How should a 14 yr. old high school runner increase their mileage to where they can comfortably handle 100 miles a week with workouts by age 17?
How should a 14 yr. old high school runner increase their mileage to where they can comfortably handle 100 miles a week with workouts by age 17?
That's quite an ambitious weekly output. I would suggest that you find your own limits this year... ie. how many miles you can handle while staying healthy and avoiding being overtrained. Let's just say thats 40 miles a week, you then progress 5 to 10 miles every few months while listening intently to your body. Always ask yourself if you feel like you are recovering fast enough and make sure you avoid overuse injuries. Whatever you do, make sure that you still love running and have a passion for the sport. I've seen many kids punish themselves for a few weeks trying to hit high totals then get hurt and run poorly. One thing leads to another and they're burned out and aren't quite the runner they used to be. Have fun and enjoy running, I like your motivation and ambition, make sure it is always with you.
Thank you xsizzle, I am currently doing around 45 miles a week, with 3x2000m monday, 4x150+4x60m, wednesday, and 16x500m alternating one @ 10k pace with one 12 sec. slower. Should I leave out the intensity to increase my mileage and then add it back in?
It should depend on when you are trying to peak, read up on the Lydiard system for periodization. Also, mix up your workouts, running the same ones over and over again will be incredibly mundane. Mix it up, have fun, make running enjoyable.
Thank you xsizzle, your help is much appreciated
I would look at your running on an annual basis -- to make that kind of jump in anythign less than years will take a long time to adjust.
Figure out how many miles you've run in the past year and shoot for 500 more this year, and bump it by 500 every year until you get to your optimum level.