One thing you have to learn about Arthur's approach is that it is NOT a single "always do this". The hardest part, I think of applying a "Lydiard Approach" to training is that there is no single way to do this, you do what you need to improve. Runner "A" can run 70 miles per week with no problems and handle life and work. Runner "B" is sick and breaks down every time he/she goes over 45 miles a week. After all we are not all made the same.
When we (Arthur and I that is) began working with the Venezuelan National team, the only run that everyone did was the 60 minutes of easy (Arthur, who was 55 at the time, lead these at sub 7 minutes per mile)running every morning.
Then in the afternoon, based on what Arthur perceived as each runners needs, workout groups were set up. One runner would be doing stadium steps (there were no hills in Maracaibo) others did sprint work, while others did intervals and time trials. The groups and individuals in them changed daily. The same is true for the base build-up.
One runner might be able to increase 15-20 percent per week for several weeks, then they will need a lower level week, while another runner will feel exhausted if they even approach 10 percent increases. As a runner not working with a coach, you need to be both coach and runner. You need to know that there will be days when your legs will feel drained, before you run a step. Some times, they will get better while you are out running, other times, an hour will feel like 3.
I worked with a state champ in cross country in the 3200 this past year. During early season weeks when he was doing 80 plus miles per week often including racing, and intervals, he complained that his legs ached. I reminded him how much he was running, and that the goal was to be better than everyone else 6 weeks out. With one week of reduced mileage he knew he was ready to run like he never had before. He had developed confidence in me over 3 years of working together. He believed me when I told him that "of course your legs will feel like that", but they will get better when it is appropriate. Building up a base is work. When you have developed it, then you can cut back and do more quality work, which is what gets you ready to race. None of Lydiard's runners ran 100 mile weeks when they were preparing to race. They did that mileage to prepare to train. Developing an ability to run lots of miles and recover makes it possible to do higher volumes of anaerobic work when the time comes.
One has to be able to cover mileage before you can cover it quickly. You need to determine what is the lowest volume of mileage that will allow you to achieve your racing goals. Build up to that mileage/time. When you can cover the mileage then work on improving how well you run it. Arthur's words on this are that you should run such that when you are finished you can say "I could have run faster, maybe 5-10 seconds per mile, or I could have run farther, say 1/2 to 1 mile, but I would not have wanted to try to do both". This speaks to solid efforts that develop stamina. It is not just covering the miles.
gebreselassie, there is no where that Arthur ever says how to increase your mileage. The 10% every day is an approach that I went to with myself and runners I have worked with. It is my application of the "never increase you mileage more than 10%" adage that you will find in many training articles.
Curious George and lov2run, if you are feeling to exhausted, then you are running to hard, not to long, when you run. If you slow down you can run more and not need so much down time. It is all about what you are trying to achieve. If you want to improve your endurance then you need to run more days per week and more miles/time per run. If you have to run slower to accomplish this, so be it. Once you can cover the amount of miles/time you have as your target then you can beging focusing on going faster for that time/mileage.
To me the beauty of Lydiard's approach is the simplicity of progessive adaption. Arthur said you could improve slowly if all you did was running comfortably as much mileage as you could do each and every day. The problem is that we want to develop quickly as there are only so many years for us to achieve our maximum potential. In order to do that you have to work and do the work to be able to handle massive amounts of work.