How long will it take for high mileage to kick in?

40-50 miles a week isn't high. Haile Gebresslie ran 75 + miles a week growing up running to school and to the market.

All of this depends on what you did before the summer began. Quality, variety, recovery, nutrition, etc. all matter.

If you ran 40-50 miles per week all at the same pace that's a mistake.

Also race strategy matters. Plus once you have overtrained it can take a lot of time to get back to where you where.

Bill Bowerman made one of his top runners drop to three mile runs daily. He had teammates spying on the guy to make

sure he never did more than three mile runs. After a month he dropped his two mile time by a minute.

Consistency is important, but that does not tell the whole picture. You must also have reasonable progression and

some logic to your training. Did you work on speed during the summer...

Frustrated Frank wrote:

40-50mpw

Should I drop more mileage?

lol

Feeling good and sharp is more important then anything. You put in this work to run fast right?

I would cut your milage hard.

Also, kudos on putting in the work this summer. Stay smart and you'll have a great senior year.

Word of advice, listen to your coach and don't drop your mileage until the last 3-4 weeks into your most important race so that the drop combined with sharpening workouts will get you ready to move. Patience your grasshopper

Coming from an olympic trials qualifier.

Don't drop your mileage simply because you are not getting immediate results. Its about constancy. You only want to drop mileage once you are sharpening up for your most important race. So possible the last 3-4 weeks. It could also be that you are simply going to hard in your workouts and easy runs. Make sure you stay to your workout paces, don't force paces and that you are recovering right with 8min miles. No need for faster on your easy runs but always do strides after easy runs to have that pop in your legs. I wish you the best!

Stick to it wrote:

Coming from an olympic trials qualifier.

Don't drop your mileage simply because you are not getting immediate results. Its about constancy. You only want to drop mileage once you are sharpening up for your most important race. So possible the last 3-4 weeks. It could also be that you are simply going to hard in your workouts and easy runs. Make sure you stay to your workout paces, don't force paces and that you are recovering right with 8min miles. No need for faster on your easy runs but always do strides after easy runs to have that pop in your legs. I wish you the best!

Responses like this restore hope for this board. I wasn't the OP, but I appreciate feedback from elites who actually recognize the process. Respect!

Another giver of +1 wrote:

40-50 miles a week isn't high. Haile Gebresslie ran 75 + miles a week growing up running to school and to the market.

Nonsense. We all know that all East Africans run at least 75 miles every day, and that it´s uphill both to and from school.

I would also like to thank the "elite" who responded with their thoughts. Most of us started reading posts in hopes of gaining insights into training. It's a shame that some of those same people who came here looking for help are posting obnoxious things. Let's Run can be a valuable site for runners looking for advice and it's always refreshing to see knowledgeable coaches and elite runners giving advice.

Stick to it wrote:

Coming from an olympic trials qualifier.

yeah sure

What did you run last year. What are your track times?

It's impossible to tell with what you gave. Maybe 18:50 is about as good as it gets for you.

And, BTW, 40-50 mpw is not high mileage. You are still a low mileage runner.

"Mileage" is only one part of the equation. You can't simply run lots of miles during distance runs and hope to be fast. Distance runs target slow-twitch muscle fibers--not all your slow-twitch fibers, but about 75-80% of them. They don't do almost anything for intermediate fast-twitch and fast-twitch fibers, both of which are recruited heavily during 3 mile/5K cross country racing. In other words, you can train 40-50 miles per week and still have a huge percentage of important muscle fibers remain untrained. To train those fibers (and the energy systems that supply them), you need VO2 max reps (3K- & 5K-paced reps), tempo, hill reps, and the racing you're currently doing. If you didn't do any of that type of training during the summer, then you entered the season without proper background training. You can expect it to take a little longer to hit fast times. It's not about dropping mileage--since "mileage" isn't your primary concern. Your primary concern is correct training that targets all your muscle fibers, the nervous system pathways that control them, and your energy systems. Do that training, then add up the miles afterward--it'll probably be pretty good "mileage," but it's an afterthought to the process itself.

I don't personally disagree with any of what you wrote, but can you reconcile your advice with people who say with equal conviction that what matters is high easy mileage? "I was on a plateau until I went to 100mpw, all easy, and the increase in aerobic fitness knocked 2 minutes off my 10K" - that type of thing. The people who say that are in exactly the situation you describe as being inadequate. Yet they view it as the holy grail. Running seems made up of two diametrically opposed camps.

Slow down on your recovery days, make them actual recovery days. Your workouts and races will tax your legs plenty, sounds like you need to get fresh legs. Treat your easy days as long warm-ups.

is that low im being serious im a new guy i only get about 35

Mountainmandan73 wrote:

is that low im being serious im a new guy i only get about 35

Anyone without serious disabilities can run at least 100mpw. It's all about motivation and commitment.

not always wrote:

I don't personally disagree with any of what you wrote, but can you reconcile your advice with people who say with equal conviction that what matters is high easy mileage? "I was on a plateau until I went to 100mpw, all easy, and the increase in aerobic fitness knocked 2 minutes off my 10K" - that type of thing. The people who say that are in exactly the situation you describe as being inadequate. Yet they view it as the holy grail. Running seems made up of two diametrically opposed camps.

There is actually an argument to be made for high volume based on muscle fiber types, namely that in a long run, you exhaust your slow-twitch fibers first, forcing your body to recruit intermediate and fast-twitch fibers to keep going. So you train your fast-twitch muscles, but without the injury risk of fast-pace work. I'll let others comment on the physiological validity, but there's not necessarily the contradiction that you perceive.

always nice to see wrote:

Stick to it wrote:

Coming from an olympic trials qualifier.

Don't drop your mileage simply because you are not getting immediate results. Its about constancy. You only want to drop mileage once you are sharpening up for your most important race. So possible the last 3-4 weeks. It could also be that you are simply going to hard in your workouts and easy runs. Make sure you stay to your workout paces, don't force paces and that you are recovering right with 8min miles. No need for faster on your easy runs but always do strides after easy runs to have that pop in your legs. I wish you the best!

Responses like this restore hope for this board. I wasn't the OP, but I appreciate feedback from elites who actually recognize the process. Respect!

This is what makes LetsRun special. We can reach out for help and qualified elites can answer.

Wish there was a board monitor that could delete stupid comments and actually get this site back to its intended purpose. Some responses on other threads I wouldn't want high school kids seeing.

Stick to it wrote:

olympic trials qualifier.

#MeToo