Why do most training schedules have one long run per training week slotted around other shorter runs?
Getting fitter is all about recovery. When we do a long run, or a harder run, we are actually working to break down our muscles. We improve when our body heals, in the days after the runs. If we do a little harder run (or longer run), it takes our body a little longer to recover, sometimes a few days. In fact, you might find you feel worse two days after a hard run or workout than you do the day right after a run. That is a sign of your body improving, healing stronger. The danger with running is going hard again too soon. If you start wearing yourself down before you have recovered, you haven’t gotten everything out of the first workout. So sometimes it is a fine line. For beginners, err on the side of caution — with one longer run a week. As you advance, you can mix things up, do a shorter run faster, or incorporate running workouts like 10 x 30 seconds. Mixing it up keeps things interesting, and it also can get you fitter without increasing distance or the length of runs.
Related Questions
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