100 mile week, and how to get there safely

Just jog your easy mileage, and you shouldn't have any problems.

Add 4 miles/week for 14 weeks?

I'd like a taper week every 2-3 weeks so that I don't burn out or risk injury. I thought that exact process would help me get to 100 miles last summer, but I burnt myself out instead. Lost a few quality training weeks as I dropped to probably 30-35 miles/week as I tried to recover. I also didn't take into consideration the heat that I was training in, and the pace at which I was running most runs, which was definitely a factor.

Easy mileage easy wrote:

Just jog your easy mileage, and you shouldn't have any problems.

Of course. Easy days easy, hard days hard.

Runner? wrote:

Easy mileage easy wrote:

Just jog your easy mileage, and you shouldn't have any problems.

Of course. Easy days easy, hard days hard.

I mean if you run pretty easy every day, 100 mpw is not hard at all, or even that dangerous.

If you have a good block of time before racing you can just jump to 100 miles of easy running nows (plus some strides). Do that for a couple weeks, then add some workouts over time. Not sure if thats the best way to train, but it really wont be any tougher than slowly building to 100 while consistently doing workouts

Safe is literally impossible while doing this, this is pushing the limits hard. Anyways, here's an easy plan.

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If I were to do this, I would build up with a plan like this:

M - 60 min easy

T - Long Tempo with 30 min Warm up/Cool Down

W - 60 min easy

Th - Faster 10k - 15k pace workout with 30 min w/up and c/d

F - 60 min easy

S - 60 min easy

Su - 120 min easy

This is 9 ish hours of work and about 72 mpw at a 7:30 avg pace. Make up the rest of the 100 with doubles or a longer than usual long run. Easy days no faster than 2 min slower than 5k date (not goal) race pace. Would only need 5 mi doubles for 6 days to hit the 100 mpw.

Good luck and be cautious!

Do you have any reason to want to achieve this goal - or just 'because you can' ??

You may be better looking at your training and look to see what can be added / taken away to achieve the performance improvements you are looking for.. if that ends up resulting in more miles, or 100 mpw, then fine. But focusing on this as an arbitrary number creates so much more risk of injury etc that I'm not sure its a sensible goal in itself.

You've lost the plot. The objective is to become a better runner, not hit a certain mile total for a week.

For me a 100 mile week would look something like this:

Monday: 6 AM, 5 PM

Tuesday: 12

Wednesday: 8 AM, 5 PM

Thursday: 12 AM, 5PM

Friday: 7

Saturday: 25

Sunday: 15

To get there I'll start adding doubles one day a week around 60 MPW, 2 days/week around 75 MPW, and 3 days week around 90 MPW.

I'll build my weekend runs from say 18/10 to 25/15 over time.

I'll increase the Tu/Th runs from 9 to 12 over time.

There are dozens of ways to do it, this is just one example. (I tend to follow Daniels' plans that just give you workouts and weekly volume and it is up to me to fill in the week).

Like someone else stated, just run EVERY day easy and you can probably safely get to 100 miles. But what are you training for? If you're getting ready for college cross country, I don't think you need a 25 mile long run. 20 miles is plenty for getting ready for 8k/10k. And sacrificing intensity just for the sake of running 100 miles isn't great for 8k/10k either. Elite runners are safely running 100 miles WHILE doing good intense workouts. This would take you a couple years to work up to if you're currently a top end 65 mile guy.

I follow a 9-12 day cycle, as opposed to a 7 day cycle. But, to give you a idea of a hundred miles a week:

Day one: 2 hours steady over hills

Day two and three: Am jog one hour pm jog one hour

Day four: 10 x 400 on the track or 20 x 200m hill

Day five and six: Am jog one hour pm jog one hour

Day seven: 10k tempo or 10 x 1k or 4-6 x 2k or 3 x 3k

Day eight and nine: Am jog one hour pm jog one hour

Repeat

If you jog at a 5 minute kilometer pace(8 minute miles). That will give you about 24 kilometres on your easy days(14.2 miles). Than on your long run day you'll do about 30-32 kilometres or 18-20 miles. Than on your hard days depending on if you do a second easy run. You'll do anywhere from 10-12 miles to 18-20 miles, if you do a second easy jog.

