Hey guys... I think I've figured something out... 10 miles is a nice run for me. I have done it midweek now a couple of times. I'm not really training for anything... I mean I have a 10k next weekend but I hate speedwork right now (I dunno why) so I'm just plodding miles and trying to find my mojo. In any event I've been doing some binge-running (I don't normally run 5 times a week, more like 6) so I squish longer runs together. I guess the end result is like... wow... 10 miles ain't nuttin for me. What should I do at this point? Should I increase my MPW or should I downgrade my miles on other days? Last week I was able to do 8, 10, 4, 12, 4 .... without problem Thoughts? and another thing... if I wasn't so damn afraid of snakes I'd do an ultra.

Steve we are a lot alike. Running is my prozac. If I don't keep regular at it, my mood just tanks! Thanks for the info and also the info about ultras. I may do one REALLY soon.

If you're comfortable, you can either increase pace, or mileage. I'd be more inclined to increase miles. Longer long and medium runs. You could also throw in some tempo runs, maybe some drills.

10 miles is a nice run isn't it?

yes 10 milers are lovely!!!

muse, look at George's (oce222) log. Seems pretty much all he's doing is mileage and strides with the ocasional race or tempo...and he's gettin' kinda fast that way. There's a kid in my area named Casey Moulton who's qualified for the Olympic Trials marathon with a 2:15 at Austin last year. I was doing a warmup jog with him before a race one time and asked him about his training--he was just doing mileage, no workouts, and racing often. He's added more workouts lately but he still mostly just runs miles and races a lot. There's more than one way to skin the cat but the thing they all have in common is you have to run a lot. I agree with skinnyfish that it helps to change the pace in longer runs--its good training and helps the time go by faster. A 10 miler with 8 x 2 minutes hard / 1 minute easy goes by so much faster than a 10 miler where I'm just cruising along at a consistent pace.

Very interesting conversation indeed! All of your thoughts are appreciated. I will look at Oce's log and review like a hound. Good point! I guess that means I'll go and do the 10k then. We'll see what happens! I don't run super slow but it's not uncommon for me to start at like a 9:50 pace and then at about mile 4 decide to put some effort in. I usually hit about marathon pace at this point. I can keep this effort for about two miles but then I just get kind of "eh" about it and then cool down at some point. I haven't done strides in a long ass time but I do use downhill running for mechanics. Skinnyfish (what is your real name btw it's weird to call you this ) when you say steady effort what do you mean? I heard that running at 85% of max heart rate has no physiological benefit and, in fact, I've heard it can be determental to your running. I probably run at around 80-83% of max with some 85% of max thrown in there after a good 3-4 miles has gone by. I like this though, it's making me realize that structured speedwork isn't the whole story. Thank god! I like the idea of rest and chill until the race, and then break your body down and push to the limit on race day. Then do a boatload of recovery running until you're ready to go steady again. oops we're talking about running here. I am so lucky. thanks ya'll tomorrow is 14 miles. where are them peanut butter cookies? good fuel. coooookies btw i have a kick ass recovery meal: fruit cookie pizza anyone interested? replace glycogen with the pure white crack + fructose awww jyeah