Run: 3 miles at 6.5 miles per hour
Distance: 3.0 miles
Time: 27:44
Performance Stats (out of 5 ★)
Legs: ★ ★ ★ .5
Gut: ★ ★ ★ .5
Energy ★ ★ ★
Mind: ★ ★ ★ .5
Overall: ★ ★ ★ .5
Soundtrack: The Crystal Method Radio, Pandora
Yep, still cold, and still working the treadmill. Twenty degrees out this morning, and that's just too cold. So off I went to the gym to meet up with my 4:30 AM crew. Mostly everyone was there. We have a few that stick to the weights, and a several that stick to the treadmills and ellipticals. Today was a running day for me, and so I made my way over to my usual treadmill - row two, seat six.
As I walked past the two treadmills next to mine, I saw that they were out of service. Nothing new for regularly used gym equipment, but both of these also had scribbled on the 'not-to-be-used' message the milage that each treadmill had racked up over the years. Apparently one had gone 18,170 miles and the other 17,576 miles. Now I'm no treadmill, but that seems pretty good.
So this got me to thinking, I wonder how long: 1) the average runner runs in a year, and 2) how many miles I put on in this past year. The answer to number two is easy, because I am going to have to put it off for a while. I began this website with a 4.3 mile run on August 3, 2014 - click the link to see the first ever blog post to the site. I have pretty much documented every run that I have gotten in since then, so I will tally up the score when we get to August and let you know.
The answer to number one however... So, according to Running Competitor.com, the average runner puts in over 35 miles per week. Running For Fitness.org actually has a nice table of recommended distances for those interested in completing different distance races, and at different levels of training. You can see the range here for maximum weekly miles is anywhere from 10-20 miles per week up to 40-60 miles per week. And really my favorite source for setting a good program for your running, and running safely, Runner's World suggests this schedule which focuses more on time and effort than distance.
So in the thick of it, I probably was running about 3 - 4 miles two to three days a week, with about 8 miles on the weekend. That would be about 20 miles per week. Take that out 50 weeks (gotta have some kind of break) and you're looking at 1000 miles in a year. That's me at my ideal finest, which clearly, I'm not there. In reality, I'm gonna guess I put in about a quarter of that last year, if I'm lucky. For the 35.5 miles per week professional, you are looking at 1846 miles (I didn't give them the 2 weeks off) per year.
So little treadmill, I may have given you a lot of crap this winter, but I'm impressed with what you've pulled off. Looks like you've packed in 10 professional runner years before needing a new belt and deck. I'd have to say, I think that I'm gonna need a new set of both if I ever get myself up to 35 miles week. One can always dream!