The second workout from my past that I am sharing, is my first ever, ten mile run.

If you are observant, and remember the details of my very first run, that I wrote about yesterday, you will notice that I did this particular run just nine weeks later.  I did this run on a Sunday and the day before I had completed a run of seven miles.  At the time I did that seven mile run, it was my second longest run ever ( I had completed an eight mile run the week before).  

So here I was, completing my longest run ever, the day after completing my third longest run.  These two runs, topped a week where my total mileage was just under thirty miles.  Think about it.  Nine weeks earlier, I could barely run a mile, and now I am running ten miles, as part of a thirty mile week.  

I was so proud of myself.  I had come so far in just a couple of months.  Then Monday morning arrived… I could barely walk.  I had significant pain in my left leg and it didn’t go away.  I tried running again on Tuesday and again on Wednesday, but it just made the pain worse.  I now had my very first running injury.

In hindsight, it’s obvious that I had increased my weekly run mileage way too quickly.  Over those nine weeks I was increasing mileage by 20-25% a week for weeks on end.  This is a classic rookie mistake. I had not taken the time to build up strength and durability.

I now know, that it is not a good idea to increase weekly mileage by more than about 10% per week.  I also know that every few weeks, you also need to include a ‘down week’; a week with slightly lower mileage, so your body can recover and absorb the fitness you are building. 

So if you are starting your endurance sport journey, please learn from my mistake.  Take your time, build up your mileage slowly and create a solid base of fitness that will help you avoid injury.