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Community Corner

Going the Distance

Dangers in adding miles preparing for the Peachtree

In preparing for my first Peachtree Road Race, I’ve gone from running in the gym on a treadmill to running in the streets of the Edgewood-Kirkwood neighborhoods. I’ve been regularly running up to four days a week.

Two areas needing work: distance and time.

This week I made new strides on distance but am I setting myself up for injuries?

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Until this week runs covered four miles, two in each direction. The Peachtree is a 10K race, a little over six miles. This means I’ve been faced with adding an extra training mile each way. Eric Malone, my “mentor” and a marathon runner asked me over a week ago when would I increase my mileage.

That was the push I needed. Last Sunday I decided to hit the six mile mark.

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I double checked the distance from my previous turnaround point to lock in my 3-mile target on Hosea Williams Drive. I’m running in the morning to avoid much of the heat, humidity and poor air quality. Last Sunday I reached the two mile point between 28 and 29 minutes. That time’s been consistent. No turning around this time. I kept going.

As I pushed on I realized details I didn’t notice when I drove thru the area. That extra mile is in a tighter residential area. The street is narrow. The bike lane and marked parking areas fade. Eventually I took to the sidewalk. A few cars came a little too close for me. This now meant keeping track of changing sidewalk conditions and tree limbs. Soon it was back onto pavement.  I began to wonder what became of my goal? How much farther was Candler? Then I saw it, Candler, I could finally turn around.

On the way back that extra mile seemed like two or three. Then I saw my old turnaround point. There were two miles remaining to where I started. I still felt like I was on the home stretch. This was the area I knew well. I made it back, charged with the fact I completed six miles! I made the same run again on Tuesday morning. I was anxious to tell Eric. He asked how often I planned on doing the run. He said, "Don't forget the ten percent rule." He had a valid point.

Veteran runners generally accept the ten percent rule: You never increase your weekly mileage more than ten percent from one week to another.

It’s been found over time that the vast majority of injuries are from overuse. Ten percent or less should prevent that. If I continued my four day a week run with my new mileage, it would be a 50 percent increase!

The body needs to gradually adapt to stress. Race trainers insist you may think you feel great. The thrill of accomplishment, like I had those two days, keeps you pushing. Then something, often the knees, will give and there goes your race. Various training calendars break up how much area you cover and how often.

So now it’s time to do the math, rethink how often I hit the road and to what degree. I know I can do the six miles now.  I just want to do it when it really counts, on July 4 in the Peachtree

How are you preparing for the Peachtree? What safety measures are you taking? Tell us in the comments.

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