By: Gary D

Gary D — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 19:12:15 +0000

You may be aware that the “10-20-30″ protocol calls for using that workout 3 times per week, and doing NO OTHER RUNNING apart from those workouts, ie- NOT doing 3 other “easy” runs per week, as you are doing. Also, my understanding of the “10 second” effort is that it is meant to be an all-out sprint, and thus, would be well above the “vo2 max” pace you are speaking about.
I would suggest to you that running on many days consecutively is the true cause of your knee pain. My experience as an adult runner is that even if the off days are run at an “easy” pace, running many days in a row tends to result in chronic injuries and problems, and that running “every other day” and doing cross training on the rest days (ie exercise bike), would likely result in an eventual cessation of your chronic running pains. Sometimes stubborness borne of a dogmatic attachment to traditional running ideas based on what work(ed) for elite/pro runners, is not necessarily helpful to amateur adult athletes – that is my conclusion based on over 3 years of testing out various running programs (with many injuries resulting from them). I currently am using the Furman FIRST program, and only running 3 days/wk myself, and it is nonetheless very challenging. I am also interested in this 10-20-30 approach, and may try it myself at some point.

Comments on: Update at the Two Week Milestone – 30 Minute Runner

By: Gary D