I generally think that people shouldn’t spend more than an hour or so per day on their hobbies (including obviously unproductive things like tv, movies, video games, etc.) unless they’re either retired or young and single where the hobby could provide them a means to meet a partner. So this person might be doing something excessive or they might not depending upon what their other commitments are. 90 mpw is too much for a runner this slow if they’re married with young kids. But if it’s a 19 year old in college it’s probably a net positive for them.
And in terms of ROI you need to consider their starting point. If 90 mpw took them from 25min 16:45 then that’s a pretty good return. But if it only got them from 17:30 to 16:45 that’s something different.
I generally think that people shouldn’t spend more than an hour or so per day on their hobbies (including obviously unproductive things like tv, movies, video games, etc.) unless they’re either retired or young and single where the hobby could provide them a means to meet a partner. So this person might be doing something excessive or they might not depending upon what their other commitments are. 90 mpw is too much for a runner this slow if they’re married with young kids. But if it’s a 19 year old in college it’s probably a net positive for them.
And in terms of ROI you need to consider their starting point. If 90 mpw took them from 25min 16:45 then that’s a pretty good return. But if it only got them from 17:30 to 16:45 that’s something different.
This can be true or not. 90 mpw is around 2 hours per day vs 1. If it's really your only hobby, 2 hours per day of "me" time isn't too much, especially if half of it or more is before the rest of the house wakes up. As long as the household is getting taken care of, it's fine.
I generally think that people shouldn’t spend more than an hour or so per day on their hobbies (including obviously unproductive things like tv, movies, video games, etc.) unless they’re either retired or young and single where the hobby could provide them a means to meet a partner. So this person might be doing something excessive or they might not depending upon what their other commitments are. 90 mpw is too much for a runner this slow if they’re married with young kids. But if it’s a 19 year old in college it’s probably a net positive for them.
And in terms of ROI you need to consider their starting point. If 90 mpw took them from 25min 16:45 then that’s a pretty good return. But if it only got them from 17:30 to 16:45 that’s something different.
My wife agrees with you haha. We have two kids under 3. But I am more in the 40-50 mpw range and I do try to limit running to ~1 hr per day. This isn't a problem for easy 8-9 mile runs (60-70min for me). The issue is that doing workouts takes extra time. Warmups, strides, interval with rest, it all stacks up- usually takes 1.5 - 2 hrs to get a big interval workout in. I need to come up with some better workouts to get 1500m-5k pace work in on time-crunched days.
I’m gonna say that the person running 90 or more MPW isn’t looking at their time spent as effort only towards 16:45. They’re probably enjoying their life and running more than other people who run that much. Good for them, they’re probably pretty happy and proud of that time too.
I generally think that people shouldn’t spend more than an hour or so per day on their hobbies (including obviously unproductive things like tv, movies, video games, etc.) unless they’re either retired or young and single where the hobby could provide them a means to meet a partner. So this person might be doing something excessive or they might not depending upon what their other commitments are. 90 mpw is too much for a runner this slow if they’re married with young kids. But if it’s a 19 year old in college it’s probably a net positive for them.
And in terms of ROI you need to consider their starting point. If 90 mpw took them from 25min 16:45 then that’s a pretty good return. But if it only got them from 17:30 to 16:45 that’s something different.
My wife agrees with you haha. We have two kids under 3. But I am more in the 40-50 mpw range and I do try to limit running to ~1 hr per day. This isn't a problem for easy 8-9 mile runs (60-70min for me). The issue is that doing workouts takes extra time. Warmups, strides, interval with rest, it all stacks up- usually takes 1.5 - 2 hrs to get a big interval workout in. I need to come up with some better workouts to get 1500m-5k pace work in on time-crunched days.
workouts take forever, for reasons you stated if you're trying to do everything perfect and squeeze 100% out. Thing is, you can do pretty well with out all that. I'm not a serious runner, so I don't go through the routine. I can run out the door. Slow jog my 2 mile warmup, and go right into intervals. JOgging rest. JOg back home. 8, 9, 10 miles of running in an hour. No stopping to stretch. No drills, etc. I've been doing it like that for several years now. no injuries. You maybe just have to be a little more careful. Ease in a little more slowly. But we're talking about making sacrifices here, so there it is.
Of course if you're training middle distance, you might be giving up a little too much with the cutting corners. Running VERY fast is a little more delicate.