Nick Willis 10 hour training week - low mileage

I read that this morning and was going to post it here. First thing I thought was that there are a lot of guys on LR that could use this cold dose of reality.

First of all, that only adds up to 9 hours. Second, how is he only getting 10-12 miles in on his 2 hour workout days? Presumably there is a lot of sitting around or standing rest, so does this really count as 2 hours of running? Suppose during those two hours he is only running for 90 minutes (at best), now we are down to 8 hours a week of training.

Maybe this type of schedule will work for an aging super talent like Willis (then again maybe not), but I don't think this is an ideal schedule for the majority of people looking to get faster.

"I have removed the two to three 30-minute secondary runs I used to do in order to top-up my weekly mileage, and this has greatly opened my days to focus on my studies or family activities. What real fitness gain was I getting from a few extra jogs anyway? Now I have more recovery time to give me spring for my sprint training." - Nick Willis

This was pretty much the attitude of US runners in the '90s. We all know how that turned out.

so he works 10 hours a week.

I think that some of this has to be taken with a grain of salt.

Firstly, you're talking about a mega-talent that has already run in three Olympics and races a distance that lasts less then 4 minutes. He would be the first to tell you that it takes different areas of emphasis to train for different events. Obviously his training would not work for the 10k, etc.

Secondly, he's been at a long time, he's 30 years old. He has a huge bank built-up of training. You're talking about a guy who can run 4:00 miles in his sleep. He has literally come off of injuries and been under 4:00 in 2-3 weeks time.

Lastly, you have to look at how the thinking applies to what you do. Everyone has different needs. There is no magic formula. And truthfully you don't need a gym to do core work or many resistance-type strengthening exercises. Heck you don't even need a track (go visit Kenya) to do speed work.

Again, I think a lot of this has to be taken with a grain of salt. Willis could work 1/2 as hard as 95% of the college runners out there and still be beating them. His genetics are off the charts, you don't run 3:30 for 1500m unless you were born with the tools to do so. His brother was also a sub 4:00 miler as well.

More to the story wrote:

Heck you don't even need a track (go visit Kenya) to do speed work.

They certainly have a track in Iten where most of the Kenyans train. They're even building a new one now.

Looks more like 70 miles to me. With an 18 mile long run, is that really that low for a miler?

Ah yeah I've been to Kenya, Iten, Eldoret, etc. the "tracks" are dirt. So basically go run on a dirt road, same thing.

And to clarify I wasn't saying his training wouldn't work to run a 10k, just not at the same level he competes at for the 1500m, etc. The guy has obviously run xc in the past and road races, he won the Manchester Road Race one year and has run under 13:30 for 5000m a couple times.

That seems like decent mileage for a miler. I don't think there are that many milers that do much more than that.

That's more than 60 miles/ week.

He's a miler for crying out loud.

If anything, look at how much "easy running" is there

Strength = Speed

Plus, what phase are we talking about? Base? Competition?

30% of his mileage for the week happens within a 2 hour window. seems a bit extreme.

he has so much depth already from the past that this doesn't apply to most. likely, he will do really well off of this sort of training for about 1-2 years, and then run into a wall if he doesn't go back and put high mileage in for a few years.

You guys are just looking at the training and ignoring the other part where he talks about balance in his life.

I read these threads where folks obsess on their diet, their 2 a days, have their threashold run pace down to the second (OMG it was 2 clicks too fast!) etc..

We just need to relax a bit.

I really like the idea of keeping things simple and cutting out the "fluff", but I disagree on a couple things. I would not call 30 min morning runs "fluff". In my own experience I feel that they have made me a better runner in terms of loosening my legs for an afternoon workout and adding a bit of mileage (which I think helps cut weight and even at this small amount makes running economy better).

Second, even most elites need to run more miles than this to be at their best. Perhaps at 1500m it's easier to get away with, but then again Willis has majorly struggled through the rounds. I expect that to continue seeing his training.

Will Willis run well off this? Probably. Will he be as good as he could be? Probably not.

100 mpw at an average 6:00 pace is, guess what, 10 hours of running per week.

Nick has been doing the 6 days per week plan most of his career since he arrived in Ann Arbor. He's talked about that in the past a lot.

I think all he's really trying to say with this updated schedule is that he's cutting out the extra/double runs that he's added over the years, and instead putting that mileage on the end of what used to be his long runs/long quality work. He's strong enough to where he can do that now. This gives him the benefit of the extra work while keeping his trademark recovery plan.

As a few mentioned, yes, his mileage is very solid for a true miler. I would say that his different approach is simply more frequent rest, and longer single runs/workouts, then most milers.

Awesome discussion everyone. Thanks for the input.

this training cycle will work for 99% of runners out there inc. 14 min 5k / 28 min 10k types.

If you're talented enough to be in a position to challenge for a medal or a world marathon majors win. then you'll need some doubles.

might be wejo wrote:

"I have removed the two to three 30-minute secondary runs I used to do in order to top-up my weekly mileage, and this has greatly opened my days to focus on my studies or family activities. What real fitness gain was I getting from a few extra jogs anyway? Now I have more recovery time to give me spring for my sprint training." - Nick Willis

This was pretty much the attitude of US runners in the '90s. We all know how that turned out.

This is sad. If he was only running TWO 30-minute runs per week, then he was running low mileage before anyway, and not training at a world-class level.

I realize that it is "working" for him, but nobody should hold this up as an example of correct training. If he needs to "open up" his days for his studies, there are 8 hours between sessions anyway.

The last pro runner I saw training this light was Marc Davis. At least it is clear to me now why he was so comparatively bad at 5k.