For those of you still on the fence about whether increasing mileage will make a big difference in your race times, I have some news. Since October when I ran a half marathon pr (1:24:27), based on an average of around 45 mpw all year, I bumped up my weekly mileage to 57 mpw the last 6 weeks. That is the highest I have ever been per week. I slowed down my regular training runs, kept my long runs at only 12 on Sundays, (I was burned out from doing many runs in the 14-16 mile range to prepare for the half) but began running doubles to get my weekly mileage near 60. My 5k pr is 17:57 (5:47 pace), but not on a certified course, run in July. I think the course was short by 5-10 seconds. I ran a 3.5 mile race today in 19:52, an incredible (at least for me) 5:41 pace. And the last half mile was all uphill. I'm fairly certain this course is not short either. It's been run for 25 years.

I ran with a friend who took a few weeks off to rest some nagging injuries. He agreed to run with me for the first two miles or so and see how he felt. He is a sub 16:00 5k masters runner, to give you an idea of his level. We passed the first mile in 5:30 (big downhill first 1/4 mile) and I almost freaked when I saw my watch. But I concentrated on my breathing and kept the pace steady. I decided only to focus on staying with my friend and ignoring my watch. He reassured me that my breathing was steady and I wasn't going "over the edge." We passed 2 miles in 11:20 and 3 miles in 17:00. My friend pulled away before the 3 mile mark, but I kept him in sight. The last 1/2 mile was a tough uphill, but I held it together to run 2:52 for the last half mile.

If the course was a 5k, I would have run close to 17:15. I am shocked at the improvement I've made. I did not taper at al for this race. I ran a steady 10 miles yesterday at 3:00, less than 24 hours before the race. The pr has to be due to the mileage. I have done virtually no speedwork the last six weeks. Now instead of a Spring goal of 17:30 in the 5k, I think I need to adjust that to 16:59. I'm happy to be turning 40 next week. Life is good.