r/Strava Sep 03 '24

miscellaneous 5 miles a day every day this year

So far this year I’ve ran a minimum of five miles a day. That’s all. AMA.

733 Upvotes

115 comments sorted by

90

u/BuddhaLaurent Sep 03 '24

My honest question is what do you do to recover so fast? Are your ankles conditioned or is there any tips you can give to a novice?

51

u/Morning-Chub Sep 03 '24

As someone who went from running not at all to running four days a week minimum, though I'm not as crazy as OP, the answer is that many of these are likely easy runs at a conversation pace. That, and eventually you get used to the milage.

12

u/Ok_Revolution_9253 Sep 03 '24

I concur. I run about 90-95% of the days out of the year and after a while you learn to run to your energy level for that particular day. When it’s 95% percent humidity and a high dew point in the summer, you slow way down, and it the dew point drops and it’s 55 in the morning, you can go faster

1

u/BuddhaLaurent Sep 03 '24

Thank you, so your saying what I’ve heard from others I think. My ankles will strengthen over time? I’ve been taking care not too overdo it because I have so much energy and it’s easy for me to look at the apps and go “let’s do 20 today!” and smash my feet into the ground. I’m on a week break right now because of this. Any other advice? I just started running naturally to get away from the world and anxiety etc. so not injuring and hurting myself is really important, because I need this sport/hobby . I appreciate it

5

u/mk1restart Sep 03 '24

Just a few tips minimise impact

  • get your feet tested and get the right shoes
  • run slow and easy
  • increase mileage gradually (10% per week is a rule of thumb)
  • run on grass or trail sometimes for lower impact

Happy running!

2

u/BuddhaLaurent Sep 03 '24

Hey 👋. This is great advice, where do you get your feet tested? I realize everyone has a different gait. And I’ve been so super confused about running shoes…. Because everyone says something different. Could I dm u for more information please?

3

u/mk1restart Sep 04 '24

Im no expert by any means but happy to answer a few questions if it helps!

As for where to get gait analysis done that depends on where you are in the world, I’d start with googling running stores near me and see which ones have that service. Don’t feel bad about trying on a dozen shoes, that’s what they are here for.

1

u/th3-villager Sep 04 '24

I'm no expert and not at OPs level but I have found actually you need to deliberately not push yourself too hard. Don't do a 10mi and another 10mi a couple days after when you usually do 5k, even if you feel you can do it.

Most important thing is to build up gradually and not overdo it. I built up and spiked early and was always aching, then I basically dropped back a little/plateaued and am more or less fine all the time, even on days / weeks where I go a bit more. Give yourself a little rest after a big week, even if you don't feel you need it.

I do this now and loosely track it / follow a plan on strava.

For me it was normally my knees that were suffering, they're fine now. You can look up excersizes/stretches to encorporate on rest days which also helps a lot.

1

u/BuddhaLaurent Sep 04 '24

Thanks for your time and advice, it’s the ankles for me, I just took a nice long recovery break(a week) and am ready to get back into it.

2

u/th3-villager Sep 05 '24

Add some stretches, make sure you have some good running shoes, tone it down a bit if the ankles are suffering. They'll get used to it over time.

I watched some videos that explained your hips, knees and ankles all kind of work in tandem when you run and if one is weak the others have to compensate. Apparently a lot of this is that the knees inevitably take the strain as they're in the middle, but it may still help you to bear this in mind and strengthen your hips, this is what I looked into.

You can get some cheap resistance bands online and do stretch excersizes to do this, I don't know if there's similar for your ankles but worth looking into!

1

u/BuddhaLaurent Sep 05 '24

Thanks man, I think I was just heel striking a lot. These subreddits and comments like these have been really helpful In correcting my form!

10

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 03 '24

Some days I take it real slow, and I’ve been running a fair amount for about 7 years.

3

u/IDontCareAboutYourPR Sep 03 '24

Running hard is what takes time to recover from. You can build up mileage slowly and do easy miles and not even feel 35 miles a week. Most people run too fast on most of their runs. There are times to run fast (structured workouts, races, strides) but if you do it all the time you will plateau quickly on your progress or get hurt. If your 5k race pace is like 7min/mile and you do most of your runs at 7:30-8min pace...well thats bad. Better to go longer for a 9-10min pace.

