“You should be running at a comfortable pace-a pace where you can hold an easy conversation, say, a 4 to 6 effort out of 10,” says Mandje. Easy run: These are meant to be slow, recovery miles at the start of the week.

“Each one of these runs has different benefits for your running performance, and since the real gains don’t happen until after your workout, giving your body that time to recover can really help.”ġ.

Then, “your running plan is going to break down into one easy run, one threshold workout, and one long run, ideally with one day of recovery in between,” says Mandje.

How to Choose the Right Marathon Training Plan.

“Don’t be afraid to back off and don’t compare your training to anybody else’s-three days might work for you while three doesn't work for somebody else. “Running is universal, but every body is different,” says Roberto Mandje, a former Olympic distance runner and the chief coach at New York Road Runners. “You’ll also have less tissue fatigue in your muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, etc., resulting in a lower chance of overuse injury,” Harrison says.īut remember: It’s about what works for your body. If time isn’t the issue, the other major plus to running fewer days per week is less of an injury risk. Besides the fact that running won’t completely take over every one of your non-working or sleeping hours, “you’ll have less cumulative fatigue throughout your body, making for high levels of the anabolic hormones that trigger muscle growth and fat burning, and your cortisol-which has the opposite effect-will be lower,” says Alex Harrison, Ph.D., a certified strength and conditioning specialist, USA Track & Field-certified running coach, and sport performance coach for Renaissance Periodization. While running more isn’t going to hurt your half marathon chances (the best half marathoners run around 100 to 140 miles per week!), running less can actually help.

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