Sustainability of High Mileage

I'm in college on a meal plan, so groceries aren't an issue for me since I have a buffet 3 times a day.

I run about 100 mpw most weeks too, but recently I've messed around with 140 (4 times so far) and a lot more 11x - 12x weeks. I think you just need to take a recovery day when you need one and don't push the pace, although once or twice a week (in addition to workouts) shouldn't hurt. You probably also don't want to just shuffle, you should still be running. I think if you've experienced 130 ish at least once, 11x is pretty easy to do consistently.

The week is usually doubles with two workouts and one 20-22 mile long run. I haven’t felt the need to take much of a recovery day off unless I’ve missed a day of eating a lot.

You just stuff yourself at those 3 buffets and go for it? The time commitment isn’t too much of a problem, it ends up being about 2 or less hours a day in total, less than a highschool sports practice.

130 is really up there, I’d like to try that once in the summer when I’m 100% free.

I got up to 115-130 during my last marathon block and it’s honestly not too bad fueling. I noticed I lost a few pounds and ended up consuming about the same amount as before. I’d say buy carbs in bulk(ie oatmeal, rice and pizzas) and beans in bulk and eat some good quality beef. I’ve been sustaining that range again now for about 2 months and I plan on taking a little down time next month and then holding that for close to 6 months for my next marathon. Easy carbs, fats and cheese get me through it. Pretty sustainable too.

Yeah that’s what I’d assume too, you just have to eat as much as you can at those 3 meals

I’ve been buying bulk eggs and milk which has been a pretty cheap and strong source or protein for me.

A ton of breads and oats but not much with pizza. That’d probably be a great idea to use. Beef isn’t too bad if it’s on sale, chicken has been too lean for me to use consistently. But some of the fattier cuts of steak that are always on sale in bulk have been a good staple. Pork too.

Cheese sounds like it would wreck your stomach before a run. I’ve been putting nut butters on absolutely everything that’s a carb though and it’s done pretty well. You think at that point in your mileage you should supplement with just liquid calories as well?

Don’t forget pancakes! Easy to make and have as a carb source.

Supplementation? Drink smoothies if you want, or beer, whatever you can get down and still perform well with.

Calories in and out at this point but honestly, I can’t imagine it being easy to do that at such high mileage. I’m not at that level yet or might not ever be but I’m force feeding at 80-90

117MPW wrote:

So I just ran 117 Miles this week, averaging between 90-100 for the last couple months. I’m not fast at all by any standard, never sub 3 for the marathon or anything but I’m wondering what is the verdict on sustainability for insanely high mileage?

Nutritionally, how do you survive this? I’m a bottomless pit and can’t eat enough for all this, and sometimes find the grocery bill just as disgusting as the amounts of calories I need to consume.

117 miles per week for a over 3 hour marathoner doesn't make sense at all.

You do realize that with more speed you cover more miles.

If you are not fast enough you might get the miles covered but it doesn't make sense. It will never make you faster. Just because you try to do a 2:20 Marathon training mile wise, does not mean that you ever will get there.

You need the appropriate 10k speed in order to get faster at Marathon running. Just running more miles will not do it.

117MPW wrote:

So I just ran 117 Miles this week, averaging between 90-100 for the last couple months. I’m not fast at all by any standard, never sub 3 for the marathon or anything but I’m wondering what is the verdict on sustainability for insanely high mileage?

Nutritionally, how do you survive this? I’m a bottomless pit and can’t eat enough for all this, and sometimes find the grocery bill just as disgusting as the amounts of calories I need to consume.

What is the goal of running such high mileage? Far be it from me to judge your goals but with constant 100 mile weeks I would hope a sub 3 full or sub 1:15 half, or ultra marathon would be the goal. If not, I respect the effort but I think you should consider lowering the mileage because it is way beyond the realm of diminishing returns. If those are your goals you've got to start periodizing and develop other aspects of your running like your speed and mechanics which don't get better with only volume. I think adding variety would also give you a mental break and add to the long term sustainability. Mix it up.

117MPW wrote:

So I just ran 117 Miles this week, averaging between 90-100 for the last couple months. I’m not fast at all by any standard, never sub 3 for the marathon or anything but I’m wondering what is the verdict on sustainability for insanely high mileage?

Nutritionally, how do you survive this? I’m a bottomless pit and can’t eat enough for all this, and sometimes find the grocery bill just as disgusting as the amounts of calories I need to consume.

Why are you doing this? Running so much for no gain?

Goal is to ultimately run a sub 2:40 full, I just haven’t raced a full yet. I ran a sub 1:20 half this year with plenty left in the tank and felt easy but I just haven’t raced a full marathon. I know they don’t directly translate but who knows.

I want to do some road ultras, maybe some self supported runs across the state.

117MPW wrote:

Goal is to ultimately run a sub 2:40 full, I just haven’t raced a full yet. I ran a sub 1:20 half this year with plenty left in the tank and felt easy but I just haven’t raced a full marathon. I know they don’t directly translate but who knows.

I want to do some road ultras, maybe some self supported runs across the state.

Out of curiosity, what are your 5k or 10k PRs?

You’re a beast with 100+ mpw. My body definitely couldn’t survive that!

At what pace? Probably you can achieve better results with lower mileage. Remember the game to PB with the least mileage, not the highest.

117MPW wrote:

So I just ran 117 Miles this week, averaging between 90-100 for the last couple months. I’m not fast at all by any standard, never sub 3 for the marathon or anything but I’m wondering what is the verdict on sustainability for insanely high mileage?

Nutritionally, how do you survive this? I’m a bottomless pit and can’t eat enough for all this, and sometimes find the grocery bill just as disgusting as the amounts of calories I need to consume.

Who said that's the "game"

Sometimes the journey of running all that mileage week after week is something in itself, plus he can drop down and hit the speed work and get the most out of himself later on

Bill Rodgers ate mayonnaise right out of the jar in the middle of the night...

Diminishing returns are still returns. I was well over 100 miles a week at times when I was working towards and beyond 3:00.I think I'd done 3:15 when I started doing 100. The idea was to get as fast as possible, 3:00 was just a step along the way. Nothing about running high mileage means not working on other things but those things should not take away from the wmount of running you're doing.

HRE wrote:

Nothing about running high mileage means not working on other things but those things should not take away from the wmount of running you're doing.

Not to argue about semantics but I think that needs to be restated. Absolutely, high mileage has its place but if there is no variation in mileage/intensity you won't see very many gains. In order to do speed and intensity you are likely going to need to adjust your base mileage. My basic understanding of training is "stimulus + time = adaptation" and that if the stimulus stays static the adaptation will level out.

The original poster has now clarified his goal is 240ish marathon and his best stated half is 1:20 with lots in the tank. IMHO he will need to get faster and now might be a good time to reduce mileage a bit and start doing some speedier stuff and maybe consult a coach with a target marathon in the next year.

Mostly 7:1x-8:xx with some faster tempos at 6:00-6:10 for marathon pace

Probably a good idea to look into a coach, I feel like my legs can’t carry me as far as my lungs right now

It's been a lot of years, but running high mileage worked well for me.

The summer before entering college averaged 100-110 mpw, all pretty slow. Worked on a farm and the work was tiring, so just ran slow in the evening.

When school started, training and racing cross country with the team. Kept over 100 mpw by doing 8-10 miles every morning.

Ran my first marathon in Seattle on Thanksgiving weekend, running 2.27:35.