How does running more mileage translates into running faster?

Addingmiles wrote:

What is the scientific approach to running more miles? How do you get faster by just running more easy paced miles ?

The general idea is that it improves your overall aerobic capacity. This allows you to hold a given pace for longer periods of time.

muscular/skeletal strengthening: allows for even more volume/intensity which makes you faster

strengthens aerobic endurance

If not in peak shape, easy miles do contribute to raising your vo2max and lactate threshold

size and density of mitochondria increase (which allows you to operate at a higher power output for a longer time)

more capillaries (muscles become more efficient in receiving blood and can receive more oxygenated blood; enables you to hold a faster pace for longer again)

Running economy/form/efficiency increase

running faster will make you faster, get in touch with your effort and stop worrying so much about "more mileage"

I'm doing between 1 and 3 tempo workouts a week. Should be enough intensity.

Think of it like getting water from a well. The hard workouts fill up the bucket. The mileage gives you a bigger bucket.

InYourInbox wrote:

Think of it like getting water from a well. The hard workouts fill up the bucket. The mileage gives you a bigger bucket.

+1

For another eye opener, train and race without a watch for a race, go by effort only.

Get in touch with your inner animal. Be the beast.

Addingmiles wrote:

What is the scientific approach to running more miles? How do you get faster by just running more easy paced miles ?

Depends on the scientist and what field they study? They don't communicate much so, umm good luck with that.

Michael_ wrote:

running faster will make you faster, get in touch with your effort and stop worrying so much about "more mileage"

Ok mr.20min 5k

ivorytowerology wrote:

Addingmiles wrote:

What is the scientific approach to running more miles? How do you get faster by just running more easy paced miles ?

Depends on the scientist and what field they study? They don't communicate much so, umm good luck with that.

Here's the scientific approach...

Formulate a Question - What happens when I run more miles

Make a Hypothesis - It will make me more efficient, stronger, and aerobically developed because the more you do a thing, the better you get at that thing.

Make a Prediction - It will make me faster

Testing - Run more miles

Analysis - Race

Generate Theory - Running more makes me faster

I like the water and bucket analogy from above. Building the aerobic end is super important. You definitely want to have a larger aerobic capacity and aerobic strength because after the 800, races are more then 50% aerobic

Another reason is that the more you do something the better you get. If you run a lot of miles, it will make you much more efficient at running. Some things I have noticed after years of mileage is that eventually you get to a point where you almost feel like your gliding, and you can run so effortlessly. The more time you spend running the better you get, and the less energy you will need to use, which is in turn energy saved.

I don't know if this is true, but I remember seeing somewhere that your body has a figurative odometer. It remembers your lifetime mileage. So if two people haven't run in lets say 5 years, the person who has 20,000 life time miles run, will be able to get back in shape and transition to regular running faster, then the other person who only has 5,000 life time miles, given they were of similar talent and are of similar age.

David S. Pumpkins wrote:

ivorytowerology wrote:

Depends on the scientist and what field they study? They don't communicate much so, umm good luck with that.

Here's the scientific approach...

Formulate a Question - What happens when I run more miles

Make a Hypothesis - It will make me more efficient, stronger, and aerobically developed because the more you do a thing, the better you get at that thing.

Make a Prediction - It will make me faster

Testing - Run more miles

Analysis - Race

Generate Theory - Running more makes me faster

Here's what really happens:

Think of a way to get some funding doing some spurious research, involving any kind of reductive hypothesis about performance boosting effects of whatever.

Get the funding

Do a crap series of tests on a treadmill.

Analyse the results

Agree with yourselves that you were right all along.

Submit your paper for peer review

Paper accepted

Encourage journalists to generate publicity with silly hype attention seeking headlines announcing your amazing discovery of incredibly effective performance boosting effects of whatever.

Repeat process ad infinitum.

That's how science really works ain't it?

In addition to the other things mentioned, having a good base is what enables you to handle the intense workouts when the time comes. When track season starts and we run an 8X1K threshold repeat workout on Monday, a tempo on Tuesday, and 5X1K at repeat pace on Friday, the kids who have put in the mileage are ready to crush the workouts while the low mileage kids struggle at best and get injured at worst.

Even if intense workouts were all that mattered in terms of performance (they aren't, but just for the sake of argument), you'd still need to run a lot of mileage just to be able to handle the intense workouts. High mileage doesn't come at the expense of intensity. High mileage is what allows you to complete the intense work.

nailed it! That's how I do it.

Addingmiles wrote:

What is the scientific approach to running more miles? How do you get faster by just running more easy paced miles ?

It is based on the principle of overload.

Also, I would say more volume works up to a point and then the returns diminish and you need to overload the body in other ways--increasing speed (at least on some runs). Let's say you work your way up to 100 mpw running 8 min/mile for every mile. You could add another 20 miles at that pace or you could take some of those miles and run them at a faster pace to improve. Or you could even reduce the mileage some and increase the intensity of some of those miles to see an improvement. (Lots of individual responses here--only way to find out what works for you is to try it).

The training stimulates changes in metabolic enzymes, increase capillaries, increases buffering capacity, etc.

Almost. Global Warming and Sociology require you to cherry pick and falsify data to get the result you wanted.

The challenge of distance running is not running fast. Anyone can run fast. The challenge is sustaining a pace over a long distance. So, improve your ability to run long distances and you will be a better distance runner.

Fundamentally, it's to gain speed endurance. You want to be able to run as fast as you can already run but do it for longer.

Simplistically, if you can run one 5-minute mile, to train for a marathon, your goal might be to develop the ability to run 26.2 5-minute miles. To develop that ability, you have to increase your speed endurance. The most important factor in increasing speed endurance is to run more miles.

Hi Jon. How about them doping Brits?

Larry Myricks: 2 x Olympian; 20.01 in the 200; and 28-8 in the LJ in 1988;

and also the Bronze medalist in the LJ behind world record holder Mike Powell and the great Carl Lewis in the 1988 Olympics said:

"Take care of your body and it will take care of you."

Myricks would jog long distances or do a long bike ride every Friday during his training season.

Then in the off-season he would alternate running long distances (as long as 5 miles) and bike riding.

He said that he needed to do this to recover for his next season.

I don't care what sport you play you must be aerobically fit. In distance running your ULTIMATE peak is determined by your aerobic power. Speed endurance has it's place and certainly will develop temporary fitness faster.