My last two weeks have been the two longest mileage weeks of my entire life. I will be out of town all of this coming week so it seems like a good time for a step-back week. Is it a good idea to take a step-back week after back-to-back high mileage weeks? How many fewer miles should I do during a shorter week? By the way, my last two weeks have been the first two 60 mile weeks I have ever done.
Cut down to 25-30 quality miles. You'll dream about them at night and run better.
no he's wrong, run 40-50 miles this coming week, and make sure you get your long run in still.
after a few 50 mile weeks, I was told to do about 40. So ~45-50 for you sounds good. I didn't take that advice and ran too little, and it has been hard to get back into the higher volume again. Cut the distance down a little, but the intensity down a lot is the key I think to recovery weeks.
Eliminate one day of running (not your long run).
60-75% regular volume, reduce intensity 5-10% on most days and run a slightly longer long run than normal at the end of the week. When I was doing highest mileage (and at the same time PR'ing in the middle distances) I would run 2 high - 1 low. 40 miles next week would probably be a good idea. Plan it out (write it down in other words) before you get out there and just start putting in whatever you feel like on a given day. Planning will help.