Beginner runner - running every day?

How to get yourself through this funk? SIGN UP FOR A RACE!

Seriously. Putting your money down for a half marathon will get your booty in gear.

Good luck! You can do it!

PS- I trained for a marathon and only ran 4-5 days a week. There is no reason to run every day.

That was my original plan.  I'd picked a race, and was even all set up to be raising money for a charity while training.  Was about to click the button to sign up and got sick.  Now I'm torn because the race I'd chosen is less than 3 months away.  That's not much time to go from nothing to half-mary, though it's a race I'd really like to do.  I don't want to give up on that and find a new race, but I want to convince myself that it's actually possible before I put the money down...and especially before I start asking for donations!

3 months? You can train for a 1/2 mary in 3 months. Especially if you only train up to 10-11 miles in training.

And if you throw some walk intervals in there, it really won't be an issue. Less running = less chance of injury.

I took my friend was couch to marathon... in 7 months of training time. She finished the marathon in 5:45 with a 10 minute walk/3 minute run interval.

3 months for a 1/2 mary is completely doable. Pick a plan. Stick to it. SIGN UP TODAY!

1. I really don't think it's a great idea for a beginning runner to run every day...I like your every other day idea better.

2. I also don't think if you are just starting out, and esp. if you've been having health issues, you shoudl do a "long run" just yet. Get yoru base under you THEN start adding in things like long runs.

3. A goal race is a good idea for a motivator--but why do you need to start with a half? What about a 5k? Again, if you're struggling just to get out the door, signing up for a distance like the half may very well end up being an anchor, rather than a motivator.

ETA: Frankly, and I know this isn't the "PC" thing anymore...but if a new runner came to me and said, I want to race, should I do this half in 12 weeks, I'd say no. I'd say give it some time and get a good base and get yoru body used to it...and THEN think about ramping up.

Edited by mmrocker13 2009-07-15 2:46 PM

Right... my advice was based on the idea that she is already running and has some kind of base.

A BRAND NEW runner I would advise against a half marathon in 12 weeks.

But only she knows what her fitness level is at this point. Being unmotivated and lacking fitness are two different things.

I am a beginning runner.  And running 5x/week for a few months, mostly short mileage, worked wonders for me.  I started in the beginning of January.  My long run the first week might have been 40 mins.  And honestly, that was hard!  The rest of the runs were in the 20-35 min range from what I recall.  The long run built up super slowly, but the rest of the runs during the week stayed on the shorter side.  I am now doing long runs of 2.5-3 hours and not having any problems.  I have gone from a run hater to feeling at least neutral about it most days. 

Everyone...absolutely everyone...goes through unmotivated patches.  The key (at least in my experience) is to make things as routine as possible.  Pick a time you feel sure you can train at consistently and just don't let yourself off the hook.  Worry less about how "slow" you are and focus on consistency.  You won't make progress unless you first achieve stability (to whatever degree possible) in your routine.  Doesn't mean you can't train mornings some days and evenings others (I do)--or whatever works--but make the commitment to whatever the schedule is and honor the commitment...no matter how little it might seem like something you want to do.  Get out the door and do it...and try not to take expectations along with you for the run.

Personally, I'm a big advocate for frequent short runs to build the habit vs. less frequent run/walk combos for the sake of distance, but there are definitely arguments to be made for both.  If you want to give the seven-day-a-week thing a try, do it.  I used to run 3-8 miles a day, seven days a week for a few years and actually had fewer injuries than I get these days trying to mix my long runs in with swimming and biking and fewer other running workouts during the week (actually, I had no injuries at all running seven days a week).  If you stay relaxed and don't try to force for results that you perhaps aren't ready for, it won't kill you.

One last point (which runs a bit contrary to the general mentality on a race-focused forum like BT):  When I got back into running after 10 years on the couch, I was only focused solely on getting in shape and not on preparing for a race.  My whole attitude was about building aerobic exercise into my lifestyle as a permanent routine.  I think sometimes the "carrot" approach of setting one's sights on a particular race (or even distance) yields only temporary benefits...once the race is run, one is stuck looking for the next race to sign up for in order to justify the time spent on exercise.  Personally I like to treat running (and the fitness it generates) as its own reward and the races I do as measuring posts for progress.  If there were no races to be run, I'd still be running.  Just my .02, of course.  Hang in there.

This is great advice. Consistency has been by far the most important tool for me with running. I've had so many friends tell me they can't get into a workout routine, and so often I hear them making excuses for not exercising -- I had to work late, I didn't sleep well last night, I went out with friends, I'm coming down with a cold, etc. These are all valid excuses, but you have to make running (or any kind of training) a priority, something that *must* be done, just like work/friends/sleep/etc. Then, when you hit an unmotivated patch, it's a little easier to keep the habit because it's become so routine (and "I don't feel like it" is no longer a valid excuse).

To the OP: I am NOT saying that you are making excuses. Not at all. But maybe seven days a week isn't necessarily -- it's putting an awful lot of pressure on yourself, physically, sure, but mostly mentally. Maybe start with a smaller goal of four short runs a week. Just MAKE SURE those runs get done, no matter what. Once you've got that habit, add another day, and then make one of your runs a long run, and build from there. It doesn't matter if the runs are slow or if you walk a lot of them or even if you think they suck, just do them.

nothing wrong with running every day (and some good can come from the base building) if and only if you aren't burning yourself out mentally and your body is recovering okay.  If you find that you can do both, then perhaps the daily run is "short" enough.  If you find yourself dreading the run, maybe every day doesn't work or the distance is too long.  Same with if you find yourself very sluggish the next day, maybe you need more recovery time between runs or shorter distance.

