Am I missing something, or does Daniel's Running Formula do very little for setting mileage goals?
Am I missing something, or does Daniel's Running Formula do very little for setting mileage goals?
I've been a Daniels Running Formula proponent of sorts on letsrun. I'll ask this: Why should you rely on Daniels to set your mileage and/or goals? The mileage you run will depend on your training history, the event you're training for, and most importantly, the mileage your body can handle and responds best to. That is different for every runner, even those who specialize in the same event in track or are in xc season together.
The Stache wrote:
I've been a Daniels Running Formula proponent of sorts on letsrun. I'll ask this: Why should you rely on Daniels to set your mileage and/or goals? The mileage you run will depend on your training history, the event you're training for, and most importantly, the mileage your body can handle and responds best to. That is different for every runner, even those who specialize in the same event in track or are in xc season together.
OK yes, but I mean I would still expect at least something like "many elite runners run upwards of 90 miles per week. If you are beginning, try 50 miles, and build slowly" OR even something talking about the benefits of high mileage
Just saying "determine you mileage goals" is like telling someone that their race strategy should be to "race smart!"
If you are not to the point of knowing what kind of mileage you can or should be handling, maybe a program like Daniels is not for you. That's not a put down, but IMO you really should have a few years experience tinkering with upping mileage, working in tempo runs to know how they feel and what you can handle, working in fartleks and interval and rep sessions, so you know what you're capable of doing. THEN, you have a good idea for stepping into a somewhat more advanced program like that. The whole basis of Daniels plan is knowing where you are starting. You start with your current PRs on the VDOT table and start working from there. You should be pretty comfortable with what kind of mileage you can handle already, too. Just my 0.02.
You should listen to this guy, he speaks the truth.
Maybe it's because it doesn't matter what your mileage is. We have gotten soooo caught up in those numbers. The mileage will happen, and it will happen when it is supposed to happen, not when you think you should hit some number.
My interpretation of Daniels Running Formula is that he meant it not so much of the exact perfect written out plan for running, but rather as a basic guide and schedule to incorporate all the basic elements that should be in any training plan.
In the beginning of the book he talks about how he wants the book to give people the ability to know how to carry out effective training while they may be moving from coach to another or from a high school team to a college team.
If you were to ask him, I doubt he follows his book to a tee with his own runners. I think the main thing the book offers is a basic schedule for implementing the main different training paces (Threshold, Interval, etc.) and leaves the a nitty gritty details up to the individual coach or athlete to choose based on what they think works best for them.
bruinboy wrote:
Maybe it's because it doesn't matter what your mileage is. We have gotten soooo caught up in those numbers. The mileage will happen, and it will happen when it is supposed to happen, not when you think you should hit some number.
Mileage just doesn't happen, you have to make it happen. Asking what kind of mileage he should be doing is getting caught up in it, it is just asking a question. Most of the other posts are pretty good so read them again (to the original poster not bruinboy.