Hi Ana,

So, it looks like you are running between 15 and 25 miles per week right now. That's a good start!

The first thing that I would suggest is to get some consistency in your schedule. Make those 1-2 and 2-3 times a week 2 times a week and 3 times a week so you are running 5 days a week. Run those same distances 5 days a week for 2 week, then take an extra day off the third week. Go back to 5 days on the 4th and 5th week. 4 days for week 6.

Now, starting at week 7, you'll be ready to increase your mileage. You'll hear "increase by 10% a week" thrown around, but that's misleading. 10% increase every week adds up fast. I prefer to increase by 10% to 15%, hold for 2 weeks, then step back a bit for the third week before increasing again for two weeks. See the pattern here?

So, let's say you are at 25 miles per week. Your progression may look like this

25
28
28
26
31
31
28
35
35


The classic definition of a tempo run, as written by Jack Daniels (Daniels Running Formula) is a 20 minute run at Lactate Threshold pace. This pace is, roughly defined, as the pace at which you can run and maintain for about 60 minutes. For some people, this is close to 10K pace. For others, it is closer to Half Marathon pace.

This is a great resource for training plans, determining training paces and definition of terms.

http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/index.php/calcUsage/calculate

I agree with Carson on the increase time frame. I finished my 1st half in July and gradually increased my long runs. I kept my runs during the week down to 3-4 miles 2 times per week, and the long runs increased by 10% and held that for a couple of weeks before increasing again. There are a ton of running schedules you can follow to help increase your long run miles. Good Luck!