Increasing your jogging mileage improves your stamina and makes the workout more challenging by pushing your body more each time you jog. Gradual increases in your distance help avoid injury and overworking the body. Creating a jogging plan that allows you to increase your mileage gradually also enables you to get closer to your long-term jogging goals, such as completing a longer race like a 10K or a half-marathon. Make adjustments to your jogging plan as needed based on how your body feels or any setbacks like injuries.
Step 1
Track your jogging miles for a week to get an exact measure of how much you are currently running. Keep a daily log and a weekly total to determine how it breaks down.
Step 2
Feel for signs you are ready to increase your mileage. This might include feeling that your usual runs are getting easier, stronger muscles, easier breathing as you jog or a general stronger feeling as you complete your runs. Use these signs as an indicator of when you need an increase in your mileage.
Step 3
Calculate a weekly mileage increase of 10 percent over your current mileage. For example, if you are currently jogging 15 miles per week, the 10 percent increase adds 1.5 miles, for a weekly total of 16.5 miles. Increase only by this amount to allow your body to adjust gradually for a lowered risk of injury.
Step 4
Divide the increase amount by the number of runs you do in the typical week. For example, if you typically run three times per week, you would add an additional half mile to each run to get to your 1.5-mile increase for the week.
Step 5
Jog at the new weekly mileage for two to three weeks before increasing your distance again. Continue following the 10-percent increase rate as you build up your distance. Cut back if the new mileage totals are too strenuous on your body.
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