For awhile now, I have felt like I plateaued pace-wise. I just haven’t put in the effort to increase my pace, particularly for longer runs.
Now that I have committed to run all of these relays next year, I figured that I should step up my training. I want to increase my mileage such that running Ragnars two weeks in a row would not destroy me.
When I am not ramping up to a Ragnar or half-marathon, I typically run anywhere from 15-20 miles a week. I definitely want to increase that number by a decent amount.
Last month, I ran Reach the Beach with an ultra-marathon runner who typically runs anywhere from 40-50 hours a week. He suggested increasing my weekly mileage by running to and from work. So, I looked into it and started planning the logistics (running routes, pacing, pre-delivering work clothes to my office, etc).
A couple days ago, I did my first work commute day…. Six miles in the morning and six miles in the evening. It’s like my own little mini-Ragnar (but on a Tuesday and without sleeping in a van). Overall, I kept a reasonable pace (just over 10:00/mile) and didn’t set out to break any 10K PRs. It went rather well, even after doing a bunch of squats and lunges at the gym the day before.
I think that I will keep this up on a weekly or bi-weekly basis as long as the New England weather will allow.