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Daily Stride #16 - How to increase mileage (and not get yourself hurt)

Writer's picture: Dylan BellesDylan Belles

Everyone wants to run more mileage.


It’s the number one request I get from athletes when asking them what they think they can improve upon in the upcoming build-ups (training cycles). 


It’s also the point of most insecurity for athletes. Athletes may often associate the number of mileage during a given week, or more specifically, the mileage of one singular run to determine whether or not they are training effectively.


I will be the first to tell you that mileage matters, and is one of the key components of helping a runner improve year over year. However, to me, mileage is a bigger picture than just one week, it's the accumulation of volume logged over a long period that makes the difference.


One big week of training likely won’t have much effect compared to blocks of 20 weeks where mileage is more consistent (with healthy variation) and then that is done over many years.


I know that one week we all hit in a training block (which usually ends in a zero, like 40, 60, 80, or 100) feels good to the mind, but that one week doesn't make up for the other 19!


I believe mileage to be the secret to improving long term. Still, in the short term, the total mileage is not going to have the same impact as your quality/faster training sessions built progressively and specifically to prepare you for the race distance that you are tackling.


With this being said, here are a few ways that you can effectively increase your training volume:


  • Start gently Be smart about the rate at which you improve mileage. If you’re in uncharted territory, less is more. You’re not in a rush so take your time! The 10% rule is fine (though not a true scientific principle) but I'd not exceed much more than 25% per week unless you're rebuilding back to a previous baseline.

  • Focus on frequency first If you don’t run more than 5 days a week, focus on increasing the number of times you run per week versus adding miles to your current runs. If time affords it, frequent doses of running are more effective than a few big days of running and resting the other days.

  • Try to avoid too many regular runs over 90 minutes. 90 minutes is right when you begin experiencing metabolic changes that could harm overall recovery if done too frequently. Long runs and medium long runs are fine, but avoid doing 90+ min runs every day of the week.

  • Reduce intensity During periods of mileage extension (but don’t eliminate it) - an easier, low-stress way of improving your volume safely is to reduce the intensity so that your body can absorb the new, prolonged stress provided to it. I don’t recommend eliminating all intensity, however. 

  • Alternate weeks. In general, avoid long periods of linearly progressing mileage (there are exceptions), instead alternate weeks of higher/moderate/lower volume, and gradually try and push the volumes in the right direction over time. This affords you built-in time for recovery while you’re pushing the new boundaries.

  • Double up if needed. Running twice a day isn’t a bad idea if you’ve got the time for it! I don’t usually put a minimum mileage one needs to reach before they do doubles, but I do prefer that a double run is at least 20-30 minutes in length to begin seeing the benefits but no longer than 60 minutes in most trained athletes.


Surely, there are many more great points to add to this but I will leave it here for today!

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