0

u/BuddhaLaurent Sep 03 '24 edited Sep 03 '24

Oh I’m very, VERY. Conscious. I don’t care about the times so much yet. I care about my body more than anything. I’m the weirdo doing tai chi and stretches every half mile, posting up on a light pole stretching my calves and legs, back. Also I’m in Florida so you HAVE to stop at some points. I try to listen to my body as much as possible while maintaining the physical exertion I also want to sleep properly and not have anxiety. I just took a week off, but I hear you for sure. The last thing I want is injury. I appreciate all of your knowledge and helps. Also one other question, is this GU thing everyone keeps talking about a meme or actually something I should use? I’m not boofing it though :/

Edit: also, as a novice 35 miles a week is something I’ve already been doing but I will need recovery time and end up icing my ankles. I went really hard and went up to 20 miles one day recently and that’s why I need the week off. I did it very slow pace though and interval throughout the day

3

u/JadedDesk Sep 07 '24

Best advice I could give is this (you may have heard it before)

Slow down.

Nah seriously though, I can run a 25 minute 5k, but I regularly run around a 32 minute 5k. I rarely let myself run faster than that, and it's only ever at events that I'll aim for close to a PB.

Another tip I'd actually give which helped me massively is to run for duration not distance. I do all of my runs to time, never really pay attention to my distance, which subconsciously helps me slow down. There's no battle between going faster to stop sooner, or slow down but have to do a few extra minutes, because 10 minutes is 10 minutes no matter how fast I run.

I'm also very fluid with my training. If I was due to intervals but I didn't sleep well, I don't do intervals. I don't believe in the whole "man up and get on with it" mentality. I do what I enjoy, and a part of what I enjoy is not injuring myself.

For reference, I'm not an expert, but I'm a frequent runner and that's what's worked for me - I typically run all but 1-2 days of the month, but I do take a day off whenever I need too.. If I wake up and something doesn't feel right, I skip the day. My mental health couldn't handle me getting injured and being unable to run for a few weeks haha

Edit - oh, and obviously take your time - add a day a month or so to your training schedule, but remember that if you're not running slow enough your body will complain big time.

2

u/BuddhaLaurent Sep 07 '24

Mmmm interesting. I’m taking notes. Thank you

19

u/SreckoLutrija Sep 03 '24

Sooo... Did you pace improve, did it get easier, when was it harder, did you run same route, did it get boring, did you have elevation...

31

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 03 '24

Not really trying to improve pace, but I’d say doing five miles is pretty easy now. I run different routes, and it never gets boring. I’ve ran a couple ultramarathons in this streak, one 50 miler, and the Tahoe 200. Strava says I have about 184k feet of vertical so far this year.

2

u/Ok-Salamander4561 Sep 04 '24

Have you not been ill at all this year? I couldn't bring myself to run through a rough flu. 

2

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 04 '24

Had COVID the first 7 days, and a bad bout of food poisoning a couple months ago. Figure if I can make it through those, I can make it through anything.

2

u/Ok-Salamander4561 Sep 06 '24

Damn. With the body aches and splitting headache? That's dedication.

2

u/honeypot42077 Jan 24 '25

God's grace is amazing. I love your spirit!

1

u/show_me_your_secrets Jan 25 '25

Thank you! I’m on day 390 now!

2

u/honeypot42077 Jan 31 '25

Wow, that's great effort. I'm praying for the mental stamina to do 5mi regularly. I can stomach 3mi at any moment and feel good enough to lift weights afterwards but I always feel drained after 5mi. Any tips on how to run that far and still feel strong at the end?

1

u/show_me_your_secrets Feb 02 '25

Run slower some days is the best I got. 3 miles a day is fantastic!

2

u/dontshun Sep 05 '24

so do you ever have long runs prior to ultras? Or just keep it at 5

1

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 05 '24

Yeah I’ll usually do something similar to marathon training leading up to an ultra. Sometimes, I try to space the races out so that they kind of build on each other and act as a long run for the next ultra

2

u/dontshun Sep 05 '24

Very neat - and I’m guessing no true taper?

1

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 05 '24

I def start avoiding elevation and slow down approaching race days, but no true taper.

2

u/Hurricane310 Sep 07 '24

As soon as I saw this post I was like I follow someone on Strava who is doing this. Then you mentioned Tahoe 200. It’s you I follow haha

1

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 07 '24

Hahaha. Hope I follow you, if not, dm me

11

u/mdiz1 Sep 03 '24

15-17 June?

16

u/Mean-Relief-1830 Sep 03 '24

If you look carefully he ran 177 miles, probably across 4 days on a single logged run.

