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[[File:Dailymile mileage.jpg|none|thumb|500px|Dailymile.com mileage chart.]]
==February 2013==
February's training went well, and I started to add in some [[High Intensity Interval Training]]. I continued with running four long runs per week, aiming for 26.2+ miles each time. I only had one run where the weather prevented me hitting my mileage target, so I had 15 marathon+ length runs. Looking at my all time totals, I realize I've done 249 marathon or longer runs since I started keeping electronic records in 2002. Overall I've run 33,936 miles, which is 1.36 times the circumference of the earth and burned an estimated 3 million calories which equates to about 900 pounds of body fat.
{| class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Hours'''
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Avg Pace'''
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Num Runs'''
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Longest'''
|-
| February 2013||430||60||8:24||18||31
|-
| January 2013||448||63||8:26||19||33
|-
| February 2012||326||43||7:53||16||29
|}
==January 2013==
At the start of this year I did some evaluation of the various training approaches I've used, and decided to return to running four marathon+ training runs per week. This has worked well, and I've changed my weekly routine from Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat to Mon/Tue/Thur/Sat so that if I have a minor race on the Saturday, I can still get the four runs in.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
|}
==2013 Yearly Totals==
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
December had two races ([[2012 Table Rock Ultra|Table Rock]] and [[2012 Freedom Park 24 Hour|Freedom Park]]) so the rest of the month was recovery and/or tapering.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
==November 2012==
I continued my low mileage approach into November, doing quite a bit of speed work, including [[Medium Intensity High Volume Intervals]], [[Downhill Intervals]] and experimenting with running the [[Tabata High Intensity Interval Training| Tabatas]].
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
==October 2012==
Though my October mileage looks low, it includes nearly 300 intervals, of which 128 where on the hill.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
==September 2012==
I did little training in September as I raced twice, so the rest of the time I was either tapering or recovering. Of the 344 miles I ran in September, 230 were racing and only 114 were training.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
==August 2012==
This month I've focused even more on [[Downhill Running]], including [[Downhill Intervals]]. These workouts are hard enough that if I continue them after the world championships, I may move to running three days a week rather than four. August included the overload week for my [[Three Phase Taper]] which went well with 150 miles, some of which was hard hill intervals. I've also dropped my body fat down to a lower level than before the national championships this time last year, but I've managed to increase lean body mass at the same time. I now have less fat, but weigh about five pounds more. I've continued to combine[[Intermittent Hypoxic Exposure]] with [[Electrical Muscle Stimulation]] and I think it's working well. .
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
==July 2012==
The summer eventually arrived in force here in North Carolina and the heat became a limiting factor. I had some downtime visiting Washington DC for a long weekend, and I had some minor issues with the muscles in my right foot. However, I've also started to do far more [[Downhill Running]], so I feel like my training is proving effective for the upcoming 24 hour world championships in Poland. Even though this will be a totally flat race, I believe that the [[Downhill Running]] will cause adaptations in the muscle structure that will improve my endurance at long distances. I'm doing a little more cycling again, and I'm combining [[Intermittent Hypoxic Exposure]] with [[Electrical Muscle Stimulation]] which seems to be quite effective. I'm planning on using a [[Three Phase Taper]] for the world championships, but I haven't decided if I'll increase the distance on my usual frequency, or keep the distance and increase the frequency.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
==June 2012==
June was much cooler than you'd expect this year in North Carolina, which made my running better-than-expected. I did have a small taper for the midnight boogie, and unfortunately I'm minor stomach bug. Other than that, the training regime went well.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
==May 2012==
I started to get back into my routine during May, with my weekday runs at marathon distance on longer. I ended up with 11 my runs as marathon+ distance, which is nice. However, I'm not back to the point where my Saturday run, which is my back-to-back run, is a decent distance. Towards the end of the month the heat stress built up here in North Carolina and I really slowing down. My right kneecap acted up a little during the month, but managed to resolve that.I started page on [[Knee Pain]] but it will take some time before it's ready for publication. I also stopped cycling in May to try and keep my [[Training Monotony]] lower. I'd like to get back to the bike but I don't think I'm quite ready.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
==April 2012==
April started off a little slow after Umstead, but has settled into a reasonable routine. I'm much happier with running four days/week and the training seems to be more effective.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
In March I was looking to find the sweet spot of optimal training. I suspect I tend to train more than is optimal, so I'm trying to back off to the point where things are improving more. It's tricky to work out when the impact of training stress lasts for well over a month. I've had a few nagging Achilles/calf issues, but nothing major.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
==February 2012==
