Daily Running Distances

When planning how far I run each day, there is a rhyme and reason to the distance I choose.

I never run the same number of miles day after day. It really is the best to vary your distance from day to day. This keeps my body from adapting and getting stuck in a rut. I can challenge my body one day and then use the next day to recover–just like when lifting weights.

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When I plan each day’s mileage, I use the following as a guide:

Monday: medium-long run, with a hard workout (hills, track workout, fartleks, temp run, etc.)

Tuesday: shorter (recovery run)

Wednesday: medium-long run (with a second hard workout, if I’m in serious training mode)

Thursday: medium-length run (recovery)

Friday: shorter run

Saturday: long run

Sunday: off

Here are a few other things I keep in mind:

– I first determine what my total mileage is for the week. I almost always increase my weekly mileage by 10% from the previous week.

– Then I determine how far my long run of the week will be. This usually ends up being 1-2 miles more than the previous week’s long run.

– I then fill in the distance for the days that are shorter/recovery runs. These usually end up being 4-5 miles.

– From there, I fill in the rest of the distances until I reach my weekly total for that week. At this time, I also decide what “hard” workout I want to do for the week.

– I almost always take a full day to recover. This day usual does not involve cross-training either!

I’ve been following this plan since running in college, and it has worked really well for me!

Here’s what my workouts have looked like for the week.

Monday

Distance: 5 miles

Time: 43 minutes

Tuesday

Distance: 4 miles

Time: 35 minutes

Wednesday

Distance: 6 miles

Time: 52 minutes

Thursday

Distance: 7 miles

Time: 60 minutes

Friday

I ended up not running today. I just wasn’t feeling it. I’ve had enough of this cold weather, so I needed to take a break. Instead, I did 20 minutes of yoga from Yoga Download this morning. This is a great way to do yoga at home! You download videos or audio clips and then practice yoga in the comfort of your own home. Plus, many of the 20 minute classes are FREE!! I’m always up for a good deal!! 🙂

(I do realize I did not follow my plan quite to the ‘T’ this week.)

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Overall, it has been a busy week filled with running errands and catching up on things since being gone this past weekend.

I am enjoying a low-key night with some Jim Brickman Christmas music, lit candles, and cooking/baking in the kitchen. 🙂