You can't just jump right into those long runs! Here's some advice on how to safely train your body to increase its mileage.
I shared last week that I've signed up for my first half marathon, the longest race I've ever dedicated myself to—and, as we discussed, it's quite a commitment! Part of that commitment involves increasing my mileage, which can be pretty scary, too. There's a right way and a wrong way to do it, and I've definitely been wrong more than once.
Risk for Injury
Jumping into new distances is just not smart. It might seem like the easiest and fastest way to get used to running longer distances, but it's actually the easiest and fastest way to injury. At 14, I was not new to exercise, but I was completely new to running long distance regularly. In high school, most of us are. So when I was sent out on a 90-minute run (which probably rounded out to about nine miles at that time) within the first couple months of cross-country practice, my body wasn't ready. When I finished that training run with a lightning bolt-shaped crack in my femur, the rest of the season was spent on crutches, that winter was spent slowly returning to running five minutes at a time, and that spring track season was shot through with humiliatingly slow races and an achy hip on rainy days. (I kid you not—if it was at all stormy outside, the healed-over crack in my leg ached. I was 14, but I was officially an old lady.)
But had I learned my lesson from that experience? I'd like to say yes, but the truth is no. It's easy to get carried away on a beautiful spring day when the road seems endless and you're feeling great, and is it really going to hurt to do one more mile? And then another? And then another? Isn't it just a testament to how strong you are to just do one more? NO. No, it's not a testament to how strong you are! It's just evidence that you are letting your impulses get the better of your body. And maybe you're the bionic runner, but whenever I do that, I come home with a nice inch-long crack in my shin and a couple co-pays get forked over to a few MRIs.
The Right Regimen for Safe Training
So how do you build up your mileage safely? Make sure to increase your weekly mileage by no more than 10 percent. So if you're new to running and you're running 10 miles a week (ideally split across three or so days), after a few weeks of running that amount, you can start running 11 miles a week. That may seem like a slow way to build up mileage, and it is—but it's SAFE. Also, by the time you become an old pro and are running 50 miles a week and want to train for an ultra, you're weekly totals are going to increase to 55 miles, 61 miles, 67 miles—you get the idea.
Oh, and by the way, one day a week should be dedicated to your long run, which should be about 30 percent of your weekly total. So if you're a newbie and you're putting in 10 miles a week, your long run is three miles. So maybe the other days of the week you're running a mile for three of those days, two miles for two of those days, and taking one day of rest. (I personally think having at least onw day a week where you are either having complete rest or cross-training—especially if you're new—helps keep your interest and keeps your body healthy.)
So where am I right now? Geez, okay, my long run is seven miles, which makes my weekly total 23 miles. Am I going have developed a strong enough aerobic base to get through this half marathon by the end of October? I hope so. If not, I guess I can always take a walk.
Do you have any helpful hints on how to build up your mileage safely? Let us know in the comments!
The Run-Around is a weekly feature, focusing on fitness in and around Annapolis, MD.