You can definitely run a half mary on fewer runs a week, but you do need time to build up your aerobic base (via your long run) and to strengthen your body from all the pounding that it's not used to.  You can follow the 10% rule which is a conservative approach, but in the end, it's dependent on your body.

If you are prone to missing workouts, then it can help to just try to schedule very frequently (e.g. every day) and if you miss some workouts, it's okay since you have enough frequency/volume otherwise to still maintain and hopefully build your fitness.

personally, I only run 3 and occasionally 4 times a week and generally try to avoid running on consecutive days.  I prefer to have some recover time in between runs.

People keep saying couch to 1/2 mary or couch to 5k reference... it's not that simple.  One major factor is are you in reasonable shape or a fat slob.? (I am just coming off being a fat slob, so I can say it)

I tried those couch to *** routines and there was no way on earth I could do those.  I was grossly out of shape.  You mentioned you started running a couple years ago.  How good of a runner have you been in the past?  What kind of shape are you in now compared to then?

It is amazing on how much you can improve yourself in a short time.  I just finished my first 5K, which is a huge accomplishment for me, but there is not way I would consider a 1/2 mary for any time this year.

As far as running every day, no.  You need to build up those muscles.  The only way to build up muscles are to let them rest.  IMO I wouldn't run anymore then 4 times a week.

I started running this year in March, have never run before. Did a couch to 5K in 12 weeks and did my first 5K race 6/20 in 30:42. Now I'm traning for a 10K in August (8/15) in Stockholm, Sweden.
I run 3-4 times a week (every other day) and it feels great. I have some problems with shin splints, but resting for one day makes the pain go away.
I have plans to do a half marathon in November (11/7) in Charlotte, NC. I have not paid or signed up for it yet. I want to see how my 10K goes first.

But I like running now. I don't think I could make myself do it if I didn't like it.

Thanks everyone for the advice.  After re-reading my initial post I realize that I left it a bit confusing about what kind of base i'm starting with.  This might be a bit long but I'll try to explain. 

About 2.5 years ago I did the couch to 5k program from this site.   Back then I literally couldn't run around the block.  I was the ultimate couch potato!  That summer (2007) I did my first tri...a sprint.  I walked probably about half of the 5k run portion but was happy just to survive.  That summer I did 3 more tri's (2 sprints and the swim and bike part of an oly as part of a relay).  Finally that fall I ran an entire 5k without walking.  To my surprise, that Thanksgiving I ran a 10k without walking (though it was at sea level and I live at over 5000 ft. so that did help).  Through all of that I managed to lose 40 lbs and have kept it off since.  That was the last running race I did for a long time, but I kept a fairly regular workout routine...just not necessarily run focused or endurance focused.  The following summer (last summer) I worked on a wildland fire crew...so no competing but lots of working out.  Last fall I did a 50 day outward bound course that involved lots of hiking and backpacking.  Our final challenge was a 13 mile run (strange since we didn't do any running over the course) and it went amazingly well!  I finished in just under 3 hours on no training which I felt awesome about.  That's what made me want to do a half....I wanted to see what I could do with actual training!

Of course since then I've done very little running...through the winter I averaged between once/week and once/month.  But I stayed very active...skied almost every day, played tennis, played hockey, and now i'm working a very active job at a summer camp chasing kids around all day and spending a lot of my time belaying kids at the climbing wall (which can be exhausting if you've never done it!).  

 My point in all of this is that I'm far from my "couch" fitness of years ago...I'm still overweight but by a lot less.  I'm very active day to day, it's just the lack of long run specific stuff that has me concerned.  But this isn't a spur of the moment "I think I'll run a half marathon today" type of decision.  I've been planning on it for over a year now, just unfortunately waaaaaaay not where I want to be with training, especially with long runs.  I like to think that a generally active lifestyle can make up for that but I just don't know.  Thanks again for all the help and advice.  I've got a lot to think about!       

If you have only been running 1x a week you are really a beginner runner even though you have been at this a few years.

You need to consider what it is that it is that keeps you from following the plan you have had? motivation? illness? or what?

Illness makes sense but if it is something else dealing with that first helps.

I started off the couch and couldn't run around one side of my block and would only run at night back in '04. I used to think I couldn't run one day after another. Now I know I can but I ran consistently for 4 years before I started doing that. I wouldn't recommend doing more frequent runs than every other day until you have run consistently for over a year which to me means 3-4 runs every week for a whole year.

Pick a race that excites you. Half Mary is fun distance but not so fun if you are under trained and will find training hard or not enjoyable. Why not pick a 5K in few months and a 10K a month or so after that. Set yourself up for success and to enjoy your run training and racing not being frustrated with you aren't getting it done.

I didn't officially make this plan until late spring (my first big mistake).  Before that my plan was to run as much as I could, but when it was cold and dark by the time I made it back from work, as much as I could wasn't much.  I was playing hockey and tennis and doing crossfit 3x/week so I was working out.  The current plan went well at first...then I moved across the country and started a new job, which threw a kink in things but it still went pretty well.  I took a few days off when work got stressful early on, then I was sick to the point where I didn't get out of bed for 5 days.  After that I had a lot of residual issues from being sick so it took a long time before I could get out and run again.  Since then I've been pretty good with the plan, though I've had to rearrange which days I'm running often due to work schedule.  (Since it's a summer camp I'm basically "on" all day every day).  Anyway, I'm torn because training for a 10k just doesn't get me that excited, but training for a half mary scares me because of all the issues mentioned above.  I guess there is a pretty huge difference between the two...