Is there any reason I shouldn't run two days in a row as a beginner?

Question

I'm by no means the fittest person in the world, I've had a few false starts on a couch to 5k mainly due to finding it difficult to find the time to get out and run.

Is there any reason, assuming that I'm not sore from the previous day's run that I can't go for another run the next day?

Bear in mind that at the moment I'm doing run/walk intervals and am at about 50/50 running walking for half an hour at the moment so it's nothing too intense, although I'm not going to lie it feels like it is towards the end.

Answer 1

I would say 2 consecutive days would be fine, but don't be surprised if the second day feels much harder. If you are doing 30 minutes the first day, do 20 the next. Make sure the following day you rest.

I would say the most important thing here is to listen to your body. Beginner runners often get injured in the first 6 months due to over doing it, and not giving the body time to adapt. So do be careful.

Answer 2

As long as your not sore from the exercises from the previous day or days or feel any sort of fatigue, then I really think you should just go ahead.

When you move from run/walk to just running and longer distances, then you should begin to take restitution more serious by looking at the training effect or a similar metric. Or just follow one of the many training plans as they are usually quite balanced in terms of effect and restitution.

Answer 3

I would recommend against this. When you're just starting out - follow the plan.

The issue is that your joints, ligaments, tendons and muscles are not yet adapted to running. The training plan is what does this - most of them are scientifically evaluated to do this with the lowest risk of injury.

So, to start with, follow the plan.

Once you've got some training under the belt then go for it.