Quick Running Tip Tuesday - Daily Mile (1.31.12)

Having joined the ranks of runners late in life, the social aspect of running was something that surprised me.  Often, people will approach me at church or Starbucks and ask about running. Sometimes, these individuals are runners and we talk about training, routes, races or shoes.  Sometimes, these individuals are folks that are just starting out and are looking for advice (BTW: If that's you, check back next week for a tip on getting started...).

The interesting thing to me is that in these instances, I could stand and talk to these people about running for hours (and sometimes do).  There is a definite social aspect to running.  Even running around town, whenever I see a runner, there is an instant connection there.

This week... a free and awesome tip for you from personal experience is the website Daily Mile. There are a couple of reasons why I have grown to love this website.

First, you can add all of your running buddies (I have several from my church that I keep up with) to the site.  You can follow their runs, comment on their activities, see the map of their routes (if they post it) and encourage them along the way.  You can also see how your weekly mileage stacks up against your friend's weekly mileage.

Second, you can track your weekly, monthly, yearly and total mileage.  Since I became a runner, I have always been interested in how many miles I'm racking up every week.  I keep track in a paper log for my own future reference.  But it's fun to see the miles stacking up and look back over the past few months to see what you've accomplished.  Additionally, they have recently added a "gear tracking" option where you can keep track of the mileage on your shoes or whatever (I'm tracking my shoe mileage because I tend to wear them out pretty fast).  You can also join challenges with other people around the country who may not even be within your social circle on Daily Mile. 

Third, you can post all of your data to other social media sites like Twitter and Facebook and share with others what you're doing. 

Finally... and maybe the best part... all of this is free.  And it syncs with Garmin Connect, which is what I use to track all of my runs.

So... go... get an account! It's super-easy to set one up.  And after you've set one up, add me! I'm HERE.

Keep running friends!
Jim

 


Disclaimer (if you're into that sort of thing): Jim is not a professional runner nor is this blog endorsed by any company.  These thoughts are merely the thoughts and experiences on one runner.  What works and what doesn't work from a practical level.  Jim hasn't set any records, but he's run a few races (Marathon: 4h 22m / Half-Marathon: 2h 3m / 5k: 22m 57s) and he's been around the block! 


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