Advancing Mileage

Miles per run > number of runs, at least for aerobic development.

What races will this runner be focusing on when races come around?

What workouts will be necessary to get the runner ready for that race?

What “base” will the runner need to have in order to progress through the workouts to race fitness?

Those are questions you should be asking, not “how many miles per week should I increase?”

Everything should be in service of the end goal.

I would lean towards more miles per day. But we are really nitpicking here. Total miles is important and staying healthy.

I would actually think about adding a plyometrics routine or some basic work to improve mechanics

Interesting. Yes i do think for this 1500 runner (and young) a upper limit of per day may be in order. I was just curious about philosophies about 3 days of no running vs consistency etc... Your Mitochondria, vasculature etc... dont adhere to the 7 day week. I focus so much on the 7 day week, I wondered out loud if we are thinking about it wrong.

Your hunch is correct. Your body doesn’t know what a week is and that it is supposed to magically roll over its odometer.

For young athletes I prefer having them see a stimulus more frequently but in smaller doses.

The longer sessions get the harder it is for them to handle. Having the 23 hours to recover between smaller efforts lets them get very familiar with running without any single session becoming too stressful.

If we exaggerate the example and said we wanted them to run 24 miles a week, do you think they can more easily handle four 6-mile runs, or six 4-mile runs? Since your kids can already handle running 4 miles pretty well, I'm guessing that they would all find adding days to be easier. The cumulative effect of lifetime mileage will still help them a ton.

Having middle schoolers run 4 miles, four times a week is already really solid. I think my first step would be to add another day of running, but have it be very unstructured fast running that they can play with. Small relays are fun for them, short hills, ladders, a game of tag, etc. Just give them another day on their feet that lets them get in a little distance without them realizing it and enjoy the fun of running fast while they play some kind of game.

I concur. Young runners are not just small adults. They have a different outlook, and their bodies respond differently to stress. Without question, I will always add another day rather than increase daily limit for runners this age. The simplest reason is that more frequent running improves their sense of habit. It's something we do almost every day. Also, we're developing young runners, not trying to test their limits. We want them to come back and be excited about running. We want it to be enjoyable so when we get to the hard days, they have a good perspective about how that fits into the big picture, instead of thinking everyday we finish exhausted. If you have motivated athletes that want to do more, spend time working with them on core, dynamic flexibility, form drills, etc. Cardio develops faster than the connective tissue, so the supplemental work will really put them on a solid foundation and help prevent injuries.