Upping the Ante

Honestly? I knew it was only a matter of time before I jumped onto the bandwagon, drank the kool-aid, (insert your own cheesy cliche here) or whatev. But here I am. All about racking up the mileage in an effort to become a better runner. And what better time than the Summer of Amy 2009?

It started off innocently enough. I mean, I love running. The more running, in my book... the better! This past training period, I ran more than I had ever ran before. I was consistently running 50ish miles every other week and I ended up not only PRing at the marathon... but, more importantly (to me, at least) I felt AWESOME during the last 6 miles of the race or so. Something that I've never really experienced during a marathon. In the past, I've been so OVER the race by about mile 18.

I've been doing a lot of reading about high mileage lately and I think it's the way to go for me right now. I really want to take this summer and continue to build a really strong base of high mileage, not really focusing too much on speed or pace, but just getting the miles in.

Now before you bombard me with comments (and I use the term "bombard" loosely here), let me first say... I understand... high mileage isn't for everyone. Some people get awesome results from just running 3 specific workouts a week. But... I can't only run 3 times a week. I'd seriously go crazy. (You think I'm crazy now? Haha. You ain't seen nothing, friends). And time isn't really an issue for me... let's assess the situation...

Spouse? No
Kids? No
Boyfriend? No
Pets? No
Social Network? No

I mean, look at that people... I gots nothing but time on my hands!!! This is perfect for me.

So, my plan is to slowly inch up my mileage this summer. Starting with incorporating some two-a-days during the week. I am going to start with just one two-a-day a week... Tuesdays. And as I slowly ramp up that mileage, I MIGHT add another one on Thursdays.... but we'll see. Yesterday afternoon was my first official start. I ran 9.7 in the morning and Then 4.5 in the afternoon.

Now, normally... I bitch and moan about running in the afternoons, because for me... running at the end of the day BLOWS. I'm tired, hungry and grumpy after work, I hate all the extra traffic at the end of the day, It's hotter outside, etc. But, I am determined to double up some, so I just kept telling myself to take it slow and easy and it worked! I took it slow and easy. I didn't flash my middle finger to commuters who were trying to run me over. I just chillaxed and it all went by nicely.

Some people would call these added runs "junk miles." Meaning, I'm just trying to inflate my training log... which, essentially... I am. But it's not like 'junk miles" are all bad. I mean, I am burning a few extra calories and getting extra time in on my feet. As long as I do it smart and don't overdo it, I think it will help me in the long run (haha, pun not intended, but relevant nonetheless).