Boston Strong

I don't think junk miles exist. If you are running it builds helps builds a base. To bad about the side stitch. Good luck with the half marathon. Your half marathon sounds interesting. A mountain half marathon, is it a trail race? You said it had a net elavation lose of 1100 feet. What is the elevation gain in it. If it goes down up down up down it could be a tough course to pr on.

Sounds like it's warming up there, too. We have been dealing with it since April down here. Summers are brutal.

As far as junk miles - well, I don't completely believe in that theory. But I do believe that each of us has an "optimal" mileage level and finding that level is the tricky part. So one runner might run his or her best on 50 miles a week and another runner at 100 miles a week. One of my running buddies gets injured when he creeps above 50-55 miles a week. BTW- he just ran a 3:01 at Boston (a 9 min PR) while running no more than 50 miles a week but running "hard miles" - tempo and intervals and also cross training. Others that I know excel with 80-90 miles a week for marathon training. We are all different.

Matt - Thanks for the input on the slower miles, maybe the side stitch was a blessing because it made me realize that slower miles are good, when they help you run more miles and not break your body down in the process! The race is called Downhill @ Dawn, and it is on roads not trails, so it should be a fast one. There is one gradual uphill from Mile 2-4, but the rest is pretty much down with maybe a small roller here or there. It is mostly on pavement, with 3 miles on a dirt/gravel road. It follows a stream down the mountainside, so it should be pretty scenic, right in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. On most courses, it would probably take everything I have to go sub 1:30, but I wouldn't be surprised with a 1:25 if I am feeling good ... thrilled, but not surprised!

DH - Yep, it's here, but we have been blessed with pretty good temps the last month! I don't know how you do it there ... I ran (or crawled) a Texas Rogue 30k in June, '09 at Milton Reimers Ranch ... I can honestly say it was perhaps the most miserable day of my life ... 100 degrees ... and Texas Trails don't have trees like GA ones do! Good points on mileage, & I know it differs for everyone, and I have no idea where that mark is for me, but I would be content just to get to consistent 50 mile weeks. When I BQ'd at St George last October, my YTD mileage was 400 ... which should be 2-3 months, not 9! Not counting April, which was my highest mileage month ever, I only ran over 30 miles in a week 6 times in the last 16 months. So for me, adding mileage is getting to consistent 40-50 mpw without injury ... April was a good month, but strained my achilles ... so trying to get the mileage up there while staying healthy is Priority One.

I like the idea of slow miles between my harder days as a way to recover and also get good mileage. I'm kind of a running newbie, but my improvement spurts seem to come after mileage increases.

That downhill half marathon sounds great. One of these days I'm gonna have to travel to somewhere with mountains, seems to be a popular kind of race (for obvious reasons!)

Yeah Joe, I am convinced mileage is key, I made that commitment Jan 1, and have gotten a lot more consistent ... and saw my 5k PR drop by over 2 minutes! I wish I could run 50 a week regularly now, but when I sense injury creeping in I back off! I am a running newbie too, and from all the advice/reading I have done I think I have a pretty good grasp on what things to do, but there always seems to be tweaking based on how the body responds ... writing out my thoughts tends to help me with that. I am really looking forward to a fall marathon after 9 months of consistent training, as I never have really had any kind of base before. Last fall, I did not know if it was realistic for me to run a 3:20 to qualify ... and now I am confident I can break 3 hours ... if I can stay injury free! FRB has been instrumental in that, so many inspiring success stories & some good advice to stay motivated & on track. Regarding the downhills ... St. George is probably the only course I could have qualified on in the country last fall on my minimal training! Since then I have become a committed runner & could qualify on most courses, but it is still fun to fly down hills! I am excited about my half, it is a small race & in a beautiful part of the country ... so should be a great time, running aside!