From 10k to 15k. When is it OK?

[Skyeboy]

I'm the guy who couldn't run to the end of the driveway 5 months ago. I started with a slow 5k run then sped it up. Up until a couple of weeks ago I usually ran 7k 6X a week (plus my regular gym workout 3X a week) but I recently broke my personal barrier and now I'm running 10k 3X a week. I dunno what happened but running longer distances just seems to work for me. I haven't been running 10k that long (couple of weeks) but I feel like I wanna go farther already. I'd like to do a regular 15k but is this OK or am I getting ahead of myself? Should I stick with 10k for a few weeks before I bump it up to 15k? I know I can go farther.

The only down side I can think of is dehydration. I hate drinking water while on a run. I always wait till I get home.

Opinions?

[pliny_2001]

I'll usually do sprints over a longer run (and I'm on a track, so water's never more than 400m away) but when I do put down a 10k I don't carry water around with me (but I'm not doing them in the middle of the day, either).

I don't have any experience over 10k, but you might want to weigh yourself before and after to find out how much water you're actually losing during the run.

[RunningMan27]

I like to run longer runs when I get out there. Based on your rapid improvement, I think you will be okay.

Part of the reason I typically don't require water / fluids on my longer runs (5 miles +) is that I drink a lot of water throughout the day - usually in the neighborhood of 80-100 ounces plus any other fluids like juice or milk. I drink maybe 24 ounces before lunch and 25-36 ounces after lunch. By the time I go for a run I have another glass of water and a few afterwards.

This allows me to drink a full glass of water before I head out there and I am usually not affected that much until the final .5 mile or so. It takes me a couple of glasses of water / fluid afterwards to keep from getting dehydrated after my run and I typically recover fairly quickly.

I completely understand not wanting to carry anything with you while you run. Any additional gear is a hassle to deal with.

I hope that helps...

[homeydogg]

Carrying something becomes second nature after a few weeks. I'm an old fat man who churns 8 miles/day @ 8 minutes/mile so I need to keep hydrated. I throw 24oz bottles of water in the freezer (old Diet Coke bottles with the screw-on caps). Carrying one on my run is no big deal. The first half mile I need to change hands every few seconds, but then it's hardly noticeable. The heat from my hand melts the ice, the chill from the ice fractionally cools the blood in the hands, it's a win/win situation. The water stays cold and the ice melts quick enough that there's enough to quench my thirst.