More to the point, it should be total time on the feet, not volume of miles. So, a person running two hours per day might only be at 100 mpw initially but move to 140-150 quite naturally as they get fitter. And it shouldn’t increase injury risk. It’s all about adaptation and adding increased stress over time. See one Mark Nenow…
Do the math and that's impossible. 2 hours/day for 100 mpw = 8:24/mi; @ 140 = 6:00/mi. I found I got a lot faster going from 70 to 100 mpw, but my average pace barely budged. To get up to 140 you're going to have to intentionally run a lot more, no way around it.
Oh my goodness! To run 140 mpw you're going to have to run more? Ar 6:00 pace? Thats impossible!
Do the math and that's impossible. 2 hours/day for 100 mpw = 8:24/mi; @ 140 = 6:00/mi. I found I got a lot faster going from 70 to 100 mpw, but my average pace barely budged. To get up to 140 you're going to have to intentionally run a lot more, no way around it.
Oh my goodness! To run 140 mpw you're going to have to run more? Ar 6:00 pace? Thats impossible!
Do you think someone who is running 8:24 pace for 100mpw will eventually be able to handle 140mpw at 6:00 pace?
More to the point, it should be total time on the feet, not volume of miles. So, a person running two hours per day might only be at 100 mpw initially but move to 140-150 quite naturally as they get fitter. And it shouldn’t increase injury risk. It’s all about adaptation and adding increased stress over time. See one Mark Nenow…
Do the math and that's impossible. 2 hours/day for 100 mpw = 8:24/mi; @ 140 = 6:00/mi. I found I got a lot faster going from 70 to 100 mpw, but my average pace barely budged. To get up to 140 you're going to have to intentionally run a lot more, no way around it.
I’m just making a point. I ran twice as much by the time I was a senior in college as I did in high school. But, progressing from say 90 as a soph in college to 110 mpw as a senior didn’t really involve more “time on my feet” and my pace steadily got faster as my fitness improved. I had many “easy” runs near 6:00 pace. If you continued for many years, your average pace would fall.
Most people who move to that kind of mileage do so because they are not even close to those times. High mileage will get people far, but there is a narrow crossover between those who are talented enough to run 14/29 but need 140 mpw to reach those goals. Ie if you're getting close on 100 mpw, you probably stay there and don't risk injury - you move up when you're nowhere near or when you're no longer improving.
You and I travel in different circles. My peers move up to become competitive at the next higher levels. Mostly, they achieve at those levels.
Right. Because you are not at the next level. When I moved up to the 120-140 range (I only managed to healthily hold 140 for like half a year), it was because I wanted to compete with the guys a bit faster than me. From 140, those who are finally world class probably stay there, and those who are not might go up to 150, 160, or even higher if they can stay healthy and really have a fire to run a good marathon (or possibly shorter distance like 10k). Eventually an athlete reaches the point where the risk of injury is too great to add more and more mileage.
A lot of distance runners prob can average 140, some prob will be more consistent around 100. At 20 miles a day, you need to be really cognizant of rest and recovery, because a few runs going south can quickly lead to injury.
I spent this past Spring running 115-125 on six day weeks at altitude. I was training for the marathon but my 5k-10k range developed a lot. I didn't run a 10k but during that training window I went from about 29:20 fitness to 28:30 fitness.
Also, I think that my mileage was less crucial for my fitness gain compared to my elevation gain. I was consistently getting 5000-6000 feet of elevation gain every week. I would actively try to get 700-1000 feet on every easy run
I don't know about anyone else, but my mileage went way up because of covid. Had a couple low weeks when I was staying inside and just running on the treadmill, but then it was deemed safe to go outside and I started WFHing, and I ran more than ever before. Turns out not having a commute, and not having to do things like put on pants, makes it a lot easier to run a lot more. I averaged 130mpw for the summer, felt great when I dropped down to 90-100 for the winter, and then we were forced to come back into the office and since then I've felt a lot worse running half as much.
Everyone's milage went up during covid. I was just pointing out that we had no way of knowing 5 years ago that the 2020 Olympics would be postponed for a year.
I spent this past Spring running 115-125 on six day weeks at altitude. I was training for the marathon but my 5k-10k range developed a lot. I didn't run a 10k but during that training window I went from about 29:20 fitness to 28:30 fitness.
Also, I think that my mileage was less crucial for my fitness gain compared to my elevation gain. I was consistently getting 5000-6000 feet of elevation gain every week. I would actively try to get 700-1000 feet on every easy run
Good job man. Has to be a great feeling seeing your training pay off, even for the shorter distances. I would say both your bump in mileage and the elevation gain helped. Those are each great stimuli.
I know a kid a who wakes up at 6:30am does 10 miles at 8min pace = 1:20ish minutes. Goes to work gets back home and does another runs 10miles a 6pm at 8min =1:20ish minutes, he still manages to do 3 workouts a week and 20 Mile long run.