It’s been a while since I bothered to look back at my monthly Garmin stats, but I was curious to see how many miles I logged ramping up my running in September.
The 63 mile total isn’t impressive, but I like all those orange bars!
Ramping Up My Running
The progress of my Achilles rehab is timed perfectly with our fall weather, but it’s hard to not run every day when every day the weather is amazing! I’m not asking for a stretch of rain, but ….
I’ve been taking a measured approach to ramping up my running. At first I kept my runs to 3ish miles and worked up to 3-4 runs a week. Then I increased the distance of some of the runs to 4ish miles, then 5ish miles, and this weekend I did a 6ish mile “long run”.
Up until last week I chose a route as flat as possible. This week I stopped avoiding one short “hill” (you wouldn’t call it a hill if you were driving) on my 3ish mile route, and included a longer (steep but still short) hill on my 5 and 6 mile routes. Wow, that incline was hard!
My mission now is to see how far I can get gradually ramping up my long run distance and assess whether my November 10 miler is a possibility. Probably due to covid they’ve changed the course to an out-and-back-route, which means fewer rolling hills, but one steep hill at about mile 1 and in the other direction at mile 9. So, it would be good if can get some hill training in, but I don’t want to risk making my Achilles angry again.
Also key to my current approach to ramping up my running is my pre-run warm-up and post-run stretching. I’m spending at least 10 minutes on both, even when I’m “only” running 3 miles. I hope it pays off!
Weekly Run Down
My conference were over, but work was in overdrive this week. I went into the office once, but after working past 9 pm at home I couldn’t make myself go into the office the next day. I know I’ve got to suck it up and get used to it, but I don’t wanna!
I planned my workouts around the metric century ride we are doing today (Sunday). That means after Monday I kept the strength workouts light and didn’t do any hill rides.
Monday: Lower Body Strength + 3.6 Scooby Miles
I’ve gotten Scooby to wait 20-30 minutes before going out, so we can have some daylight during our run. I still need my headlamp since it’s dark when we start at 6:00 am.
Tuesday: Core + 45 min Bike Bootcamp + Stretch
Since we are doing a metric century ride on Sunday, I decided to mix it up with my Peloton rides this week. I’m not sure why I thought a Bike Bootcamp would be easier than a hill ride, but at least the intervals went by quickly.
Wednesday: Core + Strength For Runners + 5 Scooby Miles
I chose a route I haven’t done since June, in the “easy” direction but it still involves one legitimate hill. Ran into the Seminary for a trashcan, and had to get a photo of Aspinwall Hall all lit up against the pre-dawn sky.
Thursday: Core + 30 min Peloton Ride + Light Weights
For my second “easy” ride of the week I did Sam Yo’s new Motown ride. It was easier thn that Bootcamp at least!
Friday: Core + 4.3 Scooby Miles
I was planning a longer run on Saturday, so I kept this run shorter than I wanted to in the amazing fall weather!
Saturday: Core + 6.3 Scooby Miles
I don’t have a good 6 mile route memorized, so I tried extending the 5 mile loop I did on Wednesday, and ended up a bit over my goal. Next time I will skip one or two of the cul-de-sacs I ran around. 😉
Sunday: Lifeline 100 Metric Century Ride
I’ll have to fill you in later, but there will be lederhosen kits!
(2019)
Thanks to Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down link up.
What is your advice for ramping up running?
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
Good luck on your ride! I’m hoping to get some biking miles lugged after we get back to Iowa this afternoon. Ramping up the running mileage is so tricky, and so specific to each person’s circumstances. Proceeding with caution is probably your best strategy, but I’m sure you already know that.
I’m so glad you’re able to run pain free again. I’ve come back from so many breaks–my only advice is don’t overdo it! I’ll hopefully be ramping back up soon as well. I’m really missing it!
Sounds like a very full week, Coco! The Fall weather has been great. Makes running feel so much better!
I hope that the Achilles continues to be happy. 🙂
Your running ramp-up sounds like what I usually do. I’m happy it’s going well for you! A 10 miler in November seems totally feasible. Hope you enjoy the bike ride- can’t wait to hear all about it!
So glad running is going well! I hope you didn’t just wish for a week of rain because next week is looking quiet rainy…
If the lederhosen kits are out, it’s got to be fun! All the best with your ride! How awesome your runs are feeling good and the achilles is onboard!
It’s so good to see you out running and enjoying it again – I know it’s been a long road to get there. Work really kicked my butt this week so I can totally relate to what you said about the long working hours – they suck!
I can’t wait to hear about your 100 mile bike ride!
I really like the way you approached your mileage build-up. My ortho wants me to take a big step back and re-build…I may be borrowing your approach. It’s great to see you running more!
Hope you had a great ride today!
I love the matching cycle kits. Hope you had fun today. So glad that your achilles is feeling so much better
So glad the Achilles is feeling good! Definitely be cautious and build back slowly, but you know that 🙂 Glad the fall weather has arrived for you!
So happy to read that you are running again.
Those outfits are so fun. Can’t wait to hear how it went.
I take it super easy when I’m ramping up mileage. I only increase by 10-15% per week. Basically I add one mile per week to my longest run and go from there. I think it’s the easiest way to remain uninjured. I also take recovery seriously and do lots of foam rolling and cryotherapy and stuff to keep me feeling fresh and ready to train!
I really need to get back to a core plan. Maybe I’ll do some of the Peloton core workouts.
Eeek! The lederhosen!!!!
I’m glad to hear you have found a decent groove to your ramp up of miles. It’s hard to be patient coming back from injury.
Hi, Scooby. He’s such a good boy.
I hope you had a great ride! I wish I could get out more on my bike these days. You are being smart with your plan to get back into running full power again. It’s tough to be so patient, but you’re doing it!!