will running 100mpw help u for the 5k

Depends on what level you are at. If you are running with the goal of a 16:00 5K then it makes no sense to run 100mpw.

Lydiard's athletes ran 100 MPW preparing for the 800. Not sure about for YOU, though.

100mpw. There it is again. Godammit.

What if i jog 100mpw as slowly as i possibly can?

What if i run 100mpw at hard tempo?

Volume is one training consideration. There are so many others. 100mpw is not "The Answer".

Yes 100 miles is the answer, if 10-20% is quality and the rest normal easy distance.

Actually, 120 mpw is the MAGIC number.

High mileage is overestimated to much, it's just one part of the equation, there are many other factors to consider

Hicham El Guerrouj does not run too high of a mileage, he is a top 5k guy

Also consider your ability level, a 16 min 5k guy should be doing something like 40-70mpw, not 100, as you improve you need higher stimulus(quantity or quality)

Instead of the high mileage, why not lengthen the tempo runs, or do tons of hills in your moderate runs, or something like that? Of course both are considered, but do not overestimate one or the other

Michael Bautista wrote:Hicham El Guerrouj does not run too high of a mileage, he is a top 5k guy

Hicham says he trains like a 10k runner during the fall i believe he said. He must be in smoe pretty good millage to claim he trains like a 10k runner.

Michael Bautista wrote:

High mileage is overestimated to much, it's just one part of the equation, there are many other factors to consider

Hicham El Guerrouj does not run too high of a mileage, he is a top 5k guy

I know you maintain a website dedicated to Hicham El Guerrouj but that does not mean you can't be mistaken about his training. It is no secret that, like Geb, there are only ideas out about their training. They are both very secretive about it. There is the Marco Valdez report from the Moroccan training but 1) this was a long time ago (97?) and 2)they might not have done exactly this--not to mention every year.

Accounts I have seen refute the low-mileage claim of the Moroccans and say that Hicham does around 200km/week at parts of the year. Hicham is quoted as saying something like 'I train like a marathoner, and then like a sprinter.' I can not belive that he would think something like 100km/week is marathon training.

That being said, once the ability to run 100mi/week, maybe higher, is established then the pace should start to veer towards the near-threshold pace that runners like EL G and Paula R are said to train at regularly. High mileage weeks make you better in the not-near (but can) future and prepare you for the work you will do to get very good after a few years. Rome wasn't built in a day.

I had a PR of 16:28 started running 100MPW and got in down to 15:17 in 6 months.

I ran 14:57 off 45MPW. I'm sure that 100MPW would have made ME slower. Hi volume is not for every runner, Arthur.

I think that so much mileage is overated sure you can do that but I don't think that it's neccasary I think that you can jog 7 or 8 miles in the morning and 7 in the evening and you won't do as well as you could I personally think that tempo runs are the key

Is this a joke? You are sure that it would make you slower? I dont understand how you can have such a firm grasp of your physiology, and yet there are professionals who work with teams of ACTUAL scientists who still cannot make such concrete statements. But on the otherhand, you do post on letsrun...

I know this is against many peoples opions but i think you should be logging AT LEAST 100mpw all through highschool but at a very easy pace. Then when you get to college move up your milege too 130 and start pushing the milege.

"Is this a joke? You are sure that it would make you slower? I dont understand how you can have such a firm grasp of your physiology, and yet there are professionals who work with teams of ACTUAL scientists who still cannot make such concrete statements. But on the otherhand, you do post on letsrun..."

AHAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAHAHAHEEEHEHEHE.

I've been laughing so hard, but now I'm OK.

First of all, more, you just posted on letsrun. Do you see the irony?

Secondly, do you know me? I know me. After 30 years of running, I came to an understanding of what works and what doesn't work for me.

If you coached, would you tell everyone who stands before you to run 100MPW? Even if they were accomplished runners? Don't answer that....I think I know the answer.

I can list all kinds of WR holders and Olympic winners who never touched 100MPW if you would like.

I'm not saying 100MPW is wrong, but, I am saying that it may not be right for many, many runners. Ever.

Thanks for your post, more. That made my day.

Oooops. Nearly 45 above was me. Skuj. Gotta stop that.

What if you like running? Are you not allowed to run 100mpw unless you come under some arbitrary time goal?

I ran 16:09 after a year in which I ran 100 miles a week quite frequently. I enjoyed the training, and was happy to knock nearly a minute off my 5k PR in one track season.

Running 100mpw will help you for the 5k, but it's a question of periodization and where you are now.

Most non-elites, I'm guessing, will not be putting in 100 miles week during the track season. But putting in some 100 mile weeks in a classic Lydiard-style build-up, that will probably help.

But 100mpw is just a number. Personally, I was mucking around with it running 60-75 miles a week. Building up to 100mpw over a few months was a realistic progression that raised my fitness. I have no illusions that I'm quick, but I am durable and I was able to keep the same training pace at 100mpw as I had at 70mpw (if not faster).

The bottom line is, if you think that doing higher mileage will improve your times, do more miles. But don't do it to chase a number. If you're doing 100 mpw you're out there for 10-13 hours week running, so you should enjoy it.

Michael Bautista: Why isn't your El G. website working? Or is it just me?

Ok, so you missed my point. If I coached of course I would not tell everyone to run 100 mpw. Some people are just not ready for that kind of pounding. But on the other hand, you were obviously a very accomplished runner, having run 14:57 5k. What I got out of your first post was that you NEVER tried running higher mileage and it seemed that you just assumed (whether based on logic or not) that higher mileage would not suit you. How do you know your body would not have adapted to the higher mileage and instead of running 14:57 you ran 14:27 or 13:57? By the way, I would like to know the name of olympic champions in the 5k (within the last several olympics) who did not do higher mileage (atleast in there base phase).

It's not the amount that's most important, it's the consistency. Running 100mpw for couple weeks may help you out for some september race or somethin ,but for any true long term improvement you need to do it a lot more than just couple weeks in the summer.

-Soup