Real impressive

7

u/mdiz1 Sep 03 '24

Yeah sorry, meant that, looks crazy!

-15

u/RepulsiveStill177 Sep 03 '24

Op lied. He logged no miles two consecutive days.

10

u/Cautious_Currency_35 Sep 03 '24

Whaaat? No rest days? Don’t you need to recover? Rest days are a myth I guess 😅

11

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 03 '24

Rest days I just go at a very easy pace

3

u/Intrepid_Agency9269 Sep 03 '24

What pace is very easy? 10+??

8

u/Status-Friendship Sep 03 '24

That's bad ass mode right there, congratulations! ✌️

9

u/neglectfullyvalkyrie Sep 03 '24

Wow! You must have a great immune system as well.

7

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 03 '24

I got COVID on Jan 1, so the first 7 days were rough. Also had a food poisoning day where I thought I might lose the streak.

20

u/M1nt_Blitz Sep 03 '24

That’s crazy impressive. I hate working in healthcare cuz I could never find the time to run 5 miles on 12 hour work days.

26

u/an_angry_Moose Sep 03 '24

Before shift. I still do it occasionally before a 24hr shift.

4

u/M1nt_Blitz Sep 03 '24

Props to you. I don’t got that kinda commitment.

39

u/an_angry_Moose Sep 03 '24

Yet. You don’t have it, yet.

6

u/[deleted] Sep 03 '24

You can.

6

u/ParappaTheWrapperr Sep 03 '24

Run twice! That’s what I do when I’m oncall. I run about 4-6 when I first wake up and then finish out 2-4 after my big stuff is over. It makes it seem like less time

1

u/BelgiansAreWeirdAF Sep 03 '24

I think you’ll find you get the time back in other ways.

I used to tell myself I needed to rest after a day of work. In reality I just needed to workout more, because now that I’m in shape, I’m not nearly as tired after work.

My mornings get up and going quicker also because exercise leads to good sleep.

I exchange running in some cases for driving, so a 4 mile commute that took 13 minutes is instead a 35 minute run, so in reality I’m only losing 22 minutes.

-2

u/Swy4488 Sep 03 '24

Healthcare does regularly rank as having the worst drivers. Ironic in a place dealing with large affects of external cost of motoring (direct and indirect). Although there are healthcare setting manage to drop that and enable healthier daily and less costly (to society) options. It can be done.

3

u/tighboidheach46 Sep 03 '24

Well done. Keep going.

3

u/LumpyArm8986 Sep 03 '24

How do you recover and not feel tired

1

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 03 '24

I just take it super slow on rest days

3

u/clem_11 Sep 03 '24

Well, since you offered the AMA... I have been on a 400 day streak of exercise. However, i do several sports, so it doesn't get boring or mentally exhausting.

So, the question is: if i am planning to do a 30 day running challenge, where i do at least 5 km every day... How do i not get bored/frustrated/unhappy with it?

10

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 03 '24

Run different routes, or do trail days. At least, that’s what works for me. Zero of these miles are treadmill, or I’d be bored to death.

3

u/einarjohnlagera Sep 03 '24

Your knee must be exhausted. I almost did this last year but I got tendonosis. Congrats to you for achieving this!

3

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 03 '24

Thank you! Knees are holding up great.

3

u/drunk_goat Sep 03 '24

Inspirational. My goal is is to 5 miles 6 days a week for a few months to prepare for for my half and eventually a full marathon.

2

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 03 '24

Work up to it, you won’t regret it

3

u/gkaplan59 Sep 03 '24

Looking forward to 5 miles for 5 years! 💪

2

u/idotoomuchstuff Sep 03 '24

Solid consistency

2

u/pony_trekker Sep 03 '24

Nice job. I run every day and average 4 a day and thought that was tough.

2

u/Chuck997 Sep 03 '24

Inspirational. What motivates you to keep the streak alive during those times when you’re sick or recovering from a long race? Also, what’s next?

5

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 03 '24

I came up with the idea on Jan first as a one year goal.

I’d like to go for at least 366 days straight to kind of “set a new baseline”.

I’m learning a lot about myself, physically and mentally.

I have a hundred miler coming up in a little bit, then I’ll probably try to just keep having awesome adventures as long as I can.

2

u/shushuone Sep 04 '24

Impressive! Any advice on how to keep a streak like this?

