Has anyone ever done this before? I'm not training for anything specific now, but thought it might be an interesting approach.

So I was planning on doing 20mpw in 3 runs. 5-5-10 plus whatever xt I normally do thru CG.

So, instead of 5-5-10, I was thinking, 45-45-90. Most of my runs are 8:25-9:00 unless I'm specifically doing spadework.

Thoughts on this?

I ran for time (triathlon training) as your fitness would improve so you would get more mileage in the same amount of time reducing fatigue. It also made calculating TSS (training peaks fatigue vs fitness) easier. I would gradually build up my runs to longer times to get more fatigue during build sections.

Thats definitley a valid training option. If you google it, you will likely find all sorts of training plans and advice on it

I have not done it on a regular basis, but I definitely do it for individual runs. An easy run on Saturday morning to be run for an hour instead of run for 7 miles type thing. I find that it helps me mentally to have the duration based goal rather than mileage and pace type goals. If you are just looking for general fitness and running for the sake of running without specific racing goals or something like that (and it sounds like you are), then I think it could be a successful plan in building economy.

ptothemo said:

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I have not done it on a regular basis, but I definitely do it for individual runs. An easy run on Saturday morning to be run for an hour instead of run for 7 miles type thing. I find that it helps me mentally to have the duration based goal rather than mileage and pace type goals. If you are just looking for general fitness and running for the sake of running without specific racing goals or something like that (and it sounds like you are), then I think it could be a successful plan in building economy.

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Exactly. I have a few short races here and there, minus my ruck marathon. I want to keep a baseline mileage until about 26 weeks away from BCS or BMW.

ptothemo said:

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If you are just looking for general fitness and running for the sake of running without specific racing goals or something like that (and it sounds like you are), then I think it could be a successful plan in building economy.

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Seemed to work for me running a 1:24 half during a training cycle and 38 minute 10k. Miles are mile, does not matter if you track them by time or distance as long as you get the same fitness/fatigue at the end.

P.U.T.U said:

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ptothemo said:

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If you are just looking for general fitness and running for the sake of running without specific racing goals or something like that (and it sounds like you are), then I think it could be a successful plan in building economy.

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Seemed to work for me running a 1:24 half during a training cycle and 38 minute 10k. Miles are mile, does not matter if you track them by time or distance as long as you get the same fitness/fatigue at the end.

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Yeah, I see your point and agree with you. I did not intend to say that it will only help if you don't have specific racing goals, but I can see how it read that way. I was more referencing the mental side of things where training for a race is more naturally associated to distance and pace training.

I think that we are all on the same page here, maybe just not in the same paragraph at all times.

Of course, I went out and stopped at 5 miles today.

I like it for trail/ultra training more than mileage training. In reality, I tend to run for mileage on the road during the week and do time on trails for my weekend long runs. Not all miles are created equal. 12 hard trail miles might be 2.5 hours, while those same road miles might be ninety mins.

Have switched most of my training (a 70.3 in Oct and a marathon at Cowtown) to time-based training, and it seems to have helped quite a bit.

It helps with scheduling with the wife - hey, I need to run for 30 min. Bike for 1 hr. Etc.

It also helps that you are prepared for a duration and not a distance. At IM 70.3 NOLA, I was prepared for a 4 hour bike (when really the 55 should take about 3 or less). Huge winds that day ended up pushing everything to a much slower pace, but I felt fine because I was prepared for the duration.

Decided on giving it a go. Three 45 minute runs and 1 90 minute run.

We'll see how well I stick to it.

I have just started doing this the past few months and love it for distance runs. During the week I do hour runs and on the weekend up to three. I find it challenges me to push myself a little harder and focus my workouts instead of just putting in meh miles.