Back once again for everything you wanted to know about running but were afraid to ask.

Rules of the Road:

This is inspired by eric_twinge’s fine work in r/fitness.

Upvote either good or stupid questions. Sort questions by new so that they get some love.

To the more experienced runnitors, if something is a good question or answer, add it to the FAQ.

Post your question – stupid or otherwise – here to get an answer – stupid or otherwise. Anyone can post a question and the community as a whole is invited and encouraged to provide an answer. Many questions get submitted late each week that don’t get a lot of action, so if your question didn’t get answered, feel free to post it again.

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[Posting on behalf of /u/Percinho who is busy trying on his new tri suit that he got on Black Friday sale]

  • fgh567431@alien.topB
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    11 months ago

    I set myself a yearly goal of running 1000 miles and I try to run most days apart from when ill or away on holiday. Last year I managed 1010 miles, this year I’m on track for around the same.

    Is 1000 miles a year with daily runs (usually around 3 miles a day) too much or not enough?

    • TheophileEscargot@alien.topB
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      11 months ago

      About 20 miles a week would be very low for a professional runner, and a serious amateur race-runner would probably be doing more. But it’s risky to increase your mileage too quickly.

      If you’re not currently following a training program, you’d probably get more benefit from starting to follow a structured program than just increasing mileage. There are different systems in the body which benefit from running at different speeds: e.g. short sprints build your leg muscles, 3 minute intervals build your maximum aerobic capacity, 20 minute hard sessions improve your ability to clear lactate from your blood. If you find a training plan it will give you a variety of different paces to help you build different systems.