February has seen me building back after my brief bout of [[Overtraining Syndrome]]. I've returned to running four days per week, which is helped enormously. My mood state has improved dramatically, and a number of friends have commented on the change. My experiment with running more frequently has given me some useful insight into the effects of [[Training Monotony]] and [[Overtraining Syndrome]], as well as understanding how my body reacts to different training loads and regimes.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
==January 2012==
At the beginning of January I started to suffer from [[Overtraining Syndrome]]. This has built up over time and as a result I had to reduce my training dramatically. I also caught a serious cold for the first time in a while, which further reduced my training load. I'm going to return to my previous pattern of running four days/week, bringing to an end my experiment with more frequent running. Overall I've found the more frequent running had some advantages, but overall it is less effective and more time consuming.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
==December 2011==
December was a quiet month, with some steady training and a slight taper in the last week of the year for Freedom Park 24 Hour race. My body weight has risen over the holidays and that is impacting my running significantly, so I need to shed some body fat.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
==November 2011==
November was a pleasantly uneventful month other than a practice [[Three Phase Taper]] for pacing the 3 hour group at Thunder Road Marathon. My training is going well, and I'm enjoying the cooler weather. I may experiment with a return to four days/week again as part of my evaluation of different training patterns.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
At the beginning of the month I was still recovering from the North Coast 24 hour race, and it was not until the middle of November that I felt like I was back in the rhythm. I'm continuing my experiment of running most days and I feel like I'm getting a sense of the relative strengths and weaknesses of this approach when compared with running 4 days/week. I plan on writing this up in the near future, but I'd like to do some reading around any research that supports or disproves my embryonic ideas.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
September included a successful taper, 2nd place at the [[2011 North Coast 24 Hour National Championships]], and a speedy recovery, so I'd consider it one of my finer months.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
I'm not sure if this high mileage approach to training is more effective than training four days per week or not. I'm a lot fitter and faster now than I was when I started, but I've also lost 13 pounds and been doing quite a bit of altitude training with the [[AltoLab]]. I'd like to think that this type of high mileage would change fast twitch muscle fibers into slow twitch, but there seems to be little evidence for that. Running 180+ miles per week and holding down a full time job puts huge logistical and psychological pressures in addition to the obvious physical strain. In many ways, my body handled the high mileage far better than my mind did.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
* The heat in Charlotte has been the worst I've known, and it's really slowed me down.
* Without intending to, I found myself in the middle of the month starting to run every day. This was triggered by being unable to run on my usual days, so I started off with some extra 'back to back days'. I found that running every day helped keep my appetite more stable, and thus my weight loss was easier. This has contributed to the higher than normal mileage this month.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
I spent the first three weeks of June in the UK on the lead up to the West Highland Way Race. Being on vacation, and leading up to a race, I did little running, so my June numbers are quite low.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
Towards the end of the month I felt like I was getting back to training right. For the last two weeks I reverted to running four days per week rather than three, which seems to suit me better. I've added more hills towards the end of the month, and this has been tough but effective. The weather in Charlotte has also warmed up in the last week or so, and this has started to limit my pace.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
I feel like I'm beginning to get back on track with my training, but it's not there yet. The blister on my heel has continued to be an issue, and I've had some nagging problems with my left hip, but hopefully May will be a better month. I'm focusing again on moving to running three days per week rather than four, with two of the runs being generally shorter, higher quality. Doing a single longer run rather than two back to back long runs may be easier than I first envisioned. I'm finding that a small amount of speedwork in the middle or at the end of a long run seems to dramatically increase the effective distance.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
March was another poor month for my running, rounding out a rather sad first quarter. At the end of February I blistered my heel badly at the Mount Mitchell Challenge, and this restricted my running throughout the month. At the end of March, I've started to try running three times a week again rather than four. This is a significant challenge, as doing one long run rather than two back to back long runs requires a lot more time and effort in the single run.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''
February has been a gradual return to fitness after my downtime in January from my [[Mortons Neuroma]]. After I accepted that I'd lost more fitness than I expected, and backed off a little, things returned reasonably quickly. The Mortons Neuroma has not been much of an issue, though it is still there and is improving slowly. I have not done as much downhill training as I need to, which will be a focus for March as I prepare for the Umstead 100 at the beginning of April. My body weight is up to around 140, and my fat levels are a little higher than I'd like, so I'll need to keep on top of that in the coming weeks. My weekly mileage is a around 80, which is working well for me as I am able to run at a higher intensity.
{| {{table}}class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Miles'''