We’re going to cover:
- How to increase your mileage
- The process
- Why are we doing all this (don’t lose sight)
Maybe we hear of elites putting up 100 or 140 miles per week
Uhh I don’t have the time or desire for that
And some believe that high mileage equals better racing ability
There are so many different styles of running
- Streaking
- For fun
- Racing
- Which distance?
Maybe 100-mile weeks work, for some races, for some people, to place in the front of the pack…
Are they necessary though?
That’s for us to decide – are we willing to pay that price to build up that weekly mileage to whatever we want? Do we run for fun? To become our best?
Time, energy, focus, physical ability, mentally push ourselves…
How to increase your weekly mileage
Start at a mileage amount you feel comfortable with, let’s say 20 miles
Then we bump those miles up each week for 3 weeks by 10 % – this is known as the 10% rule.
- Week 1: 20
- Week 2: 22
- Week 3: 24
- Week 4: 20 (or even 15 miles)
This week 4 is known as a deload week and can happen really at any point throughout the month, the concept is three high weeks, followed by a deload week
Week 5: I’d start at around 24 miles depending on how I am feeling
This technique may seem slow rolling but within a few weeks, the miles start to add up quickly.
And that’s the thing, this 10% rule – it’s a way for us not to do too much too fast.
We get all gung-ho “Let’s run 50 miles this week” (we never ran before) and we get injured…
No one wants that.
The deload week is also giving us time to recover, while still getting our miles in.
We want to be in this game for the long haul, right?
Of course, we may still get injured, but with the 10% bumps and deload week? Our chances are a lot less.
The Process
We can’t constantly build on top and build on top, we need time to rest and that’s what this deload week and training blocks are giving us – time to rest, recover, and come back the following weeks or cycle even stronger.
Repetition is the mother of mastery, the more reps we get in, the longer we stay consistent with this running thing – the better we will be at running
Don’t let your first-ever run dictate that “this running thing isn’t for me”
No one’s first run is for them! It’s trying something new, just stick with it and see the growth you experience mentally and physically
Lots of people focus on speed “I am speed” they say just like lightening mcqueen
But – And This may sound like some Mr. Miyagi shit:
Concentrate on form, improve our strength, and get used to running
Speed can come later
We know that nothing comes free. A price must be paid for everything, and that includes excellence – in life, in running, in whatever we want to do.
The price to pay going from a 4-hour marathon down to a sub 3 hour? It may look like training an extra 10 hours a week for months on end. It’s different than just running the marathon.
What’s worth it to you? Only we can determine that.
And that comes back to why – why are we running in the first place?
Why are we doing all this?
Why run and push our bodies?
Is it to push our limits? To be healthy? A hobby? Is it to be the best? To be our best?
What’s the reason!
Don’t lose sight of that in this exciting new journey, it’s easy to get caught up in other runners and what they are doing, especially with apps like strava.
But what are we doing? Where are we going? This is our journey. Embrace it.
Then there’s nothing left to do but do it – whatever it is.
I appreciate your attention!
When is your next race? or the first one?
LMK what you think about this article!
Go get some miles, peace!!!
Joe DiAndrea 