{"id":396,"date":"2026-04-05T16:14:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T15:14:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mytrainingforecast.run\/blog\/?p=396"},"modified":"2026-07-14T18:56:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T17:56:14","slug":"run-frequency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mytrainingforecast.run\/blog\/run-frequency\/","title":{"rendered":"Running frequency chart"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We recently added a new chart on the Trends page showing how many days per week you’ve been running, on a rolling 7-day basis. Let’s dive into the science behind it and how it’s implemented in myTF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why track frequency (running days per week) separately from mileage? Because the same 40 km week is a different stimulus spread across 6 short runs than packed into 3, and because changing frequency is a load change in its own right. Going from 4 to 6 runs a week compresses your recovery windows even if total distance stays flat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The science of running frequency<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nielsen’s 2012 systematic review on training errors and running related injuries analysed studies on running frequency, and most pointed the same way: higher weekly frequency linked to more injuries, and 6 to 7 running days a week carrying the highest risk. The main exception was a study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (Taunton et al., 2003) which found that once-a-week runners, women especially, also got hurt more, which hints at a U-shape rather than a straight line. This could be explained by the fact that running once a week may not be enough stimulus for the body to adapt to running, especially if that single run’s distance ramps up over weeks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The catch is that frequency is tangled up with mileage, since people who run more often usually run more overall, so it can be hard to pin down how much is due to frequency itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Table from Nielsen et al. 2012 showing the relationship between running frequency and injury.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Running frequency in myTF<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Run frequency is plotted as a chart in the Trends<\/a> page. myTF counts running days<\/em>, not individual activities. If you log your warm-up, workout and cool-down separately, that still counts as one day.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Running frequency chart in myTrainingForecast’s Trends page<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The zones are cautious on purpose:<\/p>\n\n\n\n