....and I was RUNNING...

I just started running outside on Tuesday. I have been on the elliptical all winter so my endurance is good. I ran a mile on Tueday, yesterday and plan to run one tonight as well. Am I running too much? Should I give myself a break in between days or am okay considering I am only running a mile at a time. I run a mile with my dog so I am not going too fast but I also don't want to tire my puppy out either by going further. Should I run the first mile, drop him off back at home and then run a second mile and then take the next day off? I am confused and need advise from a seasoned runner. :) Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, V

A mile a day is certainly not too much (based on your fitness level).  As long as you aren't in pain - and just sore doesn't count - you can run a mile a day for a long time.

I run or bike 5-7 days a week in addition to my strength training, and when I run do anything from 2-4 miles.  As long as you aren't pushing yourself too hard in that one mile, you should be fine running it several days in a row.

All that said, mixing it up a little bit and doing some interval work helps build up your cardio health and will help you improve the speed at which you can do one mile.  If your goals involve doing some extended running, then you want to slowly add to the distance you run at one time, even if you need to add some walking in.

I run with my dog and absolutely love it (most days), but he's a big lab/greyhound mix so he loves to run and 3 miles is nothing for him...

I'm going to be the voice of caution here. While your body might have endurance from the elliptical all winter, your tendons and ligaments are not going to be used to the pounding. Running a mile might not seem like much--10 minutes or so, depending on your fitness level and speed, but it's putting a lot of pressure on your joints.

You might want to run every other day for the first few weeks or so, otherwise you might risk shin splints.

I general rule I've read is to only increase your distance (total distance and length of your longest run) by 10% per week and to decrease by 25% every 4th week for recovery.

And are you running with a dog or a puppy? I believe that running on pavement can cause problems in puppy's joints as they develop.  If its an adult dog take it for the whole run, tired dogs behave much better.

Thanks guys!  I didn't run with Bronx last night.  I don't want his little joints to develop poorly.  I will just have to take him for his own walk. 

Yeah...be careful how fast you increase.  Like you, I was an elliptical girl for quite awhile, and then when I finally lost enough weight, I started running.  I increased pretty stinking quickly (from 0 to running 6 days/week anywhere from 4-10 miles in about 4 or 5 mos) and stress fractured my pelvic bone.  Good times!  So 6 mos later, I'm finally able to start running again...every other day only, and am only allowed to increase 1/2 mile every 2 weeks.  So yeah...even if you feel good, be a bit careful.  :)

One mile is certainly not too much...particularly not every other day....but be really aware of your body telling you it's had too much.