Parker Valby/Natalie Cook - what am I missing?

No. I am saying that they they should run more. Tuohy should run 5 minute pace on her easy days because shse sould get another 2 miles in per week. If she ran between intervals, she could get another few miles in. Then she should eliminate strength training and replace it with running because that would give her another 20 miles per week. Her coach must be an idiot to not increase her mileage to 125 MPW. This isn't the 1930s.

I like how "injury-prone" runners, who can't train as hard as others, are nonetheless the fastest. So if Valby could have run more and cross-trained less she should could have run an 18.30? (A converted 14.30 5k).

Parker was a high mileage runner in HS and never reached phenom status during that time. Her times in HS were no better than a lot of top D1 runners.

Cook ran normal HS miles and then dropped miles / started X training, reaching phenom times her senior year. Prior to that she was not ranked that high. Her dad (coach) has interviewed about it, and how surprised they were by the success of her cross training. Her mom (pro runner) decided that 40 mpw was too much given her injury risk profile and they dropped her mileage down to 20-25. Her big improvements / phenom times happened only after reducing miles and cross training 6 days a week / running 4.

Perhaps you could tell us how this worked for you - since Tuohy is obviously not as successful as she should be, on the inadequate training she does.

Looks like Lydiard and the coaches who followed got it all wrong. The treadmill is obviously the answer to peak achievement. American HS runners have just proved it.

But PED's also tend to show as "exceptional talent" - and especially with exceptional improvement in an otherwise good but not outstanding athlete.

I thought that was what you were saying. Haven't you been saying that more running makes runners faster? Are you now saying that less running makes them faster? Which is it? Ig you stik to one position, we can all have a logical discussion. It seems that you are saying less running is better for Tuohy but less running for others makes them slower unless they cheat.

Do you have a few examples? It seems to me that eveyoe who has doped, it was at a point when their performance had leveled off and they were trying to squeeze that last 1% out.

I didn't say Tuohy is doing less running. I have seen no suggestion that is the case.

Yes. Every Tuohy fan has made it clear that she does strength training. This is no secret. She cross trains by doing strength training. So instead of spending those 3 hours each week doing that, she could stop strength training and replce it with running those 3 hours which would give her another 25 miles. Isn't running better? Why does her coach not use every availble minute of training on running instead of supplementing with other things?

You don't know everyone who has doped, since very few are caught. Only 1-2% of tests return a positive. I take the view that with the prevalence of doping in sport that the best at the professional level are probably doping - and not because they had reached a natural limit and wrte looking for something extra. Some of those caught doping were world champions and world record holders. Hence, I would say all the world records are doped. I would expect there is less doping at the NCAA and amateur level because there is less at stake. But doping will still be present. Many athletes - at any level - will do whatever they can to succeed.

Agreed.

You should have told Herb Elliott that. He, too, hit the gym. But he still ran - and a lot of it. Running is also about strength and not just endurance.

So you have zero evidence to support your claim that large gains are when an athlete doped instead of when they made small gains to keep improving? Most of the dopers I know had made their lare gains and then doped to squeeze the last little bit of juice out.

Not me. I think every runner has a differnt level of training and mix of cross training that is optimal. Tuohy runs much less than world class runners. Valby runs less than Tuohy. Is Tuohy doping whihc is the reason that she does cross trainnig and doesn't do the same mileage as world class runners? You don't seem to want to answer the questions? Is more running better or not?

So how many dopers do you know?

If more running isn't better than not the world records of the '30's would still stand.

So were athletes in the 30's doing a lot of eliptical training?

You talk in circles and never answer. So Tuohy is poorly coached for not running more? She should run 3morehours per week and ditch the lifting if more running is better. She should do what the best do which is 125 MPW.