Whether you are just getting started or you are approaching your first race, increasing your running distance begins to become a factor. After all, if you plan on running an event, you can’t just stay at two miles forever. When increasing your distance, there are a few things that you will need to know. All of these things revolve around, you guessed it, preventing injury. The first thing that you may find helpful is that there are plenty of resources that make recommendations on how you can go about ramping up your mileage. The second item that you will want to take into consideration is whether or not you plan on training for a race. Finally, the most important thing to know is the ten percent rule.

There are plenty of resources available online that outline pretty manageable training programs that will help you to increase your distance. When increasing your distance, keep in mind that you need to crawl first before you can run. When I began running, I could barely run two miles on the “dreadmill” … no joke. Even running two miles off of the treadmill was difficult for me when I was getting back into the swing of things. Stay motivated and use some of the resources as an initial guide. The more that you run, the more familiar that you will become with the tips and techniques and you may even begin developing your own running plans. Some of the plans that you can find out there include couch to 5k, half-marathon and marathon plans, among others. When choosing a plan, your decision will most likely be determined by the next race that you plan on running.

Taking your planned race into consideration can help with all of the “noise” around which plan that you choose. There are several out there so preparing for a race and having a goal in sight can help you with your selection. When referring to “noise” I am referring to hill training, interval training and so on. Not that these are bad but, you should focus on getting your mileage to a comfortable place before some of these can be truly effective. Let’s look at half-marathon training for example. There are half-marathon training programs for beginners, novices and experts. Choosing the one that is right for you really depends on your personal preference and state-of-mind. For example, if a program looks too challenging, it probably will be. Running is all about setting attainable goals and mind over matter. If you see a training program that you don’t mind, increasing your mileage won’t matter to you.

Running is all about setting attainable goals and mind over matter. If you see a training program that you don’t mind, increasing your mileage won’t matter to you.

The ten percent rule is the most important rule. I would go so far as to tell you that people will not agree with me but, I will tell you to follow this rule if you want to remain injury free. In a nutshell, the rule states that you should not increase your weekly mileage by more than ten percent of the previous week’s total runs. You will see that most programs follow this rule and others throw this rule out the door. I ignore those and you probably should too. As you ramp up your mileage your body adjusts and adapts to the additional stress. A larger shock to your system can sideline you for weeks. You run a greater risk of pulling muscles and creating strains if you do ramp up too quickly. If you see a race that you want to run and it is not practical to ramp up in time for the race, then it is probably best that you wait for another one.

One final word of advice is that I never run two days in a row for runs over four miles. As you get better and your body gets stronger, you may be able to but, I am not personally there yet. My training also requires me to take at least one day off in between runs. As you become more of a frequent runner, you might have a couple races that are pretty close together. It is still possible to run these races by creating your own training program. A technique that has helped me is to start at the day of the race and work backwards to the current day, keeping the ten percent rule in mind and scheduling runs accordingly. Remember, with your mind being the key to your body, as you increase your mileage recall how far you have already come or gone. This visualization will help you to get from the nine mile run to the ten miler. Remember not to ramp up too fast. Your body and mind may tell you they are ready but, just save that energy for the next run. Most of all, have fun and enjoy your routes. 

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