I don’t usually do a Year In Review post as I prefer to look forward than dwell on the past. Instead, I’ll provide an overview of my overall running volume.
The secret to my “success” in ultras is written in the chart above. Every month I’m logging decent mileage. Year after year after year. Summer, spring, fall, winter. Racing season, off-season. It’s now been over 6 years since I’ve had a month with mileage below triple digits. And five years since I’ve had a month below 120 miles (i.e. 4 miles/day). This consistency has made my legs pretty bulletproof at this point. Not only can I roll out of bed and knock out an ultra of just about any distance, but my legs are mostly recovered within 7-10 days.
The caveat to the above is that these are all low intensity miles. Over the course of a year, I might do a dozen or so actual workouts. Those are typically hill sessions heading into Eastern States with the random tempo run when I’m feeling like it. Some people may call these junk miles, but they work for me.
Annual mileage isn’t something I pay much attention to. I may check my YTD numbers two or three times a year, but it never impacts my volume as I’m never adding miles if I’m a little below where I’ve been in prior years. I’m more focused on prepping for my next race rather than an arbitrary annual mileage total. It wasn’t until early December that I even realized I was going to hit an annual mileage PR this year. I’ll be up 200 miles to over 2,700 in 2024. I’m mildly interested to see where my daily/weekly/monthly running takes me next year. Maybe 3,000?
Merry Christmas everyone!