How do I increase my miles safely? (Part One)

A very popular question.  Most runners like to achieve one of two things:

1. Run the same distance faster
2. Run at the same speed for longer

Both are equally as challenging and difficult; in this post we are going to look at the latter.  What needs to be considered when we increase our mileage is how progressive we need to be. We also need to know when can we take the reins off and really open the legs up. 

Progression of running mileage is a very individual process and you will need to consider a lot of factors, including age, weight and the speed that you run.  The more we run, the more stress the body takes, and the more likely that injuries (such as stress fractures) can occur, so progressing slowly is very important. 

Human beings are designed to run long distances, it is how we evolved.  But we haven’t evolved to running on concrete pavements just yet!  Following these 5 steps will ensure you are progressive, safe and successful when building up the mileage.

1. When to increase
2. The formula
3. Use that fancy watch!
4. Don’t be afraid to revert
5. Taper weeks

Today we are dealing with the first three. Next week we take on the last two.

1. When to increase

 I am a big advocate of advising the majority of people to increase their run distance during runs as opposed to adding more runs a week in the early stages. 

As miles increase, the need for recovery does the same.  Moving from 3 runs a week to 4 takes 25% of your recovery away and that’s a big chunk! Slowly increasing the amount of speed reps you do, or tacking on an extra 5-10 minutes on your long run is the best way to build mileage safely.

2. The formula

As a general rule, when upping the mileage during running I would recommend increasing your total mileage by no more than 15% per week.  Simply put, if your weekly mileage is 10 miles, run no more than 11.5 miles the following week. 

You may have heard of ‘the 10% rule’ for increasing your weekly mileage, and yes, 10% is a certainly less aggressive than 15%.  However, from my experience, even low volume recreational runners respond really well to a 15% increase. 

You must however consider the type of running you are doing.  If you do 3 speed sessions a week, 15% is certainly going to be a lot! If you are varying your runs to speed, fartlek and easy paces, then 15% should be a nice simple transition to building up slowly. There’s a really good fartlek training guide over at Runner’s Blueprint.

3. Use that fancy watch!

Referring back to paragraph 1, progression of running mileage is a very individual process.  Whenever you decide to dial up the miles, make sure you track the progression carefully. 

When you aren’t in a training cycle building up to a race, you may just be running for fun and enjoyment.  If this is the case, ensure you have one eye on the total mileage to limit the chance of doing too much, and if you hit the intended target before you meant to, congratulations, have some well-earned R & R.

Don’t miss next week’s post as we tackle not being afraid of reverting and tapering.