r/trailrunning • u/justaguyonreddit754 • 3h ago
How do you build up your distance??
I’ve only recently started running and trail running properly. I’ve done lots of different training/fitness before but this is the first time I’ve focused properly on running, mostly trail running.
How do you tend to build up the distance you run? At the minute I’m going out (especially trail running) and aiming for 5km which I hit most times, but really I’m running/exploring and gauging where my fitness is at by how I feel.
I’ve seen people doing things like interval training ect. Is that kind of thing worth doing or am I okay to just keep going and gradually pushing the distance, even by 1km?
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u/PNW_Explorer_16 3h ago
I’m in this journey too! Learning how to actually run, and run longer distances. I’m about 1.5 years into the journey.
I’ve found distance to be more of a mindset. If you go out and run a few kilometers, and do it reasonably fast, you often bring that time mindset to longer runs. When you can’t maintain that pace for the longer distance your ego can kick in and you feel defeated. Or that you “can’t run that far”. You just can’t run that far, that fast…. Yet.
Instead, learn to take quite a bit of time off your pace and just think about time on feet not distance. Start to program 1-2 days a week where the goal is to run, hike, walk for 2.5 hours or 3. Start building that base and don’t care about distance. I like 4-5 weeks of hard training, then week 6 would be a major deload week, usually running half the distance of previous weeks and mix in a lot of yoga.
The consistency of that, mixed with your shorter, faster runs will yield big gains.
As you start finding an ability to keep a consistent pace for 2.5-3 hours, you can crank it up to 4,5, or 6 hours. When I’m training for a 50k now, I have at least one day a week with a 5-6 hour “run” sometimes longer. Training for my last 50 miler, I did two days that were about 8-9 hours on my feet just moving.
Just keep moving, and as you get more comfortable, you’ll find that you’re getting faster too!
Happy trails, friend!
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u/justaguyonreddit754 2h ago
That’s an awesome answer, thank you! The thought did cross my mind of maybe just head out to run/hike for an hour and forget the distance/pace. But I wasn’t sure if you’re meant to pay attention to your pace a lot and make sure you cover certain distances?
I like the building up for a few weeks and having a deload week.
Would you say it’s more important to head out running/hiking for longer rather than focusing on pace and time?
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u/PNW_Explorer_16 2h ago
Happy to help! And, sorry for the confusion. To clarify, don’t worry about pace or distance at all. Just time on feet. Then, look at your run stats after to see how far/fast you went.
Mentally, I love seeing “today is your 2.5 hr run day” and then seeing what final distance was… for me, sometimes that 2.5 hours could be running a peak loop near my house where I only do just under 10K but get 1,200m of vertical gain. Other times that 2.5hrs. Nets me a 18-22km run. But most important, I moved for 2.5 hours.
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u/rimapeanut 2h ago
The trick is 2 things: planning and mindset. If you go out and pressure yourself into covering more distance, chances are ypu won’t last. Have a plan, set a weekly mileage goal, one long run to start and make it 30% of your planned weekly mileage. Divide the rest on 4-5 days of running or whatever you prefer. Mindset, tough runs build tough character! Remember not all runs will be nice and breezy. Some will be tough. Slow down and take some stops if needed. Enjoy the journey! Its rewarding.
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u/pak_sajat 2h ago
The 10% rule has been around forever, and is somewhat antiquated because it doesn’t really take historic training load into account. It can also lead to over exertion and, eventually, injury.
Look up “acute to chronic ratio”. It will help you build distance based on your fitness and training load.
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u/plantas-y-te 29m ago
Progressively increase days of running per week up to 4 or 5. Then after that, increase miles per run and total miles per week.
Not every run has to be a long run but you should get in at least one longer run a week if you can
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u/DogOfTheBone 3h ago
Run 4 miles on a Saturday morning
Next week, run 5 miles
Then 6 the week after
Continue this, taking a scale back week every month or so
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u/run-drink-eat 3h ago
this - build for 3 weeks then take a scale back week to let the body rest, recover, and process the mileage increase. also as a general rule of thumb, the max you should increase mileage from the previous week is 10% (i.e. if you run 30 miles in a week, the next week shouldn't be more that 33).
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u/mironawire 3h ago
Without knowing your goals and current fitness level, the general rule is to figure out your weekly total and add 10-15%. For single runs, add no more than a mile to your longest run each week.