Just keep running

Sounds like a good plan. The good aerobic base will make speed seem easier. It is still fun to race once a month or so to keep you motivated and not too bored!

Thanks April. I will keep doing races, but instead of going after PR's, I'll try to pace my friends or do a 'tempo run' or invent something...

That's almost exactly what I did last summer. I spent a month or so doing nothing but base building, then I continued to build mileage while also running a 5k or 10k almost every weekend as a tempo run to build up a little speed. It's amazing how effective the strategy was; running with the same amount of effort, I dropped over a minute and a half off of my 5k tempo runs over the course of the summer.

If you want to try something a little different, I came up with something fun just a couple of days ago in a 5k. I got about 100 meters past the start line and waited for the entire field to pass (something around 1650 or 1700 runners), and then spent the rest of the 5k trying to see how far up in the pack I could get. It was a lot of fun, and it was something a little different.

In any case, good luck!

Thanks Nevels, its always nice having an ultraman give out pointers to us rookies!

I'm building an additional "k" every two weeks. This week & next one will be daily 10k, after that two weeks of 11k, then 12k, and so on. Not sure where to stop, probably around 9-10 miles per day??

So far, strategy has worked, my tendons feel better, fitness it good, mileage is great (and increasing)...

Don't have races as often as you guys up north, but will try to participate in as many as I can.

How does this sound?

Your experiment in the 5k is very cool! Maybe I should try it out someday : "The Nevel Experiment"

Your build-up strategy sounds very similar to the one I used last summer. I ran x miles per day for six days the first week, (x+1) miles per day for six days the next week, and so on.

I started in June at 6 miles per day, six days a week; the next week was 7 miles per day, six days a week, and I kept going until I ran out of time (i.e. classes started back). If I felt like I needed another week at a certain distance, the I repeated the week. For example, I remember not feeling very good about 10 miles per day, so I did that for an extra week to fully adjust.

That being said, I think you have a great plan; if you stick to it, your race times will improve dramatically.

Good luck!

Oh, and as far as where to stop, you can keep building until some natural restraint stops you, such as constant fatigue, burnout, or time constraints. I kept building until classes started back, and I got up to a little over 100 miles per week, but that was getting ready for some pretty long races.

The best way to decide how high to get in your mileage is to decide on a race (or races) that you want to run well, then decide how many weeks you want to prepare for it with speedwork, and simply count backward from your race on a calendar to decide when to stop building up the mileage.

Once you've gotten to that point in your training, don't drop the mileage too much, just replace some of the long, slow miles with speedwork, and maintain the rest of the miles until a taper. At that point, you'll be in great shape to hammer some races!

WOW, great advice. I like what he said about letting fatigue be your deciding factor. i do pretty well with 60-70 miles a week, but once i go above that I start to get really tired. It is different for everyone (100 miles a week would never happen here!)

Good luck with your strategy!!! I may try that "Nevel Experiment" one day---sounds like fun!

Many thanks Nevels, will follow plan. Actually I started on April 1st with 6 kms per day and have been slowly building up.

Someday I want to move to ultra territory, but first I want to get some good times in 5,10,21 & 42k races.

I like the comment about not being comfortable on a distance & repeating the week. Will do that if a distance is not comfortable.

So Kelli, what should we bet for the "Nevel Experiment" ??

You wear a running skirt if I win and I will wear.....a running skirt if you win!

How would we pick a winner---whoever picks off the most people?

ha ha ha, nice try.... and darn, I forgot about you & skirts! There is no way you will make me run in a skirt! Not in this life! =)

Depends on the size of the race... how about waiting 2 minutes after gun time, and seeing who makes the best official time?

But you would look so cute! People like chasing skirts, or so I have been told!

You know I have never RUN a 5k, it scares me. I may have freaky endurance that passes as being a little fast, but I do not have speed.

Kelli, I finished my skirt chasing for this life. Also, I have not run a 5k either, so we are even in this. You have endurance, and I have a little more speed in a 10k race. I think its quite even...

No skirt chasing??? OKay, that is good, I suppose!

I am not sure a 5k requires any endurance at all whatsoever! And your 10k is two minutes faster than mine!! Hmmm.....if I will will you bake me cookies?