Many runners are curious to find out what techniques they can use to increase their running distance.
Boosting your running range will allow you to take on greater challenges such as a 10K, half-marathon, and marathon, in addition to burning more calories if you want to lose weight and have a more effective workout.
The simplest way to increase the distance one can run would be to add more to each of their runs, however, this is not recommended as running is a high-impact activity and can be overly stressful on the body if done too quickly.
So, how do you increase running distance safely? What are the top strategies for running longer distances without sustaining an injury?
In this piece, we will look at how you can get the most out of yourrunning miles without risking injury.
How Much Should I Increase My Running Distance?
The basic idea of how to extend your running distance is quite simple—gradually build up your longest run over time—but it is imperative to take a slow and cautious approach if you want to safely grow your running distance.
The 10% rule is often thought of as the “golden standard” when it comes to running.
It is suggested that runners should not increase their weekly exercise amount more than 10% at a time.
In other words, if your mileage for this week is 20 miles, don’t go over 22 miles the next week and 24.2 miles the week after that.
This rule has been in effect for a long period of time because it usually provides prudent instruction of how to increase running distance in a secure manner from one week to the next.
There is some proof that backs up the accuracy of the 10% rule.
Researchers looking at 874 new runners during a one-year span discovered that those who upped their running by 30% or more in two weeks (approx 15% a week) had a greater than 1.5 times risk of enduring an injury that was directly associated with running than those who only increased their miles by less than 10%.
Athletes who upped their mileage too sharply were more inclined to suffer from runner’s knee, iliotibial band syndrome, shin splints, a gluteus medius injury, greater trochanteric bursitis, a problem with the tensor fascia latae, and patellar tendinopathy.
It is intriguing that not all traumas were linked with augmentations in fitness routines or the ten percent doctrine.
An example may include injuries such as plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinopathy, calves, hamstring, tibial stress fractures, and hip flexor strains, which are likely attributed to coaching mistakes.
Tips For How To Increase Running Distance Safely
Slow Your Pace
Decreasing your pace is the most effective method of running further without stopping.
Decreasing your running pace puts less strain on your heart and lungs, making it simpler to catch your breath.
In addition, decreasing your running speed is an effective way to not only increase your running distance, but also to do so safely.
Running is physically demanding, since it is seen as a cause of stress to the body.
The more intensely and rapidly you travel, the greater the tension that is experienced.
Doing intense runs such as those for speed improvement, for a moderate amount of time, for hill running, for varying speeds, and even for a customary distance run, pushing your pace to more than “easy” but less than “very demanding” are exhausting for the body.
Polarize Your Training
It may appear to be at odds with what was just mentioned, but another major recommendation for enhancing your running range without risk is to contrast your exercise.
Incorporating polarization into your training requires running your easy runs much slower and your challenging runs much faster as opposed to running all your runs at a comparable speed.
We were just talking about reducing the intensity, particularly concerning how far running is done regularly and not the hard sessions.
Sticking to the 80/20 approach to running by making sure 80% of your runs are at a slow and comfortable pace between 90-120 seconds slower than your race goal and the other 20% being hard can help decrease the likelihood of sustaining injuries due to the limited amount of stress it puts on your body.
Additionally, you can totally recuperate in between exercises since your body is being subjected to different speeds and stressors, both of which decrease the chance of overtraining and overuse injuries.
Target the Long Run
Rather than increasing the length of every run on your plan, focus solely on the longest one.
This will concentrate the extra strain to solely one exercise session instead of constantly applying extra pressure each day of the week.
The benefits to your body from constructing your staying power and distance for your lengthy runs will cause changes to your aerobic system.
You can steadily increase your running distance by increasing the length of your longest run by 1 or 2 miles every week.
Step Up, Step Down
A 10% increase in the distance you run is a decent starting point, however it is not necessary to increase the distance by that much each week.
It’s beneficial to incorporate recovery days into your routine every few weeks to decrease the danger of harm and let your body take some rest.
For instance, you can up your running to 44 km the next week if you ran 40 km the week prior and 48.4 km in the week after that.
Rather than increasing your mileage up to 53 km in the fourth week, it would be best for you to decrease it back to 44 km and then start the cycle again from there.
So, your second week you should target 48.4 kilometers, and it is possible to up it to 53 km in week three.
Then you could decrease your altitude to 50 kilometers and commence a new build there.
Using a light training regimen once a month is a great approach for maintaining physical health. You don’t have to be exact about the amounts of exercise during the easier week, but it is a smart strategy to employ.
Fuel Properly
Making sure you consume the necessary amount of calories, all the macronutrients, and all the vitamins and minerals your body needs will guarantee that it will have the energy and nourishment needed for your workouts and to mend any injury.
Support Your Recovery
To prevent injury when increasing your distance running, take steps to take care of your body.
