A few questions

[Brice]

Hi, I am new to the site and new to training for Marathons.  I have been a runner for the better part of my life but have been out of commission the past few years because military service, starting a family and career.  Anyway, I am getting back into to it and want to excel in races not just finish them.

I try running 6 days a week but because of my schedule right now, and for the next 2-3 weeks, I have only been able to average 4-5 days a week.  I have been trying to run around 6 miles a day but have been flexible with that goal based on the way my body has felt. I have also been adding more proteins and healthy foods into my diet.  Getting a good nights sleep is still a challenge.   

So here are my questions:

How fast should I be increasing my mileage, I did see the post above about taking it easy at this point but I have been feeling good and do feel like I could do more.

[Sasha Pachev]

First, even when you are very busy you could probably find a way to squeeze in two miles - e.g park further away from where you are going and run, get up 20 minutes earlier, run some of your errands on foot, etc. That would be better than a big fat goose egg for the day. In fact, quite a bit better. My intuition tells me that somebody running 2 miles a day 6 days a week will beat a person of equal natural ability running 6 miles a day 3 days a week assuming both do no other aerobic exercise. At least my 9 year old son has the following PRs off 6x2 weekly cycle - 1 mile 6:32, 5 K 21:32, 10 K 45:38. As you see, he does not die off in a 10 K very much in spite of running only 1/3 of the distance in his daily runs. In fact, he is only a minute slower in the 10 K that you would expect from somebody training at 70 miles a week with his 5 K speed.

Your mileage should be increased by feel. I would spend about a month at 40 miles a week, and then increase it to 45 if you feel strong and spend another month there. Run less and/or slower if you all of a sudden have a drop in your sleep or nutrition quality. But do make sure to get out 6 days regardless.

[Jon Allen]

There are 2 general rules of thumbs- one is to increase mileage by no more than 10%, then maintain that mileage for ~2 more weeks, then increase again.  So if you are running 45 miles per week, increase to 49-50 mpw, then stay at 50 or below for 2 weeks before increasing again.  The other rule of thumb is to increase by as many days as you run per week- i.e. if you run 7 days a week, increase by no more than 7 mpw, then maintain for at least 2 weeks.  This may be a bit conservative, but goes a long ways towards preventing overuse injuries.  And they are only very general rules of thumb, so your personal situation may differ a bit.  And like Sasha said, if you feel bad, sluggish, tired, or sick, don't increase right away.

[Paul Petersen]

My intuition tells me that somebody running 2 miles a day 6 days a week will beat a person of equal natural ability running 6 miles a day 3 days a week assuming both do no other aerobic exercise.

Sweet. There's my hope for running well at Wasatch Back.

In response to the original poster, it's good to get in the mindset of being patient. There are many marathons every weekend of every year. You should build up your mileage slowly and not worry about a marathon for a year or two. If you don't like the 10% rule (it can be rather discouraging if you're only running 20 miles/week to start with), then you can try increasing by 5 miles every third week. If you are at 20 mpw right now, you can be at 60 miles/week in less than 6 months. The more conservative the buildup the better. There is no reason to hurry things.

[Jon Allen]

Sweet. There's my hope for running well at Wasatch Back.

Yes, Paul, but he didn't say that someone running 2 miles a day 6 days a week can beat someone running 6 miles a day 6 days a week.  Or, in the case of Logan, 20 miles a day 6 days a week.  Although if anyone can do it, you can.

Brice- Yes, Paul is correct that the 10% rule doesn't apply as well at low mileage.  It would take forever to increase mileage if you only do 10% every three weeks starting at 20 mpw.  I know when I come back from periods off, I will quickly build up to about 40 mpw, then start increasing 10% or 5 mpw.  But it depends on your background- if you have done long periods of 80 mpw, it is easier to progress quickly through the low mileage than if you have never done more than 30 mpw.

[Dawson Hinton]

 You should build up your mileage slowly and not worry about a marathon for a year or two.

I feel that waiting 1-2 years to run a marathon is way too long.  I know that in my case, if I would have waited that long I would have gotten so discouraged!  My first (and only, so far) marathon was run after about 8-9 months.  I think that races along the way give you something to get excited for and a goal to work towards.  Even though my 41/2+ hour marathon would be a joke to many on the blog, I would not have changed anything as far as running it or not.

[Jon Allen]

Dawson- Nothing wrong with a 4.5 hour marathon!

As long as you have a sufficient base, a fair number of long runs, and a realistic goal, you can certainly do a marathon.  I would highly suggest doing some 1/2 marathons first, but consistent training can have you ready within 6 months (at the earliest).  But like Paul says, there is no need to rush it- shorter races provide plenty of challenge without the risk of injury.  Just do what you feel like and have fun.

[Brice]

Thanks for all the quick advice, you guys are great.  I think I will go with the 10% rule when increasing my milage. Ihave in the past run consistently 50+ miles a week and am currently in some physical shap from coaching wrestling the last 6 months so I may go a bit more then 10% but not by much.  I am planning on doing a half next month and have a few other races I want to do in the mean time (5-10 K's).  I still want to plan on doing a marathon around September / October if possible. 

I do agree that running 2 miles is better then 0, so I will do that to.  Its hard for me sometimes to only do a little. My mind set is that if I am going to run I need to really do it.  Stupid I know, but this new passion for running has been a process of growth for me in  a number of ways.  I have always come from the mind set that the body tires before the mind and if you are strong minded you can accomplish anything.  I am learning that in order to fully tap into myself I need to take care of my body as well.  This has been a hard philosophy for me to  learn in the past and have been learning to change it recently.

So thanks for your support and advice   

One other quick question though, the 2 a day runs I have seen others doing, is this something I should consider now or is this better saved for after I build a better base?

[Paul Petersen]

One other quick question though, the 2 a day runs I have seen others doing, is this something I should consider now or is this better saved for after I build a better base?

You can do doubles anytime. Sometimes it's most pragmatic to wait until you hit somewhere in the 70 mpw range, but you will get benefits from doubles at any training volume. Just try to keep them slow and easy on recovery days. You can also double on speedwork days, with a slow short morning run, followed by a longer evening speed session. Or vice versa, but I personally like to do the easy run in the morning, since it's hard to wake my muscles up for speed at that time of day.

[jtshad]

Two-a-days have been a real important part of my training and I started them early on in my training.  The were an important part of my ability to increase my mileage with my time limitations and without getting injured.  I tend to run my two-a-days the same way Paul indicates...slow in the morning, faster later in the day.

[Adam R Wende]

I have to second Jeff's comment about the two-a-days. It is really the best way I've found to increase mileage. Also, it is the only whay I've been able to survive higher mileage injury free. Another VERY important theme in the comments above is to keep recovery days easy. Easy is relative, too many of the runners on the blog will run their easy days at 7 min per mile. However their marathon pace is 7 mpm or even 7:30 mpm, relatively speaking then this is NOT easy. Just take the extra miles a good min or more slower than goal pace to allow your body time to recover while still getting in some training. It will feel like you are crawling but it will help prevent injury and help give you extra energy to really hammer workouts.

[Brice]

Thanks for the advice, I think I am going to try and incorporate running twice a day into my routine as soon as life calms down.  I am struggling right now to find the time to get out even once everyday.  After this week life should calm down enough for me to start trying to get in longer mileage days and I think2 a days are going to be the best way for me to start. 

I was able to log 40 miles last week and I felt great doing it.  I am loving this new challenge and am always looking forward to my next run.  I think I am getting re-hooked on running and am loving it.  Thanks for all the support and encouragement, it has been great reading your blogs and seeing how others train.