Why do people do speedwork at 30mpw or 50lbs overweight?!

AreTHEYdumb wrote:

Is it because of runners world magazine? Why don't they realize that running more miles will get them faster than the track.. or losing some lbs will get them faster than the track"

I get your point, and yes, I would agree that at 50lbs overweight losing weight would improve speed more than a track workout. But, oh wait, what's the best way to lose weight? HIIT is better then a slow jog, so, they should do soeedwork to lose weight to improve speed.

Yes, more miles will generally help speed more than speed work on low mileage. But, oh wait, if for any number of personal reasons you can only run 30 mpw, then you will need to do speedwork as part of those 30 mpw to get faster.

So, glad we could clear that up. Lose weight and run farther, and make sure you do speed work to help you lose weight and if you can't run more miles also do speedwork.

I have never seen someone 50 lbs overweight doing speedwork. If they are, that's great, at least they are exercising infinitely more than most fatasses.

my great great grandpa does speed work at 20 miles a week. He runs with a walker back and forth in his retirement home hallway. He refuses to do slow walks and just sprints up and down the hallway so fast it would make usain bolt in full sprint seem as slow as a turtle.

Runrincerepeat wrote:

Agree. I know a girl who is "training" for a 10k on like 20 mpw and one day is intervals..

And she'll probably have more fun than you have during your "serious" races.

I used to run 50-70mp week In HS and college on average. Then after college I got fat and now I am 30-50 lbs heavier. now I only run 10 -15 mile p week at 7 -7.5 min per mile but mainly because I have found the time investment for a 2 mile training run is much less and I still get the ability to still do a mile or 5k race and my wife doesn't get aggravated when I leave her with the kids when I go running cause i am not gone that long

Usain Bolt does speed work and less than 30 mpw. Are YOU dumb?

Probably because higher intensity workouts where your heart rate peaks and then crashes (aka speed work) is a more effective way of losing weight than prolonged times at a moderate heart rate.

Also, if someone is 50 lbs overweight they will tear there knees and ankles apart doing more miles. Got to shed the weight before you increase mileage.

OP, I run low mileage because I enjoy the physical and intellectual challenge of beating people by training smarter and harder, not by spending more time on it.

None of you are getting paid seriously for this. Running is for your pleasure. It is a hobby.

Once you recognize that, you realize that you should enjoy training. If you like plodding out miles slower than you could hold for 2-3 hours, be my guest. I don't really finding jogging around to be very interesting. When I have time to work out, I like to do something satisfying. I have rarely gone over 40mpw in my life, but I run hard 3-4 times a week.

Could I be faster? Probably. But in my 40s I can still beat 99% of people at the local 5k, usually including some "high mileage" advocates like the OP.

OP really needs to learn some physiology. Tempo runs and VO2 max intervals are waaaaay more important than high mileage unless you are running ultras.

Just for reference, when I was in HS all 11 of my training group (we were 800/1500 runners) were sub 18 for 5k, 5 were sub 17 and 1 was sub 16. No one did more than 15mpw.

Yeah, if was just mileage then your local trucker hat sportin' camelback wearin' ultra dude was be the fastest guy around... they do 60 mile days... but can't break 19 for a 5k.

I think you tried to make fun of people but you didn't think it through.

most moderately overweight people would lose more weight by doing high intensity work.

in general, look at sprinters vs distance runners. how many posts on lr.c do you see about being skinny fat.

I did it so I could win the Olympics

Someone running 30 mpw with speedwork might run something called the 800.

Um... maybe because high intensity reduces body fat faster? You should be happy that the fat people are running at all. It's a good improvement.

Well said:) maintaining fitness and remaining injury free through the years into your 50's is a feat in itself! One of my goals for sure is to be running in my 70s:). I agree with your statement. Happy running!

Go to a local road race where most people are out there running nothing but mileage, easy mileage- and they will all be chunky and fat. Heck look at "marathoners" and "ultra marathoners".. if those people were not competing in an event you would never know they could do anything "athletic".

Be glad someone is actually trying to run hard and fast.

Shoe on other foot wrote:

Why do people do 50+ miles a week when they can't break 18:00 in a 5k? Because of Runners world garbage?

1/10

Because if they ran less mileage, they would be even slower!

Well stated:)

Specificity. To run faster, run faster.