High mileage doesn’t work for everyone

Finance Bro wrote:

I’m with you. But, all things being equal, more volume will generally lead to better results particularly at longer distances 5k and up. For milers, high mileage is not necessary although you could argue this isn’t true anymore as the best in the world run very high mileage, eg Jakob.

I tend to not be able to handle more than about 70 mpw as any more than this and I start to feel tired, lethargic, and unproductive in my life outside running which I can’t really afford to do. However, I really believe that if most people SLOWED DOWN on their easy runs, they could handle a lot more volume than they realize, perhaps up to and more than 100 mpw. Look at the Japanese system. LOTS and LOTS of really slow jogging at 8+ minutes per mile and one or two quality sessions per week, typically around 200 km/week total or 120 miles. They have troves of sub-2:08 marathoners, so they must be doing something right. I’m also aware of at least two runners in my area who adopted the Japanese approach, slowed down on their easy runs (often as slow as 9-10 minutes/mile) and built up to 100 miles/week, and ran OTQs with time to spare.

better than blogsnark wrote:

Finance Bro wrote:

I’m with you. But, all things being equal, more volume will generally lead to better results particularly at longer distances 5k and up. For milers, high mileage is not necessary although you could argue this isn’t true anymore as the best in the world run very high mileage, eg Jakob.

I tend to not be able to handle more than about 70 mpw as any more than this and I start to feel tired, lethargic, and unproductive in my life outside running which I can’t really afford to do. However, I really believe that if most people SLOWED DOWN on their easy runs, they could handle a lot more volume than they realize, perhaps up to and more than 100 mpw. Look at the Japanese system. LOTS and LOTS of really slow jogging at 8+ minutes per mile and one or two quality sessions per week, typically around 200 km/week total or 120 miles. They have troves of sub-2:08 marathoners, so they must be doing something right. I’m also aware of at least two runners in my area who adopted the Japanese approach, slowed down on their easy runs (often as slow as 9-10 minutes/mile) and built up to 100 miles/week, and ran OTQs with time to spare.

Can you use the scaled Japanese approach for slower runners and still get success? Say even just doing months and months (6-8) of 50-60 MPW slow (instead of 100-120), maybe 1 threshold workout a week, the rest EZ, long run, etc.

Sub14GuyWith250kSalaryAndASmokingHotWife wrote:

my two pennies wrote:

There’s a lot wrong with this post, scientifically and otherwise. But this statement really struck me. Running is all about the long-term goals, the ultimate achievements, truly testing what your body can do. If you’re not willing to sacrifice something, there’s no real personal reward. And the more you sacrifice, the greater the reward. If you can’t understand that, you might not be cut out to be a distance runner.

I ran very poorly in college in part due to high mileage constantly breaking me down and not being able to prioritize running over school. Had I cut my mileage in half, I could have enjoyed moderate success for four years. At least run faster than I did in high school. But instead I forced myself into 90-100 mpw and never had a good race. Of course, I’m not blaming high mileage for my failure. I’m just saying I’d rather have those four years back and do things differently. I don’t give a flying f*ck if those miles are helping me now as an older runner. I’d rather be helping my college team in the moment.

Also this was purely an opinion post. Nothing scientific!