Different strokes...er, strides

[Coach's note: this is not a technique entry, though there may be an attempt at that in the not too distant future]

I had a conversation with a club-mate this morning over coffee and after swimming about improving at running.  "I want to run faster," she said.  Now, I view this person as a pretty strong runner, but everyone wants to improve, right?  But I also thought she ran fairly frequently.  Nonetheless, I asked how often she ran.  "Three days a week."  My knee jerk reaction, based on many conversations with triathletes, was "Well, that's not enough!"

Later on, I thought about that automatic reaction and felt that perhaps I had spoken a bit too soon.  To be honest, I really don't think that three days a week of running is enough to drive improvement.  The basic reasoning is that I don't believe that those three days offer enough volume or provide enough base to support strong speed work or longer distance (triathletes, take heed...running well off the bike takes both cycling AND running strength).  That said, the intervening couple hours of thought caused me to reflect and think about the individual.

Obviously, there is no cookie cutter answer for how much training one needs to improve.  Someone who is injury prone might ONLY be able to run 3-4 days a week, and then perhaps not be able to run long on pavement; someone else might be able to run 5 or more days per week but not be able to sustain speedwork; and so on.  What this gets back to is the need for individual approaches and adaptations to standard thinking in terms of training and results.  3 days a week might work well for someone new to the sport to get from 11 to 10 or 9 minutes per mile; 5 or 6 days a week might be necessary - if tolerable and available - to get from 8 minutes to under 7 per mile; and so on.  Moreover, the combination of runs (and their intensity) ranging from speed to distance to recovery play a huge role in success. 

The important thing is that what works for one person may not work for another, and it is that individuality that must be considered when applying any sort of running advice or a plan.

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