How would you train a (semi-)talented injury-prone 5k runner on just 50mpw?

I coached a runner down to 14,07 on only 110 km/week. It was absolutely impossible to raise his mileage without injuries. We could, however, raise the intensity to rather high levels witout injuries. I´m not talking about hammering repeats on the track (we never trained on the track - he would get injured in no time if we did). We did 2 formal workouts every week on a flat dirt road: on session of intervals and one stamina session (30 minute tempo runs or stuff like 3X10 minutes).

Then we would have some sort of light quality in 3 of his easy runs. It could be 2 km hard in the end or finish off with 4x200 hill reps or something similar.

What injuries and how are you increasing mileage?

well,, wrote:

I coached a runner down to 14,07 on only 110 km/week. It was absolutely impossible to raise his mileage without injuries. We could, however, raise the intensity to rather high levels witout injuries. I´m not talking about hammering repeats on the track (we never trained on the track - he would get injured in no time if we did). We did 2 formal workouts every week on a flat dirt road: on session of intervals and one stamina session (30 minute tempo runs or stuff like 3X10 minutes).

Was it the hard surface of the track that was tearing him up?

It's not me, but a guy in the same running group as me, who is getting increasingly frustrated with the whole training-injury cycle and not being able to reach his potential (which we believe to be at least sub 15)

All of his injuries are tendinitis on different tendons (achillis, foot, ... always lower leg), usually taking him out for 4-6 weeks.

Over the past 3 years he has tried increasing mileage in almost every way you can think of:

- nothing but really easy mileage: 8:00 pace, slowly upping mileage like adding 3 mpw

- using up & down weeks: e.g. 50mpw-55-50-60-53-63-50-65- ...injury

- ...

His limit seems to be around 60mpw with 50mpw being truly safe.

Some of his other PR's are a 4'11" - 1500m and 53'30" - 10miles; so he's definitely a distance-type runner

short but quality 2 track sessions. 1) 1200 repeats x 3 at 5k pace. with 30-40 min cool down 2) 300 repeats x 6 at mile pace with 30-40 min cool down.. 3 workouts on bike or in pool. 1 race or short tempo run on weekend or 60 min run at good pace. sunday off.

build up phase is just replacing workouts with tempo run and hill repeats.

Hayduke wrote:

short but quality 2 track sessions. 1) 1200 repeats x 3 at 5k pace. with 30-40 min cool down 2) 300 repeats x 6 at mile pace with 30-40 min cool down.. 3 workouts on bike or in pool. 1 race or short tempo run on weekend or 60 min run at good pace. sunday off.

build up phase is just replacing workouts with tempo run and hill repeats.

add on. so keep mileage below 40 mpw, pool running is prefered over biking and keep those at around 60-70 min per session.

I would not give up. Lower leg injuries are usually due to imbalances higher up in the kinetic chain. You need to get it analyzed by a PT who knows what they are doing. You need to focus on prehab for this runner.

I dropped my 5k-1/2 marathon times dramatically over the last three or so years, and I am one of said extremely injury prone runners. I can't seem to run over 40-50 (fifty miles is an amazing week for me) without significant injuries, no amount of strengthening, stretching or visits to biomechanists have ever really yielded any better results. It's just is how it is. And I'm not talking little things like tendinitis that you ice a bit and it's gone, but soft tissue, bone and sometimes cartilage injuries that take months to heal. I have a healthy diet, am structurally sound, have adequate biomechanics and very low BMI, but after several frustrating years of constant injury trying to maintain a modest 50-60 mpw, I eventually decided to experiment. Now I run roughly 35-40 mpw consistently throughout the year but I tack on 8-10 hrs a week of intense cross training. By intense I mean my heart rate is roughly what it would be in a tempo run, sometimes higher, and it stays there for 60 mins-2 hrs per session. This could be on a stationary bike, on the elliptical, or in the pool. I just make it hard, no piddling around. So no, I can't run the volume I want, but the workload is ultimately quite high. Is it perfect? Nope. But I'm running a hell of a lot better than I did when I was trying to run more miles. Sometimes you just have to compromise and work with what you have and stop fighting the body, there is more than one way to skin a cat.

A very easy answer! You just set up the runner for DANCAN-system with training 5-6 sessions per week. Will not take

long time before improvement without injury:

www.coachjs.se

Alan Webb says he rarely ran over 65 miles per week and he did pretty well for himself. Spent a lot of time in the pool doing pretty high intensity stuff.

Bernard Lagat says he never ran a whole lot more than 60 and I'm not sure he did much cross training at all.

So, clearly lots of ways to be fast without running crazy mileage if you are the right type of athlete

Was he still improving before you wanted to up his mileage?

He ran 16'07" in his first 5000m after 9 months of training, that was also his last 5k of the season since summer season (europe) was over. He then ran 2 10K's, the first in about 34', the second 2 weeks later in 33'20".

Next up was the winter cross country season, and like most other runners, this period was going to be used to build a base: mostly easy mileage, 60-70 mpw and a xc race every 3-4 weeks.

Up to that moment all he had done was 40-50 mpw with 2 hard workouts a week.

Something like this:

T: 60' easy

W: 4 x 1000m @3k pace R. 3' jog

T: 45' easy

F: 45' easy

S: 60' easy

S: 10 x 300m uphill @mile pace "feeling" R. easy jog back down

M: /

*oops pressed submit to early

... So we can't really know if he had continued to improve if we hadn't upped the mileage (which led to his first injury 3-4 weeks later)

If a runner hasn't improved for 2 years, I understand he wants to try something different. But why change a program that is clearly working?