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Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness?
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 2013-10-15 12:11 PM |
Regular  866    Central Coast, CA |  Subject: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness?I just completed my first Half Marathon (yay me!) over the weekend and I would like to keep the fitness level that I built up during my training. What is a good "miles per week" (running 4-5 days a week) to maintain/improve the run fit that I have? |
| 2013-10-15 12:16 PM in reply to: MOlsen |
Elite 5145 Cleveland | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? I don't know of a number to put on it, but if you figure that you will probably want to keep your long run in the 10-12 mile range, and you'll want one or two shorter recovery runs... then just adapt the other days to fit. Short run(s) in the 3-5 mile range, medium runs maybe in the 6-8 mile range.. the total will take care of itself. |
| 2013-10-15 12:19 PM in reply to: MOlsen |
Extreme Veteran 1001 Highlands Ranch, Colorado | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? I have been averaging around 28 mpw since my last race running 4-5 days a week with a 10+ mile run on Saturdays. With that I feel that I can run a solid race at any distance up to and including HM. |
| 2013-10-15 12:20 PM in reply to: MOlsen |
Expert 3145 Scottsdale, AZ | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? |
| 2013-10-15 12:53 PM in reply to: thebigb |
| 553 St Catharines, Ontario | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? 25 can be enough as a peak week in basic HM training (if you hope to finish not perform). I think you could easily dial it back to 20 miles a week and maintain a good base. |
| 2013-10-15 12:56 PM in reply to: badmo77a |
Pro 6191 | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? Originally posted by badmo77a 25 can be enough as a peak week in basic HM training (if you hope to finish not perform). I think you could easily dial it back to 20 miles a week and maintain a good base. Weekly long runs are ideally 20-30% of total mileage... that would mean at 20mpw, your long run would be about 6 miles. I'd say that's not QUITE enough to maintain half marathon fitness. 30mpw would keep your longer run in the 9 mile range. |
| 2013-10-15 1:53 PM in reply to: 0 |
Expert 2098 Ontario Canada | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? When I was maintaining Half Marathon Fitness, I was running between 18 to 24 miles a week usually 2 3's and a 6 during the week and a 10 or 12 each weekend . AT that rate I could ramp up to Marathon level in about 4 to 5 weeks easily if I wanted too without adding too much stress as well. Edited by RRH_88 2013-10-15 1:57 PM |
| 2013-10-15 1:57 PM in reply to: ratherbeswimming |
| 553 St Catharines, Ontario | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? Originally posted by ratherbeswimming Originally posted by badmo77a 25 can be enough as a peak week in basic HM training (if you hope to finish not perform). I think you could easily dial it back to 20 miles a week and maintain a good base. Weekly long runs are ideally 20-30% of total mileage... that would mean at 20mpw, your long run would be about 6 miles. I'd say that's not QUITE enough to maintain half marathon fitness. 30mpw would keep your longer run in the 9 mile range. I do cheat a bit. With fewer runs a week. A 10 miler, 6 miler and two shorter runs. plus a bunch of cross training (cycle commute). My long run is closer to 45% of my total. Which I know is not ideal. I think you could 'get away' with 20 miles a week but would need to dial it up before an event. |
| 2013-10-15 2:06 PM in reply to: thebigb |
Extreme Veteran 2261 Ridgeland, Mississippi | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? Originally posted by thebigb 30.
However, it could be more, but it might be less I think that 30 is a good number for run fitness in general. I'd build to 40 for a 10k/HM, and 50+ if preparing for a marathon. |
| 2013-10-15 3:28 PM in reply to: msteiner |
Veteran 2842 Austin, Texas | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? Originally posted by msteiner Originally posted by thebigb 30.
