What if you cant just run miles?

Start playing billiards, you will have more success

Go ride a bike.Apparently Lance Armstrong is still the best runner in the World.

Do some cycle training. Not bicycle training, cycle training.

Schedule Your Workouts

This is how a 21-day cycle would look.

(Key: LR--long run; HR--hill run; SR--speed run; RR--recovery run; XT--cross-training; OD--off-day):

DAY RUN DAY RUN DAY RUN

1 LR 8 RR 15 RR

2 RR 9 LR 16 SR

3 RR 10 XT 17 RR

4 HR 11 OD 18 OD

5 XT 12 HR 19 XT

6 OD 13 RR 20 LR

7 SR 14 LR 21 RR

Not trying to be a smartass, b/c I don't know... But, how fast are you running? I'd take 100 miles a week at 7:30 pace any day over 60 a week at 6:30...

Your consistent injuries probably stem from subtle weaknesses in your muscular/skeletal systems that need to be strengthened. For example, every now and then when I do a hill workout, my pelvis comes out of alignment when running down hill. This causes my right leg to track wrong and an IT band problem to occur. The good news is that when I feel my IT band start to tweak, I know that my pelvis is out. I go to the local injury clinic and they pop it back in. I become misaligned because my hamstrings are a tad weak, so I have exercises to strengthen them. Eventually I shouldn't have a problem. I am able to continue training without any major problems.

It's possible your past of running injuries most likely has caused you to overcompensate/undercompensate certain muscle groups causing imbalances, which come out in the form of another injury when you increase volume and/or intensity. It happens to everyone. Who hasen't attempted to run through an injury with or without success.

If you've had a severe enough injury, you might've already seen a doctor. My advice would be to search out a good physical therapist. They are great with diagnosing problems and giving you ways to correct the imbalance. An MD or a chiropractor is just going to give you medicine or make you keep coming to them for check-ups without actually searching out a long-term solution. An DO might be okay, though...

I would incorporate cross training such as pool running, NordicTrack, or cycling. Without scientific support, I think pool running can enhance running because the resistance helps to strengthen some of the muscle systems and, of course, works the aerobic and anaerobic systems. On a personal testimonial, I once pr'd for 5 miles while training 3-4 days a week on NordicTrack.

Have you ever tried breaking up your mileage, running doubles instead of singles. Its easier on your body.

tell us about your training, specifics and all

If your are lucky enough to live in a hilly area with trails get a backpack and put about 1/3 your weight in it. Add to your 70 mile weeks with 3 days a week of hill walking with the pack. Do the hill striding up a medium steep hill that takes about 2-3 minutes thus simulating a long interval. Try to take a long slightly exagerrated stride really pushing off with the calf muscles. Start with just 2 reps and add one a week up to 10-12. Discontinue about 3 weeks before your major race. What you will get is further fitness beyond what a 70 mile week would give you that is more specific than pool running, nordic track or other such nonsense. Use a pair of boots that are not too stiff but still protect the foot and achilles enough so you won't biomechanically break down as you are proned to do. It has worked great for myself.

Depends on how you're doing your 70/week. Even with your perceived "crap biomechanics" you could probably handle it if a lot of your miles were at a very easy pace and you resist the urge to push it. My 2 cents.

Get a heart rate monitor, if you don't already have one and run between 70 - 75% of your maximum for many months, gradually pushing the envelope. This shouldn't overly stress your body and hopefully will get you strong enough to handle higher mileage. The key is slow and easy, even if your mile pace is 10 m/m. Believe me it works.

For what it s worth, I've found that cycling and swimming can be benificial to running and help boost you to a higher fitness level for running then running alone. Thats not to say that you wouldn't be better off spending that time running, but if you are in a situation where more running is not an option in the near term (like myself) other forms of aerobic exercise are better than nothing.

After a two years of higher mileage (70-100 mpw) running during which I saw great improvement, I injured my knee when I stepping in a shoe size hole halfway up to my shin while running a tempo run on grass. Two surgeries and almost two years latter I was finally able to start running again about 9 months ago, but only up to about 25 miles per week. Frustrated, and eager for competition I took up triathlon this summer. While not the same thing, it did fill the void left by running. By the end of the summer I was up to 35 mpw of running about 3000 meters of swimming and maybe 75 mpw. My running times dropped significantly on this training (17 min 5k alone, to low 16's 5k of the bike and high 15's alone), more in two months of tri training than in six of straight running 25mpw. Not only that, but my legs became stronger and more injury resistant to boot.

Now I am back to straight running and up to about 50 mpw and knocking on the door of sub 15 for the first time since my high mileage college days. I still keep up about 3 workouts per week swimming and biking though and I really feel they help keep the injury demons at bay and enhance your aerobic system quite a bit.

I would rather run 70 miles with good workouts and runs than to run 100 miles at 7'30, or even 5'30, mile pace.

If you focus on the right things you can get very far off of that volume. There are tons of top international runners training in 100km-130km a week range.

Somewhere Else wrote:

I would rather run 70 miles with good workouts and runs than to run 100 miles at 7'30, or even 5'30, mile pace.

If you focus on the right things you can get very far off of that volume. There are tons of top international runners training in 100km-130km a week range.

Some thoughts...

Certainly you can keep a very high level of fitness at 100-130km/wk. But a lot of this depends on what your goals are how you decide to cut it.

A lot of people argue that running 250km (150mi)/wk at moderate intensities won't get you anywhere. I think that it needs to be stressed that doing LOTS of running (like the aforementioned volume) takes you through various energy systems during your training. You don't feel the same at mile 25 of your run as you did at mile 2 -- you've accessed and utilized other systems in order to keep moving at the desired pace.

Frank Shorter said it best.

I have a friend who writes for some endurance sports magazines and he was going to do an interview with Shorter. He's a big track nerd like so many of us on this board and was thinking, "Wow, Frank Shorter, Florid Track Club, Olympic marathon gold..."

So he calls him up. And Frank answeres, "Yeah, whaddya want?" as if he's terribly annoyed.

"Well, Mr Shorter, this .... from the magazine to do the interview,"

"Oh..."

So they're talking and he's asking quetions, and my friend asks Shorter, "Well, have you ever thought of writing a book on training?"

And Shorter belts out, "No! And d'you know why? Because if I did it'd be a page long! Listen, you gotta run 140, 150mi a week, do two hard workouts per week and do a long run -- That's it!"

Just my opinion, but I think Frank Shorter could have run much faster if he was around today and sent to a good camp/group with an experienced coach. Of course, we will never know for sure.

Regardless, doing a lot of anything will usually work but is not necessarily the best approach. I have always seen high volume as a product of good and efficient long distance training, not the other way around.

That's not the first time I've heard reports of Shorter being a grouch.

The guy may also be tired of being interviewed. Doesn't really matter, he did what he did...medals, X-c championships and all that.

Based on what you quote him as saying, those without great talent may be well advised to cover HALF what he espouses (70-75MPW).

If I was 1/2 as good as FS I'd consider that an achievement.