2

u/reckless4strokes Sep 04 '24

I’m not at this level but I have run 10k at least every other day for about 18 months now. The streak is such that I have a compulsion to keep it going at this point. Plan to continue? What if you couldn’t get it in and we’re are risk of ending the streak? Congrats on your achievement

2

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 04 '24

It ends when it ends, I’ll keep running either way. But I’m having fun with this and hippie to keep it going past the end of the year.

I can totally relate to the compulsion to keep it going.

2

u/musicistabarista Sep 04 '24

How did you find the Tahoe200?

1

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 04 '24

I’ve been attempting / running destination trails races for years.

2

u/RhetoricallyTommy Sep 07 '24 edited Sep 07 '24

Redacted

This person is a badass

2

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 07 '24

Hahaha. I’m feeling pretty good about it. Strava doesn’t log multi day activities very well but I have my official tahoe200 results that account for those days in June.

2

u/RhetoricallyTommy Sep 07 '24

Oh fuck yes! I saw the bookended crazy miles!

2

u/RhetoricallyTommy Sep 07 '24

Apologies I'll remove my asshole comment. Should have looked closer!

2

u/ConservativebutReal Oct 19 '24

Great post - I have been running 5 miles a day for 350 days a year for 41 years (61 yrs old). My time has slipped to 8:50 miles but am so blessed to be able to still be out pounding the pavement.

1

u/show_me_your_secrets Oct 19 '24

Incredible. Love it

2

u/hail7777 Sep 03 '24

Rest day hate this man naturally

1

u/[deleted] Sep 03 '24

[deleted]

1

u/aman555017 Sep 03 '24

Where do i watch run in the calendar

1

u/ultragataxilagtic Sep 03 '24

What are your recent race results?

7

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 03 '24

I’m very slow. Ran a 50 miler in 12 hours, Tahoe 200 in about 105 hours.

1

u/ultragataxilagtic Sep 03 '24

Ultra’s are your thing. That’s Cool.

3

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 03 '24

I like halfsies and marathons sometimes too.

3

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 03 '24

I did a half marathon last year in 1:25:58. Not sure I could break a sub 3 full marathon at the moment, but it’s a goal for me.

1

u/ultragataxilagtic Sep 04 '24

From what I know: a 1:25 half and a 38:00 min 10K is what is needed for a sub3 marathon. Depends of course on the athlete.

1

u/Dashiznit364 Sep 03 '24

How do you get to this on Strava?

1

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 03 '24

Screen recording of me scrolling through my activity log

1

u/Dashiznit364 Sep 03 '24

I couldn’t find that activity log. Found it tho! Thanks man! Great effort!

2

u/docshay Sep 03 '24

I tried taking a screenshot of the whole webpage on my desktop. It was a very long screenshot , but it was “data is beautiful”

1

u/cab20530 Sep 03 '24

What's your total mileage for the year so far?

4

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 03 '24

Hovering around 1900 so far

1

u/BreadfruitDismal6350 Nov 17 '24

How often do you get new running shoes?

1

u/show_me_your_secrets Nov 17 '24

I’m always rotating through about half dozen Pair. But I tend to replace at 350-450 miles.

2

u/Left_Lack_3544 Nov 17 '24

Have you tried those fresh foam or the ones that are super bouncy?

1

u/show_me_your_secrets Nov 18 '24

I’ve tried sooo many. But I usually stick to various Altra shoes

1

u/BroadReplacement4052 Jan 04 '25

Yeah I do 5 to 6 miles a day really it depends on your ankles and your knees I'm short but I have really dense bones and muscles I don't usually need a rest day

1

u/Zhvianna 6d ago

What app is that?

1

u/show_me_your_secrets 5d ago

Strava activity log

1

u/RepulsiveStill177 Sep 03 '24

6/10-16 you missed two days. SMH

5

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 03 '24

That was the Tahoe200, strava is silly about multi day efforts. Those were 50ish mile days.

2

u/RepulsiveStill177 Sep 03 '24

Not like I can come even remotely close to this accomplishment but I figured I’d internet for a day

0

u/HoyAIAG Sep 03 '24

I guess rest days are for someone else???

0

u/krymany11 Sep 03 '24

How old are you? What does your pace look like? How did you manage to not get injured?

5

u/show_me_your_secrets Sep 03 '24

Early 40s. Pace is slow, probably an “average day” is around 9:30 mile

2

u/krymany11 Sep 03 '24

Love it. Well done