However, it could be more, but it might be less I think that 30 is a good number for run fitness in general. I'd build to 40 for a 10k/HM, and 50+ if preparing for a marathon. x3 Seems ~ 30 mpw is good for keeping it. Usually a bit higher for a short race and significantly higher to get ready for anything over a HM. If you dip much below 30 (and I don't mean a mile or two every couple weeks, but like 24-25 or less for several weeks), you'll still have a great base, but will have to just work a bit harder/longer to sharpen the edge again for racing... And congrats on the HM!! A PR!!! Matt |
| 2013-10-15 5:21 PM in reply to: mcmanusclan5 |
Regular 866 Central Coast, CA | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? Thank you for the feedback, everyone. Looks like the 25-30 mpw range will fit best into my current schedule. Follow-up question: I plan on adding a "long" bike ride (25-30 miles) to my woefully lacking bike regime, which is currently just bike commuting 2-3 days a week. If I do the long bike on Saturday mornings how will that impact the long run (10-12m) on Sunday mornings? For the record, my fitness goals for next year are: train for my first Oly, a couple of Sprints, and run in a handful of HM's (California Half Series). I'm not fast enough to be competitive so my training will be for building and keeping a solid base. Any speed gains that come along with a stronger base is a bonus. |
| 2013-10-15 6:03 PM in reply to: msteiner |
Expert 3145 Scottsdale, AZ | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? Originally posted by msteiner Originally posted by thebigb 30.
However, it could be more, but it might be less I think that 30 is a good number for run fitness in general. I'd build to 40 for a 10k/HM, and 50+ if preparing for a marathon.
I really didn't mean 30 to be some sort of magical point. IMO, it all depends on where you are coming from with regards to base, volume, time and how long you want to remain in "half marathon fitness" for, not to mention what is the OP's definition of half marathon fitness? |
| 2013-10-15 6:08 PM in reply to: MOlsen |
Member 251 Phoenix AZ | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? I plan on adding a "long" bike ride (25-30 miles) to my woefully lacking bike regime, which is currently just bike commuting 2-3 days a week. If I do the long bike on Saturday mornings how will that impact the long run (10-12m) on Sunday mornings? i feel fine running on sunday after long, hard saturday rides. i typically feel it more when i run long on saturday and try to push it on a sunday ride* *these results may not be typical |
| 2013-10-15 7:23 PM in reply to: Bunsbert Montcroff |
Champion 5312 Calgary | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? I think it depends on what you define as HM fitness. If you mean the fitness level that you had when you did your HM then I think you would need to maintain some reasonable approximation of your training program and intensity. I doubt many elite runners could maintain HM fitness on 30 miles a week though. |
| 2013-10-15 8:34 PM in reply to: thebigb |
Veteran 2842 Austin, Texas | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? Originally posted by thebigb Originally posted by msteiner Originally posted by thebigb 30.
However, it could be more, but it might be less I think that 30 is a good number for run fitness in general. I'd build to 40 for a 10k/HM, and 50+ if preparing for a marathon.
I really didn't mean 30 to be some sort of magical point. IMO, it all depends on where you are coming from with regards to base, volume, time and how long you want to remain in "half marathon fitness" for, not to mention what is the OP's definition of half marathon fitness? Yes - it could be 20, it could be 80. Buuuuuuuut, for **many** people who just finished their first HM and who want to keep within striking distance of the next one, 30-ish is a pretty good number. Yes, caveats ALL around that one, but you hit a good general number for most people looking to keep a good HM effort within reach - again, generally speaking. Now I'll stop disagreeing with agreeing with you (or something like that). Matt |
At least IMO...
| 2013-10-15 11:03 PM in reply to: MOlsen |
Member 1293 Pearland,Tx | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? |
| 2013-10-16 1:32 AM in reply to: #4877495 |
| 26 | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? with 4-5 session you can easily mantain and improve your level. 40-50km will do good, especially if you do different training session (long slow run, medium fast run, intervals, sprint) |
| 2013-10-16 2:01 AM in reply to: NormaJean |
Regular 265 | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? Those who are throwing 30mi/week for general fitness - ya'll are beasts! Kudos. For someone without IM/HIM background (like myself), 5mix4 per week is pretty good. Just an amateur's POV. Cheers |
| 2013-10-16 8:01 AM in reply to: BigDH |
| 1053 | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? Originally posted by BigDH I think it depends on what you define as HM fitness. If you mean the fitness level that you had when you did your HM then I think you would need to maintain some reasonable approximation of your training program and intensity. I doubt many elite runners could maintain HM fitness on 30 miles a week though. I agree with this, it depends on how well you want to do. I don't think it would be unreasonable to finish a HM on roughly 20 mpw and a 10 mile long run. However, if you want to run it well, you can easily put in 70 - 80 miles or more per week, doubles, etc... So, to answer your question, it depends on how well you want to do. If you want to be faster, run more, period. |
| 2013-10-16 8:05 AM in reply to: mcmanusclan5 |
Expert 1394 Wilmington, NC | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? Originally posted by mcmanusclan5 Originally posted by thebigb Originally posted by msteiner Originally posted by thebigb 30.
