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10 miles running a day for an year - Possible?

Let me just answer the obvious question 'Did I do it?' - Yes, I did it for the last year.

This post might help someone who is wondering the plausibility of the task of running 10+ miles a day for an year. I'll try to break down the process, some tips on things I learned, nutrition, gear, possible injuries etc along the post. And if you have any questions, just get back to me. I'm not a professional but I will try to help you at the best of my knowledge. Everything I say is from my personal experience (consider it as bro-science). It is something you got to try and see - most of the people who says it cannot be done hasn't done it. And most of the few guys who says it can be done might actually have done it.

 

Criteria (just one)
- 10 miles got to be running. Do not count the steps/miles you do doing your daily chores. Also treadmill/elliptical doesn't count. I know people working with me on the floor of a warehouse that do 5-to-8 miles per day just being on the job. It is pretty easy to do 10 miles per day if you spread it over the hours. So, it got to be running. At the minimum at a jogging pace. Preferably in one single shots.

 

Preparation and Outcome

What exactly did I gain from doing it? Nothing much. It is very different from going to the gym and getting pumped up. But the advantages are obvious - you are healthy, you can eat a lot (no junk, please) to make up for the calories burnt, you've more energy (Yes, I feel more energy after a 10 mile run than sitting on the couch taking it easy), it is good for your immune system (runs in the rain, heat and cold), it is a confidence booster (I can take off my shirt when running without embarrassing myself or others around. Shredded muscles, six-pack are all additional bonueses) and long distance running is a mental challenge as well as physical and honestly I do not know any runners who are mentally unstable, so go figure. In all, you will be off a better person, guaranteed. And the negative sides? There is a chance (OK, it is not a chance but certainty) that you will have some injuries along the way. But as long as you are careful and listen to your body you will be getting out of the injury, stronger.

In case if you are still in doubt, I'll post a couple of pictures from my Fitbit tracker. In fact, if you take the average, you can see I average 13.6 miles per day for the last year. I've taken off the 3.5 miles, to account for any error and the mileage I put in during the daily chores of life. So, the 10+ miles per day is pure running; feet hitting the hard ground, day in and day out. And my job requires me to sit behind a desk and on a typical day, without running, I'll be lucky if I can log 2000 steps per day, which will be around a mile. I know it is very easy to do 10 miles per day, if you break it down over the hours. But, it is a different ball game when it comes to doing it in about 1.25 hours (1 hour 15 minutes). You can try and see. And almost all my mileage is outside, not on a treadmill. I think it is much more harder to do it outside - doing it when it is hot, raining or cold. But, you will be all the more tougher at the end of the day (or year)

 

Fitbit_Yearly2.jpg


Anyway, the personal statistics goes like - mid thirties, 5'11", 145 lbs. I've always been healthy and was putting in pretty decent miles before I ramped it up. Why did I do it? I had some personal problems, and needed to clear my mind and what better way to do it than to go out for a run. So, I was not exactly planning to do 10 miles/day/year, but on the other hand I was already healthy and did not exactly started doing 10 miles off of the bat. So, my first advice - do not attempt it unless you are averaging 6+ miles. And if you've any health condition, consult your doctor. And obviously, ramp it up gradually - know your body.

Now coming to the mileage. I did not exactly do 10 miles per day. There are days I ran more (a lot more) and days I had to take a break. I'm emphasizing on 'had' because given a chance I'll go for a run rather than taking a break. Oh, I live in MN and it gets bitterly cold (I'm talking about low teens and sub zero) for quite a few days. As I said earlier, I'm not a huge fan of running on a treadmill as I get bored very easy. Anyway the mileage over the year can be broken down like this - One 50+ miles, twenty 25+ miles, countless half-marathons and a few days off. There is another advantage of mixing up the miles - it saves you from plateauing out. Do some fast runs with short distance (>5 but <10 miles) and slow runs with long distance (30+ miles), do some trails. The idea is to keep your muscles guessing. In fact, I do a couple of days of weight training (in addition to the running). I strongly recommend that. I was having some shin-splints and muscle cramps half way down the year. I started spending more time on the stretching and weight training specializing on legs and core muscles and my running actually improved a lot. It need not be fancy. If you got a couple of weights and workout bands and you can do it at home itself.

