Is running 10 miles twice a week too much when is combined with swimming and weightlifting?

Question

I went through a period of having recurring knee pain while mainly been using a treadmill. I stopped running on the treadmill and took up road running and also did more swimming. So now my current training per week is:

• Swimming, high intensity, 40 minutes, 2 times.
• Weight lifting, all-body weights & machines, 2 times.
• Running, 10 miles (16km), in 100 minutes, 2 times.

I'm slightly concerned that I could be over-doing it on the running. Given my history of having recurring knee pain, my question is: Am I overdoing the running?

I don't feel any ill effects from it (at the moment), but I'm also not training for a half marathon or anything like that - I just want to maximise my fitness without risking injury.

Update: I don't cycle because it aggravates my knees even more than running used to - 10 mins on the bike machine pretty much guarantees that I wake up the following night with pain the quadriceps tendon (or sometimes the lateral collateral ligament) in one of my knees (but never both). I've had my knees looked at by a few doctors but they have never gotten to the root of the problem (or even a consistent diagnosis). I had some physio a couple of months ago but it didn't help at all. It seems I've somehow managed to get lucky and settle into a program were my knees are happy ! But as I said, I just worry a bit about 100 mins running - thinking I should cut it back to maybe half the distance but faster ?

Answer 1

Many people make the mistake in running that they think it's ok to just go out and run, without any base training. This misconception leads to a lot of injuries. My LONG run for the entire week is 10ish miles, and that's when I'm running between 30-40 miles/week.

If you don't have a lot of base, then 10 miles twice a week is not what I would recommend. Plus, if you are just doing it for general fitness, then it is way overkill, and in all likelihood, contributing to your knee aggravation. (Especially if your shoes are unsuited/old). If I were coaching someone that wanted to do two 10 miles runs a week as their only training, I'd have expected them to get to the neighborhood of 50-60 miles/week as a base before that, and take into consideration that you will lose some running ability by dropping to just two runs a week. One other consideration, is that recovery will be impacted and possibly interfere with other workouts by limiting yourself to two long runs.

As far as the knee pain on the bike, I would suspect that you have some sort of positional setup that is wrong, or that you are approaching the bike the way you are the run, getting on and hammering at a super high cadence. Just about all cardio activities, you need to have good form, and a good base, otherwise it's easy to hurt yourself.

For general fitness, I would have you do 3-5 miles twice a week, moderate pace with a few :30 second pickups where you increase your pace 20-30% then back to moderate pace. General fitness is not that hard to achieve, and you definitely can do it without two 10 mile runs.

Answer 2

Without the specific diagnosis this question is hard to answer and you should better seek out professional help and ask if you can keep on running.

If you are really concerned about your knee and just want some cardio workout I'd recommend cycling as a substitute.

• less stress to the knee (although you still put stress on your knee, of course)
• comparable muscle groups (depending on the type of biking, eg MTB or road)
• you can do it for the same time or even longer
• you can go further, more variation in what you see

Of course cycling brings in other risks and problems, but this should be the case with every sport you can do. If you really need specific help, I recommend again to ask a professional (eg a sports physician or physiotherapist).