flats.
This template week will get you to the base of your training plan for an and ultra or big endurance event. This is not the pinnacle, but by building to this base template you are now 6-12 weeks out from any endurance running event you want to do. Depending on the length of the race, your long run will likely turn into a hike/run and you will be putting a ton of time on your feet and working more on nutrition strategy than building any more real fitness. You will likely want to have another long/moderate run of 90min-2 hours where you work on tempo paces, long hill repeats, or broken tempo runs (400m hard/200m easy) for long 30-45min segments.
CONCLUSIONS
You can build a substantial amount of volume if you take your time and are focused about it. If you have a goal and want to achieve it, you will do yourself a huge service by looking ahead and planning a 20-24 week plan.
The beauty is in the process; falling in love with the tiny weekly improvements and seeing how you can triple your mileage in 3 months and feel amazing doing it, is the real goal. The race is your prize for your dedication. It is the cherry on top and the thing that you should feel 100% certain you can do by the time you are standing on the start line.