However, it could be more, but it might be less I think that 30 is a good number for run fitness in general. I'd build to 40 for a 10k/HM, and 50+ if preparing for a marathon.
I really didn't mean 30 to be some sort of magical point. IMO, it all depends on where you are coming from with regards to base, volume, time and how long you want to remain in "half marathon fitness" for, not to mention what is the OP's definition of half marathon fitness? Yes - it could be 20, it could be 80. Buuuuuuuut, for **many** people who just finished their first HM and who want to keep within striking distance of the next one, 30-ish is a pretty good number. Yes, caveats ALL around that one, but you hit a good general number for most people looking to keep a good HM effort within reach - again, generally speaking. Now I'll stop disagreeing with agreeing with you (or something like that). Matt Just to jump in and agree to agree or disagree. We are all throwing numbers out there, but there has been no mention of the OP's training. For the OP he ran the half on less than 30mpw. Looks like his avg over time was closer to 20mpw Peak week of around 25 (I only looked at his log for a quick minute so I might be wrong) That being said he should be able to maintain his current fitness if he just keeps doing what he did ie ~20mpw. Now if he wants to improve, as he indicated in his OP then 30 (or more or 30 structured a little different) would be the way to go |
| 2013-10-16 9:55 AM in reply to: qrkid |
Veteran 2842 Austin, Texas | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? Always dangerous to throw numbers around! I guess why ~30 came up for me (and I wasn't saying that the bolded part pertained to the OP directly, but rather to "many" people in about the same situation), is that it's enough to give you a decent long run without it being too great a percentage of your weekly mileage. Someone else suggested 20mpw with a 10mile long run. If that works for you, great, but for ME and **many** other people, doing a long run of 50% of your weekly mileage increases the risk of injury (and I hate being injured. Really hate it). By the same token, a long run of ~7 miles (if you're looking at around 30% of your weekly mileage as your long run in a 20 mpw approach), for ME and **many** people isn't quite long enough to prepare for a HM (unless you've done a ton and know just what to expect, then sure - but that's a different situation than being more at the start of a HM running "career"). So, if you're elite or a genetic monster (see other thread that is currently booming along), then it's too little. If you're just trying to do a HM now and again and are shooting for completing and don't mind pacing somewhat slowly (for you), then ~20ish could certainly work. And a HM program is different in intent, to me, than just maintaining some base (like 5 miles 4x per week would do). I just think that mid-high-20's to mid-30's provides a nice base and enough distance to get that long run in without it being too much of your weekly mileage. We can disagree on the importance of all those things, though, so I'm not saying that 30 is actually right for anyone - just that it fits MY OWN VIEW of approaching HM training in particular (not tri, etc.). We certainly don't need to agree - I'm just trying to explain where I'm coming from. Matt |
| 2013-10-16 10:17 AM in reply to: mcmanusclan5 |
Expert 1394 Wilmington, NC | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? Originally posted by mcmanusclan5 Always dangerous to throw numbers around! I guess why ~30 came up for me (and I wasn't saying that the bolded part pertained to the OP directly, but rather to "many" people in about the same situation), is that it's enough to give you a decent long run without it being too great a percentage of your weekly mileage. Someone else suggested 20mpw with a 10mile long run. If that works for you, great, but for ME and **many** other people, doing a long run of 50% of your weekly mileage increases the risk of injury (and I hate being injured. Really hate it). By the same token, a long run of ~7 miles (if you're looking at around 30% of your weekly mileage as your long run in a 20 mpw approach), for ME and **many** people isn't quite long enough to prepare for a HM (unless you've done a ton and know just what to expect, then sure - but that's a different situation than being more at the start of a HM running "career"). So, if you're elite or a genetic monster (see other thread that is currently booming along), then it's too little. If you're just trying to do a HM now and again and are shooting for completing and don't mind pacing somewhat slowly (for you), then ~20ish could certainly work. And a HM program is different in