I must have missed the science. Where is it?
I must have missed the science. Where is it?
More likely a gentleman's D, 3.5/10.
The OP invokes the scientific method, but I suspect knows nothing about science nor its method of inquiry.
low miles = better wrote:
A lot of posters here are completely twisting my words. I'm not saying quantity is POINTLESS, I'm saying it's not how you get faster, at all. I'll break it down to two examples.
Runner A: Let's say he does 3 quality workouts per week at 80 mpw. The quality workouts are clearly going to prevent him from hitting up around 100 mpw, 110 mpw, so he'd be much better off running only the two quality sessions, as the 3rd quality session is likely to prevent him from reaching the higher level.
Runner B: Does consistent high mileage at 90-100 mpw with only one quality workout. More likely to see consitent high mileage and proper improvement.
Quantity will only take you so far -- quality is what really greases the engine.
Sounds like you can't make up your mind.
low miles = better wrote:
high mileage does nothing for improving performance
low miles = better wrote:
I'm not saying quantity is POINTLESS
Too obvious. Work on your skills, bro.
low miles = better wrote:
Case in point: I did high miles for about 4 years (90-120 mpw avg.) I would wake in the morning after having done about 4 miles, get up, shower, do another 14, 15 miles in the evening in the context of a quality workout. I would wait the entire day for the workout, only to have barely enough time to fit it in, and often having to miss it entirely, leaving out a large portion of the weekly mileage -- bringing the overall effectiveness of the mileage much lower (goal mileage 90 lowered to somewhere in the 60s).
Jesus Christ you are a bad writer. Are you saying you did 90-120 or 60? Are you saying you would do 14-15 miles in the evenings or you would miss the workout?
armchair critic wrote:
low miles = better wrote:Case in point: I did high miles for about 4 years (90-120 mpw avg.) I would wake in the morning after having done about 4 miles, get up, shower, do another 14, 15 miles in the evening in the context of a quality workout. I would wait the entire day for the workout, only to have barely enough time to fit it in, and often having to miss it entirely, leaving out a large portion of the weekly mileage -- bringing the overall effectiveness of the mileage much lower (goal mileage 90 lowered to somewhere in the 60s).
Jesus Christ you are a bad writer. Are you saying you did 90-120 or 60? Are you saying you would do 14-15 miles in the evenings or you would miss the workout?
No need to get mad there buddy. The weeks' mileage was affected by a variety of things -- frequency of the quality workouts was key. High miles became pretty pointless when I was unable to maintain a level consistent with good quality. Having been there, I'll your miles need to be upwards of 90 mpw, and if you're doing quality far lower if you're actually planning on winning a few races.
4/10, only because you are getting some bites.
"This thread gets the award for the most confusing one."
I beg to differ. 2,4,5, etc.
For me, nothing was more important than high mileage. On top of that, everyone I've coached raced faster once I got them to up their mileage significantly, That, plus the predominance of elite runners doing high volume pretty much trumps your experience.
And there is nothing "scientific" about using a single episode and calling it conclusive. This is especially true in your case because as nearly as I can tell from your next to last paragraph, you never really ran high mileage. Instead you had a brief time when you'd do a lot of miles but were never consistent about it so from a scientific standpoint you have no point of comparison.
Nothing wrong with telling a story but don't oversell it.
"A lot of posters here are completely twisting my words."
That's because you write twisted sentences. Try writing simple, clear ones instead. This will help get your point across better.
WTF IS QUALITY RUNNING?
run in bed wrote:
WTF IS QUALITY RUNNING?
lol never thouht I'd have to explain this on a running site. It's the workout-type runs that you do in the week (intervals, speed work, tempo). Google Daniel's Running FOrumla
"Quality over Quantity" -> crappy 1990s, sub 3:40 1500, 13:30 5000, 28:00 10000 is amazing, sub 4:10 mile or 9:00 2-mile for high schoolers is amazing, no one believes an American (other than East African imports) will ever win a medal again at the Olympics, World Championships, World Cross Country, etc.
Quality AND Quantity -> 2000s to present day, dozens of high schoolers break 4:10/9, 7-8 years later the best of them run low 3:30s 1500, 8:00 steeplechase, low or sub 13 5000, low or sub 27 10000, contend for and sometimes win Olympic and World Championship medals, beat Kenya for 2nd at World Cross Country, etc.
The science is settled.
Quantity only takes you so far, then quality takes over is the way I look at it. I can lay off running for an extended time and when I come back its not endurance I lose its muscle toughness and speed. Thats the only purpose of quantity for me now a days. Even though the quality vs quantity factions is probably a 50/50 belief thing, I think its skewed because much more people just don't get quality and think its only a 'run harder' thing, overtrain and get the wrong idea. Whereas no one misunderstand the gist of quantity. In conclusion quality > quantity by breaking the tie :0
This makes no sense, a workout like 8x1000m, w/ a warm up, a cool down, and recovery periods will take longer than it will to just go out for an easy run at the distance that the workout would total to be.
High mileage will develop many things, including, muscle memory, aerobic capacity, mental strength, physical strength which will lead to speed if you're doing things the right way.
TDodd22 wrote:
This makes no sense, a workout like 8x1000m, w/ a warm up, a cool down, and recovery periods will take longer than it will to just go out for an easy run at the distance that the workout would total to be.
High mileage will develop many things, including, muscle memory, aerobic capacity, mental strength, physical strength which will lead to speed if you're doing things the right way.
Corn meal and potatoes.
Quality is the only thing that develops squat.
How many races did you win off low mileage? How many sub 4 miles did you run?
low miles = better wrote:
Corn meal and potatoes.
Quality is the only thing that develops squat.
I'll bite, against my better judgement.
Marathoner A: 100mpw at marathon-pace plus 60-120 seconds for 3 years.
Marathoner B: 40mpw with 3 quality workouts at MP or faster.
A will DEMOLISH B, given even roughly equal talent.
In fact, I'd say that applies to the 10mi-HM distances as well. 10k is a toss-up, I think. A miler would likely do better on plan B.
Quality + Quantity + Recovery
txRUNNERgirl wrote:
Quality + Quantity + Recovery
= FAIL
about a 4:1 ratio of quality to quantity = success