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A lot of my friends and people I know have asked me how many miles per week I run to prepare for a half marathon, and now a marathon. The short answer is that I run as much as I can each day that I plan to run. The long answer is more about scheduling, time, and distance.

Based on my mileage last year, I decided to start this year with slightly further conquests in the beginning. My only goal is to run nonstop regardless if it is slower or faster than usual. I try to follow a 3-day schedule of runs per week, and I give myself at least 1 day between each run to rest, or I will do a barre or yoga class – something to stretch out in between these taxing runs.

On my first run on the week, starting with Monday, I will typically set a range for myself. Since I want to start feeling used to running farther than how I started last year, I have a range of 3 to 5 miles. I usually end up doing anywhere from a 5k to a little over 4 miles which is a pretty happy distance for me personally.

On Wednesdays, I would ideally like to run anywhere from 4 to 6 miles. As you can tell, it’s not that far off from my Monday runs, but I want to slowly build into my longer run for the weekend. These ranges help me feel less pressure when starting out and let me just enjoy the run itself. I’ll usually take the next two days off from any exercise because I like to have Thursday night plans with friends, and I spend Friday preparing for the next week ahead.

On Saturdays, I want to give myself a large range because I’m going to feel different every day. I like to aim for 5 to 8 miles. And, until my starting range goes up from 3 to 4, this will be my max for the week. So, in short, I run anywhere from 12 to 19 miles per week while I begin my training, with an increase in mileage by 1 mile per month until the marathon.

Everybody trains differently, and I find that this schedule works best for me! Listening to your body is something I think is really important. You won’t forget how to run, so if you need to take a break, just take it! You can always come back when you’re ready.