intent, to me, than just maintaining some base (like 5 miles 4x per week would do). I just think that mid-high-20's to mid-30's provides a nice base and enough distance to get that long run in without it being too much of your weekly mileage. We can disagree on the importance of all those things, though, so I'm not saying that 30 is actually right for anyone - just that it fits MY OWN VIEW of approaching HM training in particular (not tri, etc.). We certainly don't need to agree - I'm just trying to explain where I'm coming from. Matt I actually totally agree with you. 1) thought your original use of 30 was directed at OP. Your explanation above is spot on. 2) My post was not totally directed at you, but in general. A lot of people putting numbers out there without really addressing the OP's training. |
| 2013-10-16 10:44 AM in reply to: 0 |
| 1053 | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? Originally posted by mcmanusclan5 Always dangerous to throw numbers around! I guess why ~30 came up for me (and I wasn't saying that the bolded part pertained to the OP directly, but rather to "many" people in about the same situation), is that it's enough to give you a decent long run without it being too great a percentage of your weekly mileage. Someone else suggested 20mpw with a 10mile long run. If that works for you, great, but for ME and **many** other people, doing a long run of 50% of your weekly mileage increases the risk of injury (and I hate being injured. Really hate it). By the same token, a long run of ~7 miles (if you're looking at around 30% of your weekly mileage as your long run in a 20 mpw approach), for ME and **many** people isn't quite long enough to prepare for a HM (unless you've done a ton and know just what to expect, then sure - but that's a different situation than being more at the start of a HM running "career"). So, if you're elite or a genetic monster (see other thread that is currently booming along), then it's too little. If you're just trying to do a HM now and again and are shooting for completing and don't mind pacing somewhat slowly (for you), then ~20ish could certainly work. And a HM program is different in intent, to me, than just maintaining some base (like 5 miles 4x per week would do). I just think that mid-high-20's to mid-30's provides a nice base and enough distance to get that long run in without it being too much of your weekly mileage. We can disagree on the importance of all those things, though, so I'm not saying that 30 is actually right for anyone - just that it fits MY OWN VIEW of approaching HM training in particular (not tri, etc.). We certainly don't need to agree - I'm just trying to explain where I'm coming from. Matt Hal Higdon "Novice 1" and "Novice 2" plans peak at 23mpw with a 10 mile long run and 12 mile run respectively. And obviously those are just finish plans. But I do stand by my assertion that with a base of 20mpw (maybe a few miles more during peak weeks), a HM is certainly possible without any serious chance of injury. Going forward though, I do want to stress, that the answer is simple. More is better. Set your own goal, see what works with your schedule, and then go with that. If 30 mpw is what works for your schedule, pick up a plan and follow it. You will improve, and then if you want to improve more, run more. Edited by ImSore 2013-10-16 10:45 AM |
| 2013-10-16 3:21 PM in reply to: 0 |
Expert 703 Palm Springs, California | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? This thread has been extremely informative. It's definitely going to shape my thinking getting ready for the next HIM. I will say that the thread's general advice sounds safe, strong and fast. I'd also say that if anything, it's likely to produce an HM well ahead of the MOP. I've been fixated on how slow HIM runs are (by people who blow endless cash on gear  ). After a bad crash and spike in work load, I did my first HIM at Oceanside with essentially no run training, my only training was a bunch of hiking, and the second one this year on 10mpw (!). No run training = 53% back in the AG, 10mpw=42% back. I see a trend I was surprised this year at the huge parade of runners walking up the last few hills. ... so for me, Mark asked the best question ever. (So thanks, Mark, even though you're bailing on today's swim )Edited by Pacific John 2013-10-16 3:29 PM |
| 2013-10-16 3:25 PM in reply to: Pacific John |
Elite 5316 Alturas, California | Subject: RE: Miles per week to maintain half marathon fitness? Agree with many 30-35 weekly miles, long run 10-12. |
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| how many miles per week before you could "comfortably run a half | ||
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