How long is 7 miles in minutes running

Running 7 miles a day is a mean feat!

Running 7 miles a day is equal to running 49 miles or just under 79 (78.9) kilometres every week. This is a lot of miles.

To put this into perspective, most 100k ultramarathon runners often don’t hit this mileage on their average weeks’ training.

For the inexperienced, this is most likely an unachievable feat or maybe just not worth trying.

So if you are coming to this article without a strong running base already and think you want to run 7 miles a day, consider something more goal-based (marathon training plan) or if you are just interested to see “why?” then keep scrolling.

However, if you’re a seasoned runner and are looking to get into a more consistent habit of running, or maybe you are already running 6 miles a day and are looking for the next step up, and you are wondering if running 7 miles a day is the way forward then read on!

In this article we are going to explore :

• Why you would run 7 miles a day?

• What are some the disadvantages of running 7 miles a day?

• What is the best way of training for you?

Why would you run 7 miles a day?

Some of the benefits of running 7 miles a day are:

• It makes your muscles stronger,

• It may reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease,

• Running releases serotonin, so will boost your mood!

• It can help you lose weight,

• It can make you sleep better.

Often people will run a set distance every day because they either have a small window in their busy lives to fit in a run, and 7 miles (roughly 60-70 minutes) fits it perfectly. Or they have a ‘go to’ running route, maybe a park run, which is 7 miles long.

Exercising every day is great! You get to use your body and see, and feel, the results!

So why wouldn’t you want to be running 7 miles a day?

Using the same muscles and doing the same exercises has its downsides. It is better for your body and mind to keep spicing things up and keep life varied!

Here are some reasons why you should vary your training and how to run better.

3 disadvantages of running 7 miles a day

• Running without rest can lead to injury,

• Running the same routes, day after day, can be boring,

• Running repetitively with little variation may lead to plateau.

Let’s look at these in-depth, one at a time:

1. All Running And No Rest Can Lead To Injury!

49 miles a week is a lot!

Think about where you could get to if you drove 49 miles. This is a substantial effort to achieve on your feet, and this in turn will take its toll on your body.

Pushing your body day after day can lead to a build-up of little stresses and tears in your muscles, ligaments, and bones that can lead to injury.

Just like after a half marathon (or longer) you feel stiff and sore the following day.

If you have a look at practically any training plan you will see that they contain rest days and most likely cross training days.

These have been included to let your body heal and recover.

Every time you go out on a run, your muscles will form microscopic tears as they work (small tears in the muscle fibre). Now, don’t worry! These are not harmful to your body if you let yourself recover.

When microscopic tears (or micro-tears) form, your body sends nutrients to the affected area to heal your muscle. This leads to muscle growth and development, and will benefit you in the long run!

However, if you are running 7 miles a day, every single day then these tears have no time to heal and will build up causing larger damage to your muscles, leading to injury.

This is often referred to as Overtraining.

2. Running The Same Routes Day After Day Can Be Boring!

Pounding the pavements day after day with little variation can be demoralising and downright dull. It will also hinder your potential progression as a runner

The key is variety.

When out running it is the perfect time to explore!

Summon your inner inquisitive infant and follow your senses and who knows what you might find.

Whether it is a new street or even a new, interesting route with different terrains, all of these will help you stay engaged with your running schedule and keep you motivated, smiling, and running!

There are some great, performance-enhancing perks to go along with these new discoveries.

If you do end up finding some new terrain to practice on this will activate different muscle groups that you have potentially not been using on your normal route and technical uneven ground can be more exciting to run across!

If your normal route is very flat try to find a hillier section to practice on. Running on hills or even doing hill sprints will increase your power and strength causing you to be a stronger runner with a more powerful stride, which incidentally will make you faster!

All of these opportunities that have arisen due to your exploration can open new avenues for you and your running.

Maybe cross country is far more exciting than running on road? Or maybe your next race should be somewhere with more hills?

3. The Same Workout Every Day Can Cause You To Plateau

As you run your body adapts and develops to make this new challenge easier.

This is why some people find running 5k an almighty challenge and others can run 100 miles and not even dream of running a 5k, “it’s far too short!”. One has just been running more than the other!

If you do not vary your plan your body will adapt to running 7 miles a day, at a specific pace, and after it has achieved this, it will stop developing.

You have plateaued!

You will start to see no more progression and will be stuck in a rut. This is a very demoralising place to be and can lead to a lot of runners throwing in the towel and giving up because they are seeing no more progression.

But not to fear, the plateau is easily avoidable!

When training, it is a good idea to keep things interesting and keep mixing up your programme. So instead of running 7 miles a day, run a long 10 mile run one day followed by a slow recovery run of 4 miles. You can keep up your run streak, just vary the mileage.

On another day you could include a speed session such as a 2 mile warm-up followed by 6 quarter-mile sprints with a minute of slow jogging in between and use the last 3 miles as recovery and cool down.

The weekly average of running 49 miles can still be your target but you are mixing in longer and shorter runs as well as faster and slower ones.

So Should You Run 7 Miles Every single Day?

This is a lot of information and maybe you are still unsure whether running 7 miles a day is right for you.

It depends on what you want to achieve.

If running 7 miles a day is what you are comfortable with, then by all means keep running 7 miles a day, but if a marathon or even an ultramarathon is on your horizon then this is not the best way for you to train.

Those miles could be better utilized for training, or even a lower weekly mileage for better results can be achieved!

The best way of training is by slowly building up your endurance, which means using a mixture of long, slow runs and recovery runs, and by increasing your strength and power, by training at different speeds and including some cross-training into your training.

The easiest way of getting all of this right without overtraining is by following a training plan. We have loads of free training plans for you to get your hands on and help you become the best runner you can be!

These training plans, or any other training plans, will build up your endurance effectively and factor in speed work and rest days in an easy-to-follow way.

But in general, you want to include one long run, one or two speedwork sessions and at least two small runs per week to maximise your performance out on the road.

And remember…

there is no need to run every single day

Even if you are content with running 7 miles a day on repeat, or are already running 5 or 6 miles on the daily, it is good to remember that running every day is not the most important factor in getting fit.

A well-balanced life is far more important than just time on your feet.

This includes rest for your tired body and to let yourself recover but also mindfulness and diet.

These are two factors that are often overlooked.

Without the right fuel for your body, you cannot operate at full potential. This means a well-balanced diet with plenty of healthy options for dinner and drinking plenty of water.

And keeping yourself in a positive mindset will help you keep hitting those targets. If your head isn’t in the game, then your body won’t be either. Keep your targets challenging but achievable and keep giving yourself time to enjoy other activities in life, not just running!

If running 7 miles a day seems too tough and you’re determined to run something similar to running 7 miles a day then maybe our article running 6 miles a day will interest you!