I think we are almost ready to start a transition back towards normal life.  

Boy does that first sentence sound guarded and tentative, with phrases like "I think", "almost ready", "to starting", "towards".  But I watch the numbers the CDC, and the State's health department, publish every day and we really might be headed towards the end of this pandemic.  We (UVRC) are planning on Saturday runs starting in June, and TNT a few weeks after that.  And the New Hampshire Grand Prix is starting with a virtual race in May-June, and in person races in July!

Which means the end of the Lone Runner Challenge!

Yes, I have enjoyed getting email from dozens of you over this past year,  but I am looking forward to track-side conversions instead.  Admittedly LRC had its good challenges ("Cross that Bridge" generated the most responses), and a few which will remain unnamed.  But now, one last month:

Up the Miles / Up the Pace

I expect that most of us have fallen off what we were doing in 2019.  Our mileage is down, our pace has dropped, we don't tear into the hill climbs like we should.  So, the challenge for May is to build your mileage back.  Or if your mileage is fine, quicken your pace to where it should be.

The general rule-of-thumb for upping mileage to increase by about 10-15% per week, usually cited as the "10% rule".  But there are all sorts of caveats with this.  This is assuming you are starting with some reasonable base and just trying to increase mileage.  For example, if you are at 30 miles per week and would like to be at 40 miles - you should step it up over about three weeks.

The 10% rule clearly doesn't address if you start at zero, or a small number.  If you are running 2 miles a day, twice a week, you should not be thinking about 0.4 miles, rather you should be thinking about adding a third day. Which means a 33% increase! - but that is okay!

Also, the 10% rule doesn't really account for short low milage periods.  If you were at 40 miles a week, you had the flu and ran 10 miles one week, now what?  Some people will ramp back to 40 over a week or two, some people can do it right away.

If you have a long climb to your mileage goal you should also consider inserting "break weeks".  Maybe once a month you run a week without any additional mileage, you just let your body catch up with your expectations.  

When I stopped cross-country skiing a few weeks ago I realized that my running mileage was way down and so I crept it up for a month - about halfway to my ultimate goal, and then I let it level off for a few weeks.  Without doing anything else it was fun to watch my pace increase during these break weeks.  But now I am climbing the miles again.

What about if you are already at your goal mileage?  Then think about pace.  Throw in a few quicker miles each week.  Plan on "Thursday is Tempo Day,” (or whatever fits your schedule).  In general, however, avoid adding significant mileage the same weeks you are making a concentrated effort to up your pace.

Personally, I am not rushing into this season.  Yes, there is a Grand Prix race in May-June (a virtual 5k), and then in-person races start in July.  But I expect people to be finding their feet and rediscovering race-pace.  I think real competition will get rolling in the late summer and fall.  I am still building my base - just a lot more of it!