100mpw - Acclimation time? Reaping time?

[quote]100mpw wrote:

I have been floating around 100 for six weeks now and not feeling so hot. My times have gotten slower (5k from 15:20 to 15:45) and I'm tired all the time.

quote]

You have to taper to run fast. If you're not fresh when you start the race, there is no way you can run your fastest.

Just keep it up and do what you need to do when it's time for races to start.

Train to race; don't train to train.

If you're racing, back it down that week, then go back to 100 the next week.

You don't mention what your eating and rest habits have been.

At 110 calories per mile, that means the extra 25 miles you run each week require an additional ~2700 calories.

Also, if you are running more, you body needs more rest at night. I forget what the formula is - 8 hours + a minute for every mile you run each week? That puts you at just under 10 hours. I doubt you're sleeping that much because you have a job or whatnot, unless you're a professional in which case you can sleep 9 hours, run, then take an afternoon nap before your evening run.

I jumped up from 0 (++ was doing stuff, so probably running 10/week, plus riding some) to 100mpw in 10 weeks (at age 24); which was idiotic, but it worked. After dropping off for a couple of weeks with shin splints, I was ready for a marathon 6 weeks later, although I did not taper enough (this was mid-70s, so not LetsRun board to get info, etc). I generally found that it did not take as long as you are finding to get the benefits, although I might have backed off times when you have kept pressing and that matters. The Tapering comment above is good; it also says something about the difference in the toll on the body -- at 70/week you are still generally fresh, while 100mpw is pure training mode and requires backing off before you can capture the benefits. I would not be surprised if it took a couple of years with episodes of 100mpw (e.g., pushing up for a marathon in the fall and spring, with some lesser levels for a month or three in between). By then, 100mpw is likely to be closer to steady state. However, bodies differ and body weight might have something to do with it in unexpected ways (cf. the comments on Solinsky and his ability to run lots of miles without getting hurt because(?) he is bigger than typical).

I jumped up from 0-120 in 4 weeks and held it there for 8 weeks before dropping down in season. My races improved immediately, even before cutting down and adding speed, but everyone's different.

If you are in a warm climate, have the last 6 week been significantly warmer. Each summer I have trouble keeping my intensity up and race time the same.....let alone adding 25% milage.

Of course you won't race as well during 100mpw sessions as you would during a scheduled taper week for a race.

I reached 95mpw this winter for about a 6 weeks. Towwards the end of base phase I ran an indoor 3200 in 10:22 (PR was 10:00). 2months later I peaked at 9:20 for the 2Mile. The high mileage helps, but it needs to be taken with time and proper tapering.