Now the food - obviously, it needs to be healthy and clean. But the good thing, you get to eat a lot 🙂 to make up for the lost calories. I'm glad I love cooking. I was in the restaurant industry for a short while and I know that they do not give much importance to the food being healthy. I cannot stress enough on the good food. Do not use running as an excuse to eat junk. Personally, I  would recommend that you clean up your eating, before getting the running started. My food goes like this - a lot of protein (skinless chicken, fat-less beef, egg whites, milk), carbs (mainly from boiled brown rice, and a couple of slices of wheat bread), veggies, fruits (fresh), fruits (dried) and nuts mix, nonfat yogurt (that I make myself). Thank God, I always never had a taste for junk food (Yes, I do not have a taste for pizza or burger). Then again be flexible. For instance if you are running 50 miles, you will burn around 8000+ calories a day and that means you'll have to eat as much as 4 regular person. That doesn't mean you will be eating that much all the day. If you get to that level, you find that your body naturally knows what you need. Instead of eating full meals, I like having it broken up into different smaller portions. So, I boil all the veggies separately during night. Then saute some onions and mushrooms and mix it with a dozen egg whites and cooked chicken. Then mix it with the boiled veggies and put it in three or four plastic containers for the next day. You got the idea, right? - Healthy food, when you are hungry. Is there anything I indulge in? Yes, coffee (If you eat a slice of pizza or a pack of chips or a burger once in a while, it is not considered as indulging. If you are doing it regularly, you got a problem. I'll leave it to you to decide what you consider 'often' and 'once in a while'). I drink quite a few cups. But I use it to my advantage, to keep me pumping when I feel down. Does it keep me up? Usually I go to sleep when I feel like sleeping and passes out a rock till I wake up next day. I don't know, maybe I should take a break more often and add more rest days and sleep more. But, Hey, it works for me. I'll leave it to you. And obviously - I'm non smoker, non drinker.

My gear- with that much mileage I run through 5 to 6 pairs of shoes an year. There are some premium brands that you've to pay some premium prices. But I get a medium priced shoes and change more often - Saucony Cohesion, Asics Gel Content etc. Saucony works me, Asics are good but tend to wear out faster. I recommend not be thrifty on the shoes, that is the only one thing separating you from the hard asphalt for 4000+ miles. I'm always on the look out for a new pair in Amazon. And if you look carefully, you will get one of the good ones on a deal. I always have 4 pair of shoes - one will be my regular runner, the second one will be my backup (in case the first pair got wet running in the rain), the third pair I walk around inside the home (that is because, I do not break my shoes in by taking it for a run. I run a lot and for some reason if the shoes doesn't feel good, I do not want to lose a day. So, I just walk around (some time skip around) the house in the new pair to feel for any discomfort, the fourth pair is in the package. I then rotate the shoes - that is, once the regular running shoes is worn out, I graduate the second pair to my regular running shoes, the house shoes becomes my back-up and so on. So, experiment some and find what works for you. For instance I like my socks from Under Armor, my shorts from Tasc etc. Some time I swap the insoles for some custom insoles to squeeze out the last miles out of a running shoe that has nearly lost its bounce. I like to run feeling less constrained (another reason why I'm not a huge fan of running in the cold). So, I am good with a good pair of shoes and socks and a quick dry shorts, every other accessories are optional. Since I'm in a cold area, I got gear to run all year round. In addition to that I get some ice packs, and compression leggings to help the sore muscles.

