Forums >Racing>200 Mile weeks
Self anointed title
Somewhere, the line where diminishing returns begin occurs...its further along if you are a marathoner than if you are a 5K runner, but you'd think that line comes somewhere before 200 miles in a week...
Correct Sir. It comes a long way before 200 miles. And a f of a long way before 489 mpw.
Imminent Catastrophe
"Able to function despite imminent catastrophe"
"To obtain the air that angels breathe you must come to Tahoe"--Mark Twain
"The most common question from potential entrants is 'I do not know if I can do this' to which I usually answer, 'that's the whole point'.--Paul Charteris, Tarawera Ultramarathon RD.
√ Javelina Jundred Jalloween 2015
Cruel Jewel 50 mile May 2016
Western States 100 June 2016
The King of Beasts
Ultrarunner Anton Krupicka is known for 200-mile training weeks and has had a lot of success. OTOH he was injured and couldn't run Western States.
he was also injured at and could not run Leadville last year, word on the street is that he will be there this year,
the question is will he go under Carpenters record, i think it is 15:57ish ??
he is a really really nice guy and he probably could have ran the 100 last year but he goes in to win, in fact i dont think he has ever come in anything but first. someone fact check that?? i know he finished hand in hand with two others in one race
"As a dreamer of dreams and a travelin' man I have chalked up many a mile. Read dozens of books about heroes and crooks, And I've learned much from both of their styles." ~ Jimmy Buffett
"I don't see much sense in that," said Rabbit. "No," said Pooh humbly, "there isn't. But there was going to be when I began it. It's just that something happened to it along the way."”
Slow-smooth-fast
Its funny how I have been on these forums for such a long time and never even mentioned my Uncle, wish he would have passed on some of his talent to me.
Only from talking to him recently I discovered his dedication to the sport. Her are a few other factoids about him which I was either in awe of or in disbelief.
1. Supplementary training to his running involved the following:
On a Sunday, on a long run of about 10 hours, he would do intervals: He would do a 10 mile trail run and then run back to a spot where he had stashed away his axe in the forest. He would then spend a little time chopping down trees for core strength.
He would repeat this for hours.
2. Terry and his friend would do 3x10 miles on a weekend at times, morning, dinner and tea. All would be done in about 50-52mins!
3. He completed a 116mile ultra with the final 5k in sub 15mins!
4. He became very friendly with a high school caretaker who gave hime permission to run around the huge playing fields from 7am-7pm weekdays whenver he wanted!
5. He should have been in the Guiness Record Book for 24hr Treadmill record, but there was some discrepancy with the timing.
6. He trained with Arnold Scwarzenegger in the US whilst out there for a record attempt!
7. He could lose up to 21lbs in weight following an ultra.
There are some mad snippets for ya.Im also gonna open these up to the main forum and see if anyone else wants to share any of their mad facts.
"I've been following Eddy's improvement over the last two years on this site, and it's been pretty dang solid. Sure the weekly mileage has been up and down, but over the long haul he's getting out the door and has turned himself into quite a runner. He's only now just figuring out his potential. Consistency in running is measured in years, not weeks. And over the last couple of years, Eddy's made great strides" Jeff 14 Jan 2009
Good Bad & The Monkey
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby
Lots of 200 mile weeks makes for a 3rd place Badwater finish.
Looks like in addition to all the many miles he included jogging in place in a sauna set at 170º as part of Badwater training. Wow.
Runners run
Yeah, loads of folks training for that foolish race put treadmills in saunas.
Dude.
Feeling the growl again
I found that my performances (marathon and below) got better right up to the point where I could no longer recover from day to day. In my best times I could maintain 95-110 high quality miles (easy runs 6:30-7:00, 2-3 hard workouts per week) for many weeks in a row. I could ascend to higher mileages occasionally and get benefit, but only for short (1-2 week) periods or overall performance would erode as I could not hold up the quality of the work and would regress.
The highest I ever ran was 131 miles in a week, I was pretty tired from that (that was with quality in there and no reduction in paces from typical weeks). The last week I ever ran at 100+ was 129, an attempt at 140+, during the last week of 2006. I would have made it but I was sick all week and finally skipped a 12-miler on Day 6 to allow me to get in my 20-miler on Day 7. I had 3 good workouts and a 4th workout moderate that week. I had to sleep 10 hrs per night and 2 hours between workouts in the PM.
Not surprisingly, I did not recover well from that week and it's been downhill ever since.
