There is a big difference between Josh and Cam. Cam, despite the mileage, doesn't seem quite obsessed as Josh. He seems more level-headed. And as mentioned before, he has done more than most people in the world have done so far, and now he is continuing to do what got him there in the first place = this type of training. Without it we would have never even heard his name. He seems to think it's working. And it's not that crazy = It's old school.
Finally someone who gets it.
Mcdougal's downfall was his obsession. Mcdougal would fall asleep from exhaustion on the floor while doing situps at night, after running 20 miles and doing a gym session.
mega mileage wrote:
why on earth is he running that much?
was 150 not cutting it anymore?
christ
you'd have to think the quality work isn't that high
I'm just worried he has been neglecting his knife-hands work...gotta keep 'em sharp Cam!!
Paul Tergat used to run 200 miles per week. Food for thought.
Tergat did not run 200 miles per week. And to those that say Cam Levins is not obsessed, how can one not be that runs 190 miles in a week for 10k training?
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SAM LEVINS IS OFFICIALLY DONE.
You can bookmark this post for posterity.
I don't understand why people are so scared to put in hard work now a days. Like the only reason why Levins is where he's at is because of running 160 mile weeks for a long period of time and before that he had been doing 120-130. Before that he was at 100. You see it's the fact that he's put in such high mileage for MANY YEARS which has allowed him to become a monster. His senior year at SUU he made such ridiculous gains simply because he increased by about 30 miles a week. Now he's not guaranteed to improve that much again obviously but one can try.
My thought is if he's running 190 miles a week at age 22 or 23, how does he possibly build upon this?!? He's going to be so burnt out by the time he hits a quarter century, it's honestly scary to think about. I hope his new coach can give him some different perspective. When was the last time you heard of anyone with longevity in the sport that ran that many miles/week? How about never?
dsrunner wrote:
even as a single week, 190 miles is just plain silly.
doing the volume gets highly addictive plain and simple.
As someone else said, we don't know the big picture. But sometimes we do workouts, or entire weeks, for the mental moreso than the physical benefits. If you ran 190 miles in a week, wouldn't you feel pretty bad ass? And wouldn't that be a worthwhile attitude to have while racing?
It will be very interesting to see how Kelly Weibe does at cross country champs in two weeks. Maybe if cam is really tired Kelly will be close.
poor guy is basically an addict. the heart attack with his name on it in his mid 40's will be massive. then again i guess he has nothing better to do, he is never going to get laid with that sideshow bob hair style he has going. corey on Boy Meets World got more poontang than he ever will.
In the case of a mileage obsessed runner, increasing mental toughness might mean knowing when to stop.
I have no problem with the 37 mile day really (or periodizing some mega- mileage but the big picture here is this kid needs some new moves, some speed-side progression... assuming he's not after the Comrades record.
The guys he's chasing run sub 50sec for 400m, or 50' for 10 mile workouts, not 50 mile warmups.
Getting fit as hell makes more sense than getting tired as hell. Anybody can get tired; the real trick is getting tireless.
dsrunner wrote:
In the case of a mileage obsessed runner, increasing mental toughness might mean knowing when to stop.
I have no problem with the 37 mile day really (or periodizing some mega- mileage but the big picture here is this kid needs some new moves, some speed-side progression... assuming he's not after the Comrades record.
The guys he's chasing run sub 50sec for 400m, or 50' for 10 mile workouts, not 50 mile warmups.
Getting fit as hell makes more sense than getting tired as hell. Anybody can get tired; the real trick is getting tireless.
Beutiful post.
Doug Schmenk was doing about that much, 180 or so, when he was in college in the early 70s. He just came second in the 60-64 division at the national master's 5km cross country championship. And Darryl Beardall is up to around 300,000 lifetime miles now at around 70. It does happen.
Yes, knowing when to stop might be a tough thing for a runner who has had success running a lot. But this discussion is pretty similar to the one that happened when word got out that Levins was running 160 a week. It was too much, was going to wreck him, etc., etc.
But he got faster while he was doing it so it's logical to keep doing more until he reaches the point where he's not getting faster.
Doug Schmenk and Darryl Beardall!!!! Great names from the past!!!
Great to hear they are both still doing well!
LOGIC has no place in a discussion about Sam "madman" Levins. He is beyond a fool- if stupid 200 mile weeks were a good idea Galen Rupp- at the moment the best runner in North America- and Mo Farah- best runner in the world outside of North America- would be doing it too! They AREN'T. For three reasons:
(1) More talent in their left quads than Sam Levins has in his entire body and,
(2) They recognize the benefits of INTENSITY not long slow slogging like Mr Cam(e) 'almost last at the olympics' levins, and
(3) They have real lives. Mr Rupp has a beautiful wife and life, and Mo Farah is just a great guy. None of this Skyfall watching BS!
Farah runs 150 to 160 plus cross training. Definitely not an example you want to use if you are trying to downplay high mileage.
TLW wrote:
Farah runs 150 to 160 plus cross training. Definitely not an example you want to use if you are trying to downplay high mileage.
bullshit
he doesn't run anywhere near 150 - 160