If I had to pin setting new PRs in the half marathon (twice) and the marathon in the Fall on one thing it would be my increased mileage. Historically when I have trained for marathons in the past I would do low 40 mile weeks and the occasional 50 mile week. This past training cycle I averaged between 55 and 60 miles a week. As a result, my half marathon PR dropped from 81 minutes to 78 and my marathon went from 2:55 to 2:44.

My workouts did not change all that much from past training cycles. I still did 2-3 workouts a week (I count my long run as a workout), instead I substantially increased my easy mileage. In fact, my easy or recovery miles were probably slower than in past training cycles. I attribute this to me recognizing that the days you aren’t running are meant to help your body recover, so I listened to my body and ran accordingly.

As for days off, I did not take any or very few days off. This goes back to running my easy runs easy. Yes, there can be argument made for giving yourself a day or per week but I could also argue if you are running easy enough you don’t really need a day off. Skipping the day off an running easy allowed me to get my mileage higher which I believed was more beneficial than taking a day off.

What would I do differently? I would find ways to increase my mileage even more. I believe I could have utilized doubles more often. I did some doubles but these were sparingly and inconsistent. I think getting a double session in allows you to cut the length of each run so that there is even less damage to your body but at the same time allowing you to run more since you are running twice a day. Of course, there is only so much time in a day, but in a perfect world I would have done doubles 3 times a week.

Here is a link to a great article on why running more is so beneficial – The Case for Running More Frequently.

I would love to hear your thoughts on why running more makes sense or doesn’t, particularly on the idea of not taking days off and doubles. Leave a comment and let me know if you agree or don’t and why.