So just a seven day part of the up above schedule.

18 (2 hours steady over hills)

14.2 (am one hour jog pm one hour jog)

14.2 (am one hour jog pm one hour jog)

17.2 (am workout, including warm up and cool down, takes up to 10 miles PM one hour jog)

14.2(am one hour jog pm one hour jog)

14.2(am one hour jog pm one hour jog)

17.2(am workout, including warm up and cool down, takes up to 10 miles PM one hour jog)

Equals: 109.2 miles

Than the next seven days:

14.2(am one hour jog pm one hour jog)

14.2(am one hour jog pm one hour jog)

18 (2 hours steady over hills)

14.2(am one hour jog pm one hour jog)

14.2(am one hour jog pm one hour jog)

17.2(am workout, including warm up and cool down, takes up to 10 miles PM one hour jog)

14.2 (am one hour jog pm one hour jog)

Equals 92 miles

So up above, averages out to 100.6 miles. Hopes this helps.

Just realized my math was off on the second week. It should add up to 106.2 miles. So, the two weeks average out to 107.7 miles per week.

Just Train wrote:

You've lost the plot. The objective is to become a better runner, not hit a certain mile total for a week.

Of course the objective is to become a better runner. I realize the futility in hitting a distance for the week, it has just been a long time goal to implement a 100 mile week into my summer training period.

What is the goal? wrote:

Like someone else stated, just run EVERY day easy and you can probably safely get to 100 miles. But what are you training for? If you're getting ready for college cross country, I don't think you need a 25 mile long run. 20 miles is plenty for getting ready for 8k/10k. And sacrificing intensity just for the sake of running 100 miles isn't great for 8k/10k either. Elite runners are safely running 100 miles WHILE doing good intense workouts. This would take you a couple years to work up to if you're currently a top end 65 mile guy.

I've always felt as though my college coach (throughout this first year) has held me back in terms of mileage, and if I were to try and discuss a jump in mileage, I'm sure he would get all finicky about the idea. He isn't the negotiating type. I don't plan on sacrificing intensity either, for the summer period before cross from what I understand should just be a base building phase with a slow implementation of tempos towards the end, which I still plan on doing. I would definitely like to do well in cross, but it isn't as much of a priority as becoming a more versatile runner. Just a goal is all!

Thanks for this! Good to see a fellow Arkansan on the board (Assuming NWA means North West Arkansas), cheers!

Paul2432 wrote:

For me a 100 mile week would look something like this:

Monday: 6 AM, 5 PM

Tuesday: 12

Wednesday: 8 AM, 5 PM

Thursday: 12 AM, 5PM

Friday: 7

Saturday: 25

Sunday: 15

To get there I'll start adding doubles one day a week around 60 MPW, 2 days/week around 75 MPW, and 3 days week around 90 MPW.

I'll build my weekend runs from say 18/10 to 25/15 over time.

I'll increase the Tu/Th runs from 9 to 12 over time.

There are dozens of ways to do it, this is just one example. (I tend to follow Daniels' plans that just give you workouts and weekly volume and it is up to me to fill in the week).

I've never felt the benefits of doubles, but I've really never put in the effort to try them religiously. I do like this plan though. The added recovery might help me literally in the long run.

Never heard of the 9-12 day cycle. I'll probably end up sticking with the traditional 7 days in a week period. What are you training up for? I would assume some sort of Ultra?

No, 5000m/10000m runner. Can't believe you haven't heard of a 9-12 day cycle.

Sammy Wanjiru used it.

Kenny Moore used it:

In Meb Keflezighi book, he says he uses a 9 day cycle.

In a interview I heard from either jake or Zane Robertson, he said he takes about 2-3 easy days between workouts.

If you said you are injury prone, you should probably use it. I use it because I understand the importance of recovering.

The amount of overthinking people do in regard to something as simple as jogging is astonishing. It is no wonder someone is burned out after a 60 mile week.