Running same amount of miles everyday ?

It depends of your current level and training plan.

It is not optimal, but if it allows you to train more regularly, you will see progress.

I think for mile or 5K training it's fine. I think the longer the distance you plan to race, the less optimal it gets.

For example, for 5K training, 50 mpw on say 6 days of 8.5 miles is probably good, but for a marathon you'd probably want to shorten some of the days and run longer once or twice a week.

I once ran 17 miles everyday for two weeks. I was pushing my volume up quite a bit and this made that as easy as possible. If I had broken it up differently I think it would have been more challenging.

That's totally fine man. Non-workout / long run days are always an hour for me. I don't mess around with like...35 minutes some days, hour other days, 50 minutes..etc. It really doesn't matter.

Having a mileage goal and "running less" in order to add in a long run is the wrong mindset in my opinion. If you're used to 6 miles a day, and you want to add a long run...just add a long run. No need to cut back on other days. Hard weekly totals are dumb.

I had a teammate like this in college. Would dial the last couple days of the week up or down in order to hit a clean mileage number. Dude was a headcase. Just figure out what your daily objective is and do it.

In terms of being optimal to run the fasted PR, maybe not. However, by having consistent training, you will still crank out times that would be very close to your potential.

I’ve been doing something similar of running same distance everyday as I don’t race as often anymore and just run to keep myself in shape. Also, I just like running in general.

Best thing about running the same distance everyday is that I haven’t had any significant injuries in the last 9 years. I haven’t ever had to take long time away from running. I think just few days here and there.

So, maybe consistent same distance is good? Since I never had to take long time off, I’ve been able to consistently train.

Do whatever works for you.

But having 1 or 2 rest days for your kind of mileage is probably more effective.

You don't have to run dramatically different distances, but it's still better to have a little variation. For 40 miles a week, I think you'd do better with something like 6-7-6-7-6-8 (in a six-day week) so you can get a little more rest on easy days and a little more stimulus on longer days, while still keeping daily mileage pretty close to even.

If you are not training to race then this is more than fine to just keep yourself in very good shape. As was suggested by another poster, I would break it up a little bit and vary the distance just to be a little different. I assume you are running different routes and not the same one over and over?

Webbster wrote:

I think for mile or 5K training it's fine. I think the longer the distance you plan to race, the less optimal it gets.

For example, for 5K training, 50 mpw on say 6 days of 8.5 miles is probably good, but for a marathon you'd probably want to shorten some of the days and run longer once or twice a week.

Exactly. I can -- and have -- run decent marathons on 20 miles per week ("decent" = BQ). That would be, for example, three runs (5, 5, 10), two runs (5, 15) or one run (20).

Running 3,3,3,3,3,3,3 would not work for me. I know, because when I train even 4 miles every day with nothing longer, I really struggle when attempting an 18-mile run.

But, if it helps to have a set daily routine, with no racing plans, sure, a daily 5- or 6-mile run at a comfortable pace can certainly maintain fitness.

Makeithappenornot wrote:

I'm a hobby jogger.

I was wondering if for example goal is to run 40+ miles/week, would running 6 miles every day (42 miles/week) be good.

And then if I want to run about 50miles/week, something like running 7 miles/day. But always keeping the same amount of miles everyday.

Because sometimes I have trouble to motivate myself to run, so I think to just have a simple plan like just run 6 miles a day would create some sort of routine.

Of course, the pace sometimes would change to make some sort of either tempo run, fartlek run, easy run etc.

But keeping always the same amount of miles everyday.. is it detrimental or is it sub-optimal but still good enough to make good progress ?

You can do this. It's not bad, especially if you vary the pace with workouts, like you said. The only thing I don't like about it, is that having at least one long run on the weekend (or whatever day of the week you have the most time) makes all the other runs seem so much easier. If I was going to do something like this, for a while, it would look more like this.

41 mile week: 5.5 miles six days per week, then an 8 mile run on the weekend.

50 mile week: 6.83 miles six days per week, 9 mile run on the weekend.

If it makes you feel better, you could round up (or down) the days that aren't an even number, although I personally don't mind a distance with a decimal on a given day, if it gives me the total weekly mileage I want.

Some version of this gives you that one hard day (the long run) and all the others are easier and can either be a recovery day, or workout. You'll have more energy on these days if the distance is not your longest you can run. If you run the same distance every day, every day feels like a grind because every day is a "long run."

Think of it in terms of miles per week. If you're running 40ish/week you're averaging 6/run. If you're running 50ish/week you're averaging 7/run. But I wouldn't go out & run that amount every day. Most of your easy runs will probably be at or close to that distance but you need room for workouts & long runs to be a touch faster. Long run at 40/week should be 8-10. Long run for 50/week should be 10-12. Workout days should approach the low end of that. So that leaves 2ish easy days/week where maybe you're just going out for 3-5 miles. Rest of your days are 6 or 7.