Roll out your muscles with a foam roller, stretch them, get plenty of rest, ice any sore areas, fuel up with the right nutrients soon after training, etc., in order to give your muscles the TLC they deserve.
Hit the Trails
Jogging on less rigid surfaces such as trails, grass, cinder, and running tracks will lessen the amount of shock that your feet and legs feel when moving along compared to pounding on hard materials like pavement or concrete.
This can help prevent physical strain when you are running further distances.
Rotate Your Running Shoes
Along with changing your running shoes before they are worn too much, another good suggestion on how to grow your running distance without too much risk is to switch your running shoes often.
Having more than one pair of running shoes to pick from when running is known as rotating your shoes.
You can then alternate between multiple running shoes, allowing you to switch out your footwear on a daily basis.
This is how you increase your training load
You can challenge yourself more by adding more mileage to your runs, speeding up your runs, or a combination of the two. Typically, I would suggest that you concentrate either on raising your physical exercise or upping the speed. Based on my experience, if you increase both the intensity and amount of training in a short amount of time, the chances of getting injured will drastically go up. When you up the amount of exercise you do, it is imperative to make sure your body has enough time to rest.
Jack Daniels, a well-known American running coach, believes that allowing the body about 6 weeks to rest and adjust to a different level of exertion is necessary. It should be noted that there is no data to validate this claim. Despite this, the main idea is that if you rush the process of getting into shape, you can be in danger of hurting yourself as the tendons and joints won’t have enough time to adjust to the expanded exercise regimen. If you notice no improvements in your fitness routine, consider why this might be the case and ask yourself one simple question.
“Have I been upping my workout routine recently?” If you answer no, then that explains why you have yet to see any results…
Create a training logbook – and monitor your training
You can track your progress by maintaining a training journal. And no, a logbook is not like an essay. It is beneficial to have a record of training by incorporating the primary points into either an Excel sheet or a Word document. Having either a running watch or a training app on your smartphone would greatly facilitate the process. People wearing a Garmin watch can utilize the Garmin Connect, which acts as a record of their training.
If you’re maintaining an exercise logbook manually, make sure to include these five elements:
– What is the title of your training session? – How many kilometers did you travel? – How long did it take you? – What was the speed of your ride? – Do you have any remarks about the weather, injuries/discomforts, etc.?
You might be questioning why you can’t save the running programs you are following in order to track your workout. It is a good idea to do this. The truth cannot be ignored; usually, there is not a precise connection between your chosen workout routine and the exercises that you end up doing. This can be explained by sickness, harm, time off, celebrations, and more. Hence, devise a training logbook – it will only necessitate 5 minutes of your time after each session if you do it manually, or if you have a running watch/use a smartphone app, you won’t need to spend any time at all!
5 ways to progress your interval training
In order to get the most out of your running, interval training is essential.
Most runners would likely believe that improvement with interval training is linked to a faster pace.
Nevertheless, this approach should be revised – particularly if high-intensity interval training has caused you to become more susceptible to injuries.
Five distinct approaches can be taken to improve your performance within interval training, and I will quickly explain and provide examples for each of them below.
1: Tempo
The most common way of increasing the training load.
If you begin the program in poor condition, you may think it wise to gradually pick up the pace as you progress with the intervals.
2: The rest period
Reduce the amount of time you spend resting and you will heighten the total training workload.
For example, shorten the break time by half a minute each week.
If you reduce the break time and keep the speed, the exercise will be more intense because of it.
3: The number of intervals
Run more kilometres at a high tempo.
Be wary of adding too many kilometres too quickly.
Start by increasing with 1-2 km max.
For example, beginning with 5,000 meters and incrementing to 6,000, 8,000 and so on until you get to the total number of kilometers desired.
4: The length of the intervals
Stretch out the time between sections in the program while maintaining the same speed.
Begin with breaks that are fairly brief and then expand the length of them when you are prepared to do so (for example, after 3 weeks have passed).
It could be structured in this way: 10 times 500 meters, 6 times 800 meters, 5 times 1000 meters, 4 times 1500 meters, 3 times 2000 meters, and 2 times 3000 meters.
5: The rest-activity
Replacing the resting interval with a jog instead of remaining still is a sometimes overlooked method for increasing the intensity of the interval exercise.
For instance, you can start with a 5 x 1000m workout with 3 minutes of easy jogging in between each repetition. Later, you can increase the intensity by running each 1000m interval at 75% of your race pace with a 3 minute break in between reps.
Combine the 5 ways – this is how you do
Typically, you can mix together these progression techniques to construct your running regimen. It is beneficial to have a plan in place before developing the program. Another potential way of training is to incrementally build up the amount of intervals, then extend the duration of each, followed by cutting down the amount of rest time in between each, before lastly increasing the rest-activity cycle.
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