Train Smarter Not Harder: 5 Ways to PR Running Three Days a Week

Personal Record. PR. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? For many runners, setting a personal best time in a race is their ultimate goal. It also may seem unattainable, requiring hours and days of training that just aren’t possible for some athletes. While running five or six days a week may seem the ideal way to train hard enough to set a PR, there are many reasons why that may not be possible or even desirable. It’s time to train smarter, not harder.

 

Lack of time? Injured? Don't sweat it. It's possible to set a PR when you train smarter not harder. #running #runningtipsClick To Tweet

Training Challenges

Here are a few of the reasons that runners may choose to train smarter instead of harder.

Time

There never seems to be enough, does there? Whether you work full time, raise children, go to school, or do all three, time is always at a premium.  We’re so busy getting the important things done that there is rarely enough time to devote to less vital projects.

Even if you have made fitness a priority and found the time to fit it in, it may be difficult to devote as much time as you like to improving your performance. If you’re a runner, this lack of time might make you feel like you are destined to “just finish” the events in which you participate. That you can’t run faster, place higher, or set a personal record, because, well, you don’t have time to train.

Injuries

Injuries, or being injury-prone, is another factor that can limit your training time. Obviously, you should not be training for a PR while you’re injured, but as you recover, training smarter, on fewer days a week, can help you avoid further injury.

Aging

Unfortunately, it happens eventually to all of us, no matter how fast, no matter how strong: we all get older. Suddenly, the body that allowed us to run five, six, or even seven days a week starts to break down at that level. It doesn’t have to mean the end of our training though. We just need to learn to train smarter.

Train Smarter, Not Harder

Whether it is time, injury, or getting older that seems to be interfering with your racing goals, there is some hope out there.  Training smarter means making the most of the time that you have. And don’t think that you won’t be training hard, despite the title. You just won’t be wasting time with training that will not help you reach your goal. Yes, you will be working hard, but it will be focused and deliberate, not random and excessive, and will help you make the most of your time, and stay healthy and injury free.

1. Key Workouts

Any race training program has several key workouts each week. These are the workouts that will adapt your body to running faster and longer. Generally speaking, the other runs during the week are not essential. These recovery runs are just that, designed for recovery, which can easily be switched out for training that fits better into your schedule or that will cause less trauma to your body. These key workouts are:

1. VO2 Max training, usually faster intervals on a track or road.
2. Lactate Threshold training, also called Tempo training, frequently done on the road.
3. Long run. Depending on your race goal, one day a week should be focused on gradually increasing the distance that you run.

Just a note on your training plan. For some people, even three hard workouts in a week are too many. If you find that you are tired or sore after your week of training, you can switch out one of the speed workouts for what I’d call a second long(ish) run. Try alternating your speed workouts, and putting in some strong base mileage on that third day.

Here are three workouts that will help you reach your goal.

2. Build a Base

Even a three day a week program needs a solid base. Before you begin the training described above, spend six to eight weeks building your endurance. This is important, a building block on which to create your training plan.

3. Coordinated Cross Training

In order to replace running days, coordinated cross training will provide the benefits of a recovery run without the pounding and training time required. An easy bike ride, walk, or a swim is a good replacement and will allow your body to rest and prepare for the next running workout. A strength workout is essential to strengthen and balance your muscles and that, along with flexibility training, will help you avoid injury.

4. Rest Well

Rest not only means taking your recovery time but also sleeping well. Sleep is vital to improving your performance, enhancing recovery, and boosting your mental outlook.

5. If you can, add a fourth day

Yes, you can reach your goals on three days a week. But, if you’re training for longer distances, like a half or full marathon, you will benefit from an extra day on the road. It can be an easy day but should increase to medium long length as your training progresses. Running longer distances requires your body to adapt to more mileage, so that fourth day will really help.

 

While the ideal scenario for training for a PR is a schedule and body that allows you to train five or six days a week, it is possible to train smarter and achieve your goal of setting a new personal record by running three days a week.

How many days a week do your run? Do you make the best use of your training time? Do you include cross-training?

 

And Now It’s Time for the Runners’ Roundup

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