Thursday, August 11, 2011

Running Higher Mileage

When I first started running I was only running 2-3 times a week. I really didn't want to develop any type of injuries and I knew that I had bad knees. I have had some pretty devastating injuries in the past so I knew that I wanted to ease into running and not overdo it. But the more I run the more I love it and want to do more. A few weeks ago I started running 4 days a week and I absolutely love it. I normally do 1 tempo run, 1 steady-state run, 1 easy run, and 1 long run. I have been logging more miles and my body has been loving it. A couple months ago I was getting a horrendous pain in the bottom part of my leg. I thought running less would help the pain go away. As I am running more though I am realizing that the more frequently I run the less pain I have in my leg. I have been running faster too.

I recently found the McMillan Running website. Based on my last 5K it predicted that I should be able to run a 2:11:44 half marathon. The website also provides what times I should be doing my training runs at. There are 8 types of runs that the website says should be included into training: recovery jogs, easy runs, long runs, steady-state runs, tempo runs, tempo intervals, speed workouts, and sprint workouts. Now 8 runs a week is a lot for me, but the website got me thinking that I should be incorporating more types of runs into my training. As of now I do not want to do any kind of speed work or sprinting. I decided to try to get in 5 runs every week, with the additional run simply being a recovery jog. I don't want to push my body too hard but I also want to see what I can achieve.

2 comments :

  1. i love that calculator!! i feel like it gives great info and really is such a great reminder to keep variety in your workouts! good luck :)

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  2. You can definitely do it! It seems overwhelming at first but just take it one run at a time.

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