Increase by 10 %

ashley

Barefooters
Oct 6, 2011
33
2
8
42
folsom Louisiana
It was suggested to me that I increase my mileage by only 10% a week as I come back from a stress fracture and re-acustom my body to barefoot running. This might seem like a silly question but I'm not sure if it is supposed to be 10% of my mileage or 10% of my time. I really want to make sure and do this right as another injury would not only irritate the hell out of me, it would make it more difficult to convince the non-belivers that this is a valid choice. Now we all know that all runners have these types of injuries but I'm sure we all also know that people forget this when they see you running sans shoes.





www.myfeetmademedoit.com
 
I have always assumed that it

I have always assumed that it was 10% of your mileage. It is just a rule of thumb and you can increase by more or less, just listen to your feet.
 
The two terms are going to be

The two terms are going to be really quite close early on, I think. It's just a rough guide, which means that I usually ignored it in my training. You are free to stick closer, being somewhat gun shy.
 
I've always understood the

I've always understood the 10% rule to apply to the mileage you cover.
 
Some of us are old.

Some of us are old.
 
bruce campbell. i've not seen

bruce campbell. i've not seen the movie but i got it.

don't forget when you get back to running only do one thing at a time. either increase the mileage or the intensity, never both at the same time or you'll be back to where you are, broken.
 
Silly Phil.

Silly Phil.
 
migangelo wrote:don't forget

migangelo said:
don't forget when you get back to running only do one thing at a time. either increase the mileage or the intensity, never both at the same time or you'll be back to where you are, broken.

Yes this, which would sort of imply that the 10% rule is mileage based, but if you want to increase speed you should stay at the same mileage level or cut back that week while you try and increase some speed. Also don't forget cutback weeks. Seems like most training programs have two weeks of the 10% growth and then they cut back a pretty significant amount for a week to let your body heal.
 
I do not agree with the 10%

I do not agree with the 10% rule; and I have 2 stress fractures to prove it.

Generally, people mean 10% increase in mileage per week. The time period is important because you get very different results if you say 10% per month, 10% per week or 10% per run. 10% per week. If you increase, 10% per week, you end up increasing almost 50% per month. So, if you are running 15 miles a week, you'll be running 32 miles a week after just two months. That is definitely too much too soon.

In 2007 I was increasing less than 10% per week and I still cracked my fibual (I was running about 50 miles a week). In November I was increasing by about 10% per week, and I got a stress fracture in a metatarsal (this was caused, however, in part by some crazy downhill speed running on one evening).

If you are recovering from a stress fracture, I would increase by max 5% per week. I would actually recommend keep the mileage low and constant, and increase first the number of times per week you run. You need to test first whether the stress fracture has really healed.

I am just getting back to running myself after the above-mentioned injury. My plan is to run 3 mi. 2 times per week. If that works out, I will add in week 4 a 3rd run of 2 miles. If that works out, I will then increase that distance in week 6 to 3 miles. After that I will go to 4 times a week, but keep the mileage low. If you calculate it out, each of these increases is more than 10% individually, but they are much less per week, since I only increase every 2nd or 3rd week.

Cheers

Paleo
 
Paleo, I had thought to write

Paleo, I had thought to write something wise-ass and backward complimentary and erased it. You are just so righteously correct and justified that I can only say "Yes! That's true! Listen! Learn! Believe!"

...oh, yes, and "THANKS!"
 
I totally agree with what

I totally agree with what Paleo wrote. I also got a stress fracture while increasing mileage 10% per week, each week, for about a month. Now, I take a much more gradual, careful approach to increasing mileage (more like 10% per month, rather than 10% per week).
 
Thanks, JosephTree, for the

Thanks, JosephTree, for the kudos.

This issue has been bothering me for a while now, especially since it is so commonly repeated (always with the most innocent of intentions, of course). And mostly because I tried to use it as a way to put a brake on my own ambitions, and I still got hurt.

I have been thinking about writing a blog article about it. So, maybe I'll just go an do that.

Cheers

Paleo
 
Please do that, and I will

Please do that, and I will place it on the home page, Paleo. So maybe it should be a 1% rule. ;-)