Question: Would you recommend doing a second run on days where you have a hard workout or just doing two easy runs on a non-workout day?
Run SMART Coach Rod Koborsi: Running twice a day is helpful in two ways…
- It’s great when you are trying to get in miles without building too much fatigue. For example, you will build more fatigue doing a 10-12 mile run than you would breaking it up between two runs. Most experiences that I have with doubling will be for this reason.
- It’s also great on a day when the focus of your workout is meant more for speed than endurance but your total weekly mileage is still important. For instance, you may be doing 8x400m on the track but you want to total 8-10 miles for the day. It ruins the point of the workout if you were to warm-up for 5 miles beforehand because you want to have somewhat fresh legs for your quality session. On the flip side, cooling down this many miles may leave you feeling very tight. Instead, waiting later in the day to get in an additional run will likely leave you feeling better after the workout by flushing out lactic acid in your legs.
I think the answer depends on the purpose of the day’s run. You don’t want to be running twice a day everyday because it’s more important to run longer in one run. However, if you have the time, running twice on days where you are just trying to get in mileage on your legs and feel recovered for the next workout or long run can be very beneficial.
Hope this answers your question. Best of luck with your training!