May mileage

January: 59
February: 70
March: 73
April: 78

May:

87 miles for the month of May.  Let's keep this upward trend moving in the right direction as we head into summer, eh?

April mileage

January: 59 

February: 70

March: 73

April:

78 miles for the month of April.  I'm ever so slowly climbing my way back up the mileage ladder.  Maybe someday I'll run 100 miles in a month again.

March mileage

Another month gone by, and time for another mileage update:

January: 59
February: 70

And March:

73 miles for the month of March.  My weekly long run is with Who's Up? on Wednesday nights.  I had one race this month - the Haddonfield Adrenaline 5k.  Otherwise I'm still just puttering along.

It's been nice taking it easy for so long, but I'm starting to get itchy.  I want to go fast again.

February mileage

It's the last day of the month, and you know what that means: time for a round up of the month's miles and a picture of my extremely high tech method of tracking it all.

January: 59

February:

70 miles for the month of February.  Another month of low mileage while maintaining the streak.  It's been nice laying low for awhile, but I'm starting to get the itch to bump up the mileage again soon.

January mileage

For this entire month I've wondered if I was going to continue doing these posts.  The whole point was to track my mileage to 2,014 miles in 2014, and then when I failed that, I kept up the habit for 2,015 miles in 2,015.

I eventually decided that I wanted to keep doing these posts for my own record keeping.  The mileage this year won't come close to the insane totals of last year, but here goes:

January: 59

2015 mileage

January: 198

February: 231

March: 281

April: 121.2

May: 159.1

June: 112.3

July: 145.4

August: 210.1

September: 218

October: 235.3

November: 193.3

And December:

52 miles, probably my lowest monthly total in years. The drastic reduction was needed, though, as I've been focusing on high mileage for so long and putting my body through so much.

This means my grand official total for 2015 is 2,156.7 miles, which is definitely a lifetime record.  I can't say if I'll ever try to beat this mark, but if I do, it won't be in 2016.

November mileage

The year's mileage so far:

January: 198
February: 231
March: 281
April: 121.2
May: 159.1
June: 112.3
July: 145.4
August: 210.1
September: 218
October: 235.3

And November:

193.3 for the month of November, which brings me to 2,104.7 miles for the year.

I'm finished with most of my running goals for the year, so December will be a simple month of little running while I recover from a high mileage year while maintaining the streak.

Challenge complete - 2,015 miles in 2015

Last year I set the goal to run 2,014 miles over the course of the year.  This goal derailed at the end of August with the birth of my son, and I ended up finishing 2014 with only 1,676.8 miles.  As my wife put it, it was too bad we're not living in the 1600's.

I was disappointed to not reach this goal, but like with most goals, I just decided to try again. Bring on 2,015 miles in 2015.  It was a pleasant surprise to discover an official challenge launched by the folks behind Run the Edge (Tim Catalano and Adam Goucher).  Participants were able to team up with others or complete the challenge solo, and miles could be logged by walking, running, or doing the elliptical.  Like in 2014, I opted to do the challenge solo.  I also only wanted to count running miles, which would all be outside.

The primary feature of the challenge was a Facebook group with over 17,000 supportive and informative runners all over the world.

Well, in addition to completing the Philadelphia Marathon on Sunday, I also officially crossed the finish line of this challenge.

That's 2,015 miles, all run outside through all kinds of weather.  I ran through snow, sleet, rain, humidity, heat, and cold.  As early as 4:30 in the morning and as late as 11:30 at night.  On snow, dirt, pavement, asphalt, tracks, sand and grass.  On the beaches of South Florida. Through the suburbs of South Jersey.  In the hills of Ithaca, NY.  On the city streets of Berlin and Munich. In big city races and small town races and even a Pennsylvania nudist resort.  I ran with my local running/beer club and completely by myself.  I ran every single day, sometimes logging as little as one mile, occasionally logging 26.2.

It is incredibly satisfying to not only complete a goal that I missed the first time around, but to look back and remember all it took to accomplish it.

Run the Edge is offering the same challenge in 2016 with a completely revamped website and brand new participant perks.  I won't be taking part next year since I need a break from high mileage, but I highly recommend this challenge to anyone looking for a long term and different kind of running goal.

As their slogan goes, get out there and make fit happen.

October mileage

The year in monthly mileage totals so far:

January: 198

February: 231

March: 281

April: 121.2

May:159.1

June: 112.3

July: 145.4

August: 210.1

September: 218

And October:

235.3 miles for the month of October, bringing me to 1,911.4 miles for the year.  October was a solid month of training, with many early morning runs, more speedwork, and two great races.

Also, I'm in the homestretch of the 2,015 miles in 2015 challenge with just over a hundred to go.

1,700 miles

This morning I ran my first 20 miler of this training cycle, and in doing so I passed the 1,700 mile mark for the 2,015 in 2015 challenge I'm a part of.  At my current rate of progress, I should hit my goal by the end of November, over a month ahead of schedule.  It will be nice to celebrate the Philly Marathon and the end of this challenge simultaneously.

I also got to wear my Boston shirt for the first time since last spring, so all around an exciting day.