It really depends on your goal. If you run b/c you enjoy it and want to stay in shape running 6 miles a day every day would be an excellent path to solid fitness. You will naturally improve your times as your training continues but as others have said perhaps not the optimal training plan if you want to win an elite race but it will make you a much faster runner for the 5K and 10K over the long haul.

I had a friend who is a little obsessive when it comes to new endeavors. He had let himself get out of shape and decided he wanted to get into running. He ran a 10K every day for over a year straight. We were in Denali when it was -20 out and he still went out running. He eventually made 10K his minimum and started doing half marathon races and some longer training but in that first year he went from being 200 pounds and getting winded on a moderately long hike to being a cut 150 and having the endurance of a pack animal. He'd strap on a 50 pound backpack and do an 18 mile hike with serious elevation like he was out on a Sunday stroll.

Time wise he never cracked 20 for a 5K but came close and he ran in the low mid 40s for 10K races. The point I am making is that his training didn't make him a speed demon but it got him into very good physical and cardiovascular shape. This was after he turned 40.

I think there's merit in running the same amount of miles each day if it will motivate you but probably additional benefit if you vary your speed. Try to have a few days a week that are speed days and as others have said maybe one day off a week could help reduce chance for injury.

Makeithappenornot wrote:

I'm a hobby jogger.

I was wondering if for example goal is to run 40+ miles/week, would running 6 miles every day (42 miles/week) be good.

And then if I want to run about 50miles/week, something like running 7 miles/day. But always keeping the same amount of miles everyday.

Because sometimes I have trouble to motivate myself to run, so I think to just have a simple plan like just run 6 miles a day would create some sort of routine.

Of course, the pace sometimes would change to make some sort of either tempo run, fartlek run, easy run etc.

But keeping always the same amount of miles everyday.. is it detrimental or is it sub-optimal but still good enough to make good progress ?

I've tried this. It's a formula for dead legs. I've compared:

1. Run more or less the same (45-75) every day

2. Run every day but varying from 30 to 100 minutes.

3. Run 6 times a week varying from 45 to 150 minutes.

Running 50+ miles in all three cases.

I get best results and do higher km with 3 although sometimes I do 2 because it's easier to schedule.

Without some easy, short days I get dead after a couple of months.

I've run around the same distance every day a lot. It's my default mode when I'm not training for anything, which is most of the time. It's perfect for a hobby jogger - no planning required.

It's not optimal training, but it's probably the easiest way to build mileage, if that's what you want to do. I started at 9 miles every day as a beginner my first summer of running (age 16, coming from cycling), and that's no doubt the easiest way to go from 0 mpw to 63 mpw. A few years later in college, after switching back to running from cycling again, I started out at 11 miles per day/77 mpw. After a while, that was too easy, so I upped it to 12 per day, 84 mpw. That was too easy after a while, so I did 13 miles per day, 91 mpw. Then that was too easy, so I did 14 per day, 98 mpw. Then that was too easy, so I did 16 per day, 112 mpw. At some point I was doing 20 miles per run, sometimes up to 24 miles, 140-145 mpw. That that was too much. I'd do a lot of 20s in a row, and then have to take a zero some days, sometimes even three zeros in a week (but that'd still be 80 miles, lol). So I dropped down to about 90-95 mpw after that, and then actually ran pretty fast after adding a tempo run per week.

If you do speed in some days, then is okay. This would be the equivalent of distance variation.

But I'd say to take a day off once a week, to rest your mind a bit.

I would say ive spent the majority of the years running a bunch of 5 mile days with some tempos and workouts that still add up to 5 mile days and ive gotten within 5-10% of my 5k and 10k PR. I think you can do a lot with just that.

Now for a PR I did have to trown in some 10 mile long runs.

I'm a masters runner who keeps my mileage in the 40 to 50 mile week range. If your goal is health there is nothing wrong with running the same distance every day. If your goal is to race or improve as much as you can, this is not the ideal way to train. The human body adapts to stress and within a given week you will improve more if you run a long run, a tempo run, and intervals. Not everybody can fit 3 hard days into a week given how they recover so even 2 of these three types of workouts will lead to significant improvement. I run 5 miles on my easy days and one day per week I either walk or jog only 3 miles. Weekends include one long run of 12 to 16 miles and one of the runs during the week is longer like 8 miles with a hard 5 to 6 mile segment. You will improve to a point running equal daily mileage but not having longer / faster training will at some point limit your progress