There is a point at which one cannot keep adding miles and hold the average pace any longer. At that point you will begin to lose the ability to optimally mix in paces to perform at marathon and shorter distances.
Ultras are a whole different kind of running, I truly believe the metabolic and fueling differences make it a sport unto itself. I do not have the experience to talk to the needs there though I can hypothesize that there must be a point at which you are just hurting your performance, otherwise the top people would just run every waking moment.
The Japanese have a reputation for experimenting with very high mileage strategies (including loads of walking to pad the total while keeping the intensity). They do ok but there are examples of people who have done that and burned themselves (Takahashi).
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
Lots of runners do put their treadmills in a sauna. But I think that most of Zach's sauna training was going for a run and then sitting/lying in the sauna at 170. Probably a wise tactic.
In the late 1980's my Uncle Terrence Edmondson, was a reknowned Ultra runner and in preperation for a 6 day event, before tapering, his highest mileage week was 489miles. I couldn't beleive it when I told him that in preperation for a marathon I broke down after a few consective 70miles weeks and he did this for 7 days running. He was a naturally talented runner and obviously a bit of a loony running for that kind of distance!
In the late 1980's my Uncle Terrence Edmondson, was a reknowned Ultra runner and in preperation for a 6 day event, before tapering, his highest mileage week was 489miles.
I couldn't beleive it when I told him that in preperation for a marathon I broke down after a few consective 70miles weeks and he did this for 7 days running.
He was a naturally talented runner and obviously a bit of a loony running for that kind of distance!
He did indeed compete in 6 days races, but it wasn’t what excited him and nor was it convenient for us as a family unit.
My father worked as a self employed painter and decorator. He could not afford to to take huge amounts of time from work as he was the only earner in a family of five.
Often, such as when he competed in Paris, the sports event would be worked to coincide with a family holiday of sorts. My father would drive us all to Paris, tiring in itself, then compete and run usually in excess of 140 miles, closer to 160 if he was on top form, then take time with us as kids in Paris for a week or so then drive us all back home. The Monday after he’d be up ladders painting windows.
I would argue the statement that my father was a natural runner, he was not, he is built in exactly the same way as I am, short legs, 5 foot 7 inches tall, large chested and heavily built even when in shape. We also share the same severe receding hairline. He got to be in the elite, by working hard at his sport and never giving up. Before ever running he competed as an amateur boxer and then a weightlifter, upon starting a family he was convinced by various family members to find a new sport, so he chose race walking, later becoming a runner. As a family we would all play badminton for two hours at weekend and we would all leave that sports centre drenched. Later, upon retiring from running he enjoyed cycling and bowls. His nature was competitive, he could turn anything into a competition, eating your meals, counting red cars on motorway journeys. Who could hold their breathe the longest whilst watching the TV. Competition just runs in his veins, it is a fundamental part of who he is.
Maybe if the current No 1 would get semi-serious about their training and crank out some mileage he(she) would eclipse 153 miles? The previous question is slightly tongue-in-cheek but really is 40mpw optimum training for that event? I remember Dopple Bock running a bunch more than that. I'm no ultra guy so I don't have any idea. One of our club members was telling me he does ultras(not sure of the distance) on 35-40mpw and is hoping to run a sub 3 marathon next year when he turns 60, also on 35-40mpw. Last marathon he ran was 3:09 on this mileage, 59 years old!
I think optimum mileage for 24-hour is a very individual thing, more so than for shorter distances. So much more of it is mental. Miles on your body are linear up to a point; miles on your mind are more complicated.
I think I'm more typical here, maybe a little lower mileage than most at my 24-hour level -- I peaked around 80 mpw before hitting 139.5. No question, that's way better than I could have done on 40 mpw, and I think I have some room to improve with higher mileage. I'm at 80 now, hoping to hit 90 before Spartathlon next month, and whatever I can manage between then and Desert Solstice 24 in December.
Uh... I'm confused. That looks like a link to my log? I've never run a 200-mile week, or Badwater.
But I have done this (200° sauna) for Western States, and will do it for Spartathlon. Just for a few weeks before the race. That's pretty normal heat training.
Joggaholic
I think RA defaults to your own log if the link is broken (user no longer exist maybe?). I see my own log when I click the link.
Kalsarikännit
Zach closed up his log a few years ago.
MTA: And as a FYI, his 5k PR (mid 16's), came at the end of a 200 mile week.
I want to do it because I want to do it. -Amelia Earhart
Funny how you can read a whole thread without noticing it's 6 years old.