The 20 miler, incidentally, was a decent training run.  I broke it up into three legs, passing by the Cooper River and a brief section of trail by Newton Lake, and stopping by my house twice for water and gels.  I felt good throughout - no pain or excessive fatigue at all.  Could have easily kept going.  I guess that's the mark of a good long run if I feel like I still had plenty left in me at the end.

September mileage

January: 198
February: 231
March: 281
April: 121.2
May: 159.1
June: 112.3
July: 145.4
August: 210.1

And September:

218 miles, barely more than August.  A lot of solid morning runs.  Not enough speedwork.  Not a single race.

I'm now at 1675.1 miles for the year, officially more than I accomplished last year.  I'm now looking forward to the medal I'll get for this challenge just as much as the marathon in November.

Still looking forward to the marathon, less than two months away now, but October will have to be an outstanding month of training.

August mileage

This year's mileage:

January: 198

February: 231

March: 281

April: 121.2

May: 159.1

June: 112.3

July: 145.4

And August:

210.1 miles for the month of August, bringing me to a total of 1457.1 for this year.  I'm ahead of schedule to break 2,015 miles for this year with two very big mileage months coming up.  I could end up passing 2,015 miles by the end of November, which would coincide nicely with completing the Philadelphia Marathon.

August was a tough month as I readjusted to a marathon training schedule and dealt with virtually no rain and an unusually high percentage of days with temperatures in the nineties. The school year is starting back up as well which will present its own set of challenges.

Truth be told, I'm kind of tired of counting miles and am looking forward to 2016 when I can run as little or as much as I want to with no major goal races on the horizon.  Until then, only four months to go...

July mileage

January: 197
February: 231
March: 281
April: 121.2
May: 159.1
June: 112.3

And July:

145.4 for the month, for a total of 1,247 miles for the year so far.

It was a slow month for running, with just two races (one 3.65 mile prediction race and one 5k).  The heat and humidity got pretty extreme for much of the month, so relaxing with a beer by the grill was more my style than sprinting down the sidewalk every damn day.

I hope to pick up the pace some in August and grit my way through the last of summer weather, which will make running in cooler fall temps all the more glorious.

I hope your summer running is going well, dear reader.  Let's finish the season with a bang.

1,200 miles

July has been a slow month for running, but this morning I went out for 8 miles.  It was my longest run in weeks, and I was forced to welcome back nipple chafing into my life.

After completing 8 miles, I walked into the kitchen and saw my wife in workout clothes.

Stevie: Oh good, I just caught you!  Want to go run 3 miles?
Me: You had me at hello.

Before heading out I tallied up my mileage for the year and realized I only needed 3.4 to reach 1,200. So we brought Neale out in the stroller and knocked out a slow and steady 3.4 miles around the neighborhood.  Then I had Stevie record this milestone in which it also looks like I could be naked.  With a hat that says "Dirty German" on it.

Only 815 miles to go in this challenge!

June mileage

January: 197
February: 231
March: 281
April: 121.2
May: 159.1

And June:

112.3 miles this month.  1,101.6 miles for the year.

This means I'm still on track to complete 2,015 miles this year, but just barely.  Keeping up my motivation for this challenge is going to be tough.

1,000 miles down

I hit 1,000 miles for the year during my 6 mile run last night.  Less than halfway through the year and I'm just about halfway to my goal of 2,015 miles.

May mileage

I ran 13 miles today because I missed that feeling of being drenched in my own sweat and suffering through the heat.  I also love a good excuse to sit under a garden hose for a bit.

I have a half marathon coming up in two weeks, and I'm glad to know my legs will still carry me that distance.

May is over, and it looks like I closed out the month at 159.1 miles, which puts me at 989.3 miles for the year.  My quest to run 2,015 miles this year is still on track.

April mileage

January: 197

February: 231

March: 281

April: 121.2

April saw a significant decrease in mileage due to tapering for and recovering from the Boston Marathon towards the middle of the month.

I'm still streaking and I'm still pushing along in my quest to hit 2,015 miles this year.  I'm very optimistic that it will happen.

I'd like to up the mileage again in May in preparation for aa few races I'm signed up for in June.  Nothing major on the horizon; just a half and a few shorter distances.

March mileage

2015 miles so far:

January: 197

February: 231

March: 281

Total: 709

I wanted to hit 300 for this month, as well as a 100 mile week, but neither were in the cards. Still, it is the highest monthly total of my life, so still something to be happy about.

Now let's hope these miles pay off in a few weeks...

500 miles

I had scheduled another 20 miler today, but I decided to put it off for a few reasons.  I ran 68 miles last week, and the exhaustion has started to get to me.  I had an especially hard time getting out of bed this morning, which is not normal for a Sunday when I've had a decent amount of sleep the night before.

Various life stressors have taken hold as well, including increasing work demands and the ubiquitous lack of sleep from living with a baby at home.

And on Friday I started to feel a strain in my left calf that continued to last night.  I wanted to give myself a chance to rest it and not aggravate it further.

I know calling off the 20 miler was the smart decision, because listen to your body and blah blah blah... But it doesn't make me feel any less guilty.  Runner's guilt is strong, and we put the most pressure on ourselves to succeed.

I did, however, fit in a simple 5 miler, and with those 5 miles I passed the 500 mile mark for the year to 501.

1/4 of the way there!  Here's to the next 3/4 of the challenge, and staying healthy through the year!