How many kms?

[simonwilliamstutor]

Tomorrow morning I'm planning on smashing my furthest run record. So far it's 10.03km. I reckon I have about a 1.5hr window, the weather forecast looks good and I should only have a handful of roads to cross given the route I have planned. 15kms?

[Hidden]

The usual weekly increase is approx 10% of your weekly distance so 15 would a big jump

I would just go with the flow see how it feels but be on the cautious side but that's me You know how you feel etc

[Realfoodieclub Graduate10]

That's nearly a 50% increase. If I were you go very slowly and make it a very relaxed run if you start to feel it in your muscles too much walk if you have to. Hot bath when you get home and good stretches the next day and protect the muscles. Let us know get you get on.

[simonwilliamstutor Graduate10 in reply to Realfoodieclub]

Thanks. I should be near home around the 11km mark so I can easily stop the run after that if needs be. I'm just gonna see how it goes!

[JoolieB1 Graduate10]

So good to hear your confidence! Well done for doing a 10k already. Your goals are your choice but I have learnt the hard way that pushing too far can result in injuries. The recommendation is for a 10% per week increase to be safe. Right now, I run 2 X 5k and a longer run (did 10k today) and I plan to do an 11k next week. I have a June 10k and a Half Marathon in September, that helps me to keep focussed on staying strong and healthy without being too impatient. Let us know how it goes.

My top tip is to run as much as possible on grass or soft ground, running long distance on paths or roads will be higher impact and it is so much fun jumping over tree roots, running in the woods and coming home muddy! Looking after our legs is a seriously good idea!

[simonwilliamstutor Graduate10]

I will definitely be keeping on the slow side... aiming for 6mins/km (my last 10k was at 5:33/km). If I start to feel weird around 11-12km I promise I will stop!

[Curlygurly2 Graduate10]

I think it's good to have something to aim for, especially as you seem to have planned it well. You coul

d always walk for a bit then run again if you are getting tired, it all counts! Good luck, come and tell us how you get on.

[misswobble Graduate10]

I would do 11k and go home. Rome wasn't built in a day. ☺

[ju-ju- Graduate10]

How did you get on?? I hope it was a good one???

[simonwilliamstutor Graduate10 in reply to ju-ju-]

Tomorrow morning juicy. Will post a report afterwards.

[ju-ju- Graduate10 in reply to simonwilliamstutor]

Oh whoops I was ahead of the game... its a beautiful day for it here in Bristol...

[Hidden]

Hope you enjoyed your run - looking forward to hearing how you got on Personally I find that when I'm trying to increase the distance I've been running, I don't feel so bad during the actual run itself, but start to feel a bit rotten during the day. But the next time I do that distance I've got used to it and don't feel quite as exhausted !

[Tomas Graduate10]

Even though the normal advice is to increase the WEEKLY distance by 10% or 1 mile, whatever is longer, going from 10 to 15 sounds like a stretch (that would suggest you did a total of 50 km last week). I've got no doubt that you can do it physiologically. But why not give yourself TWO smashes - get to 12 km this week and to 15 week after next? That means two reasons to celebrate and feel great

[simonwilliamstutor Graduate10]

To answer my own question: 11.

Stepped out of the front door thinking "great, the sun's out, it's not windy or raining" Then I realised that there were patches of ice on the pavements... not bad enough to abort the run but frequent enough to force me to exercise caution. So off I plodded, consciously trying to keep things slower than usual.

I got to about 2km and I realised my legs just hadn't woken up... calves and bottom were still happily asleep in bed and they never really woke up the whole run! Now I usually see dogs, birds or the occasional cat on my run but just after I'd crossed the river I saw a brown rat about 10 feet in front of me. I think that's what it was anyway... it was close to the river and it ran straight across my path.

So I plodded on wondering how far I could actually go. The Greenway is a gloriously flat, traffic free route. This morning it was wonderful in the winter sun with the mist hanging over the fields and waterlogged racecourse. The odd large puddle needed dodging though: unlike Peppa Pig I'm not really a fan of jumping in muddy puddles and getting my Asics dirty so I went round them.

I turned round and headed home at about 6km thinking I could probably manage 12km total but I wasn't reckoning with how much my legs were starting to protest so at 10km I decided on just one more km (as per the advice!).

Plenty of stretching and a bowl of porridge now.

strava.com/activities/49614...

[Hidden in reply to simonwilliamstutor]

Well done on the run and taking the sensible decision

You live to run another day I am sure you will soon get to 15 enjoy your rest

[JoolieB1 Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

Sensible decisions are best but when the time is right we can go that little bit further (when our legs say we should)!!

[JoolieB1 Graduate10 in reply to simonwilliamstutor]

Bless you, running is so unpredictable, I go out of the door feeling like a greyhound and by 5k, more like a chubby bulldog! LOL. Another time, plan a 5k and end up feeling like I could run and run and do 10k! On Wednesday, went out to do 5 (my long run day is Saturday), found a great firm muddy track and just kept plodding to 10k!

Just need to be careful and when it is safe and feels good, can do a bit more - ultimate goal 20k for a HM in September but 10k in June - will only make it if I look after my old toffee legs. Julie

[Hidden in reply to simonwilliamstutor]

That looks a good route and plenty of scope to increase the distance when you want to

[IannodaTruffe Graduate10]

Having only just caught up on your post, first of all, congratulations on pushing the distance and on the wise approach. Secondly, I think you need to work out your refuelling requirements.

Once you run over an hour or so, you will begin to run out of energy resources and may need to replenish your fluids too. I find that I can manage 12k with nothing more than a banana before starting, but if I push onto 15k then my pace will drop dramatically without some refuelling. Because it takes half an hour or so for the benefits to be felt, I refuel 45 minutes into a longer run and then every 30 minutes, along with a few swigs of water.

What works for you will require experimentation, but you will struggle if you don't address the issue.

Keep running, keep smiling.

[simonwilliamstutor Graduate10 in reply to IannodaTruffe]

I'll bear it in mind next time I go over 10k. Thanks!