Tracy's Running Program Questions??

This post tonight is just from Tracy. Blake is involved in a serious game on xBox...so he says hi, but that's all he has time for. He's a busy guy, what can I say!

So I've been doing really well running between 4-5 miles a day since early February, but it's starting to get a little boring and I want to try to incorporate intervals into my runs. I printed out a few sample programs that I'm going to try.... but where I get confused is, how many days a week should I run? (I'm currently running 6 days a week) And also, how many of those days should be long runs and how many of the days should be interval runs? Also, is it better to run really fast for shorts periods of time or run at a more steady, comfortable pace for longer periods?

ELICIA GRAVES you are expected to comment on here and give me your advice since you are one of the main marathon running gurus I know. Or I guess I could just ask you when I see you on Saturday.... I also wanted to ask Nikki, another running guru, but I don't have her e-mail address and am not sure if she knows about or reads our blog!

Any answers will be much appreciated, as well as any other fun running and exercising tips!

P.S. I know there are a lot of people out there reading our blog because we get asked about our posts all the time by many different people.... but yet hardly anyone chooses to comment which makes Blake and I look like real losers! So be sure to comment if you see something that intrigues, perplexes, astonishes, flabbergasts, infuriates, or flat-out bores you. We won't take it personally!!