I started running more consistently to improve my cardio. In the past I mostly used to run to prepare for 5Ks, but besides that I never made a habit of running. That changed last month. Last month I ran the most I’ve ever run in a single month, hit my personal best mile time, and my best two-mile time. I ran a total of about 26 miles and my best mile time was 8:38 (average of 2 miles).

Yesterday I hit another personal best mile time of 8:21.

Here are some things I’ve learned over the past month:

• Stride length matters a lot. I’m 5’7” and wear 32” inseam pants, so I proportionally have longer legs. I learned I can run a lot faster when I can loosen up my legs and make bigger strides.
• Stretch before and after running. I’m not so good at stretching after.
• Do different kinds of runs. I can’t try to hit a PR on every run. I mix things up with some easy runs, and some interval runs. For interval runs I try to hit 9 mph for 30 to 60 seconds at a time, and then walk for a bit.

My goal this month is to hit 50 miles. As of June 6 I already ran 12 miles (2 miles a day). I need to run 19 more times. Seems doable, considering I run almost everyday now. The chart also shows my pace is improving about 7 seconds a day, so I think I should be able to get down to an 8 minute mile too.