Any injuries? If you put that much mileage, it is only natural that you will get a few injuries along the way. Just pray that it is not serious. The regular ones are - shin splints, a few cramps, and there was a time I went to NYC and decided to go out for a run in the unfamiliar city condition and forgot to notice how bad the pavements were and ended up tripping on one, with an acre of skin gone from the knees and elbows, trail running has got more chance of injury. And oh yeah, I've lost 3 nails from my toes. It might sound disgusting (well, it is disgusting), but it is surprisingly painless. It usually occurs with a bad shoe and then you hit a rock or something. You will not even notice the pain. Then as you run, it is like slowly hitting away on the injured nail with a hammer. And by the time you are home, and takes off your socks you see the beaten up nail. Usually I put a medical tape and it falls off naturally after a few weeks. Nothing bad, and no pain at all and another reason to find the shoes that works for your. As I said earlier, I normally get out of any injuries feeling stronger. And after an year of high mileage, I'm feeling stronger than I started off. My resting heart rate is 45. My cardio fitness is off the charts.

Does it get easy with time? Yes and No. My legs are always in perpetual state of semi fatigue, as if ready for a run in the next hour. That is where the stretching and weight training helps. Do you want to know how to run 5 miles per day easy - run 10 miles per day. Then you feel 5 miles is not as hard as you thought.

My music playlist? Surprisingly the answer is none. I never listen to music when running. The running itself is motivational itself to me. I might listen to something when I'm running on a treadmill, but nothing when running outside.

Does it give you enough time to do other things in life? Yes, it does. In fact, everything else feels much better when you are at this level of athleticism. I can do a 6.5 to 7 minute mile for 10 miles without a break. So, it is 1 to 1.25 hours per day. And is that the best hours I spend on anything. You are trying to do something much more demanding than what a normal person can do, so be ready to put in the effort. Be ready to make some sacrifices. Think about it - how much time you spend on social media or watching TV? Does it add any value. Not being patronizing, just asking you to get the priorities right. As about me, I had some personal issues which left me with a void that I filled up with a lot of running. Well, it worked.  

And lastly, the fact that you are thinking about doing 10+ miles running per day for an year means you got that fire. Just don't let it fizzle out. Now tighten that freaking laces and go out running. Every person that is running past you is your next challenge. And if you come across me, there is only one way you are going to run past me - that is if you are better than me. There is absolutely no other way. Running is highly impartial - it doesn't care about your skin color, the family you are born into, how much money you got, I'll go as far as saying not even your genes as I know persistence works. It is directly proportional to the effort you put in. Nothing more, nothing less.  



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In October and November of 2016 I ran a total of 675 miles, just a hair over 11 miles per day.  Given I'm in my 60s, work full time, have family duties, and live on a horse farm where I take care of eleven horses three days per week, that kind of mileage just wasn't sustainable.  Kudoos for you doing it for a full  year.  🙂

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Very impressive! Excellent narrative. If any of my grand children read this they would respond by saying “my grand dad has averaged over 40 miles per week running over the last 41 1/2 years. He is currently nearing 88,000 miles at age 74. He has run 534 races, which include 19 marathons and 27 ultras. Before running he use to smoke 1-2 packs of cigarettes a day.” Nice to have grand children do my PR. 🙂

An observation, initially ran with a stop watch as big as an alarm clock. In my early 40’s after running 10 years had PR’s in most of my races. 17:46 5K, 36:31 10K- all this without all the fancy gadgets we have now, including GPS/HR/ running dynamics, etc. I am surprised that it appears that race times in my area are a lot slower than back then. I would run a 37 min 10K and not finish in the top 3 of the 40-44 male age group. I see some 10K’s now that have winning times of 37-38 minutes. I love all the data, but maybe runners are focusing too much on tech and not just running. Who knows? Nick

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Not much interest in your post. My perception over the years has been Fitbit was not a go to for serious runners. Go over on Runner’s World, maybe Garmin or Let’s Run. You will get some serious runners commenting.

Don’t burn out. Run for the rest of your life. I love it more now 40+ years than I did years ago. I truly have learned to appreciate it, even after PR’s are a distant memory. Nick

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DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN!!!

 

You people be runnin like a mo fo!!!

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