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Fastest mileage buildup you've done *successfully* (Read 388 times)


Dream Maker

     

    Agreed.  My original post was just to add that I don't think it's just the tail end of the curve that benefits there...more like, as you say here, there are responders and non-responders.  I'm not sure the split is 50/50 but it's not 5/95 either.  Smile

     

    I think among the general running population more people think they are non-responders to mileage than ever really gave it a chance.  Having more detriment to positive trying a mileage after a year running does not mean it will be the same way years on or that they're doing it the right way to test....

    I wonder what the split actually is.

     

     

    I've never gone above 100 miles in a real week (not long run trickery) and I doubt I ever will.  I'm talking more about people refusing to try 60-90 range. That was a good range for me actually, when I did it.

     

     


    Why is it sideways?

       

      I think among the general running population more people think they are non-responders to mileage than ever really gave it a chance.  Having more detriment to positive trying a mileage after a year running does not mean it will be the same way years on or that they're doing it the right way to test....

      I wonder what the split actually is.

       

       

      I've never gone above 100 miles in a real week (not long run trickery) and I doubt I ever will.  I'm talking more about people refusing to try 60-90 range. That was a good range for me actually, when I did it.

       

      That's a great point. The hard thing about mileage is that you have to build and you can't "shortcut" by making a huge jump and hoping that now because you are running a lot it's gonna work out... patience. It's sorta weird to think about "high mileage" as a shortcut, but it can be, and when it is, it doesn't work out.

       

      Runners are usually immoderate people and when we are training we usually run too much and too hard and when we are not training we are usually running too little and not hard enough! Ah, but we love it!


      No more marathons

        And all of this helps debuke the myth that you can/should only increase your mileage by 10% a week (or what ever measurement period you choose).  The only qualitative study on this was done at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands in 2007.  Over 500 runners were included in the study and the rate of injury (1 in 5) was the same whether they increased their mileage the "safe" 10% or as much as 30%.

        Boston 2014 - a 33 year journey

        Lordy,  I hope there are tapes. 

        He's a leaker!

        zonykel


          Debuke: debunk + rebuke

           

          :-)

           

          yes, I'm pedantic. Sorry :-)

           

          And all of this helps debuke the myth that you can/should only increase your mileage by 10% a week (or what ever measurement period you choose).  The only qualitative study on this was done at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands in 2007.  Over 500 runners were included in the study and the rate of injury (1 in 5) was the same whether they increased their mileage the "safe" 10% or as much as 30%.

          J-L-C


            I was just thinking about this last month and went through my logs to figure it all out.

             

            I built up from  0-35 in about 9-10 months and was okay. Then I tried 35-50 in one week and maintained that for three weeks and then was trashed and sick and missed out on any good races in the spring.  Then I went from 40-55 in a week and then up to 60ish and averaged 50+ for a whole summer and was okay. Have just done 65-70-75 over 2-3 months time and am fine.

             

            So I guess my biggest successful jump was ~40-55 mpw in a week.

             

            Here are my average miles for a few months at a time.

             

            Date                                                                                      Total Miles          Weeks           MPW

             

            <colgroup><col width="77" /> <col width="12" /> <col width="183" /> <col width="16" /> <col width="52" /> <col width="15" /> <col width="57" /> <col width="17" /> <col width="55" /> </colgroup>
            2010-2011   Winter (Dec 11-Feb 27)   234.4   11   21.3
            2011   Spring (Mar 15-May 28)   298.4   11   27.1
            2011   Summer (Jun 13-Sep 4)   286.1   12   23.8
            2011   Fall (Sep 5- Dec 4)   459.0   13   35.3
            2011-2012   Winter (Dec. 12-Feb 5)   360.1   8   45.0
            2012   Spring (Feb 27-May 20)   472.3   13   36.3
            2012   Summer (May 28-Sep2)   750.8   14   53.6
            2012   Fall (Sep 3-Dec 2)   755.7   13   58.1
            2012-2013   Winter (Dec. 10-Mar 3)   786.8   12   65.6
            2013   Spring (Mar 4-June 9)   928.8   13   71

             

            This spring is the projected mileage based on my current training plan. Might be a bit more or less.

             

            Anyway, I found it very hard in the beginning to increase mileage. I thought I'd never be able to break 30 mpw on a consistent basis and it was very frustrating. But once I got the ball rolling, I've been able to continually increase mileage while still hitting workouts and racing.

             

            ETA: That script is supposed to be a table but in the editing it doesn't show the script and I can't delete it. Oops.


            No more marathons

              Debuke: debunk + rebuke

               

              :-)

               

              yes, I'm pedantic. Sorry :-)

               

               

              Damn, could've sworn that was really a word - guess I'm just ahead of the curve.  50 years from now they will trace the origin back to this post and the word will finally be added to the merriam-webster dictionary.

              Boston 2014 - a 33 year journey

              Lordy,  I hope there are tapes. 

              He's a leaker!

                True, and it's all academic for me anyways, as I have never run a 120 mile week and have no plans to!

                 

                ----Slacker.  :-)

                 

                I'm thinking about getting towards a 100+ mile week someday, but this is all in the purpose of being able to run/walk 100 miles in a 24-hour race.   Life may eventually get in the way though... (Teenagers, day job, all those 'distractions'.  :-) )

                 

                This is a good thread about ramping up miles.  Dopple posted a massive mile rampup (an example of what the trained runner can do after a break) and Dave posted a great example of a rampup for someone who has never run before.  I am a pretty new runner and my charts show my efforts of the last 9 months, which was almost 0 miles in June 2012 (surgery), to 90 miles in July (most ever monthly mileage in my life at the time),  to 150 Miles by December, to just under 200 Miles by February '13.  ----  So far, no major injury issues. . .

                The Plan '15 →   ///    "Run Hard, Live Easy."   ∞

                DoppleBock


                  Every time (Except once) that I tried to move into a new mileage plateau, I have failed miserably.  There are times I have failed twice.  Because it did not go well once, does not mean that you cannot do it.

                   

                  I also believe that the recovery techniques that you use for a lower mileage may not be adequate for higher mileage.  By this I mean the amount of sleep, hydration, fuel and eletrolyte intake.

                   

                  Finally your average pace should slow.  If you run 30 MPW and run 8 minute miles, if you run 60 miles a week and run 8 minute miles you will break yourself in 2.  The additional miles will often be done at easy pace, but when you are running minimal miles you can and probably should be running them faster.

                  Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

                   

                   

                  Julia1971


                    I've done a pretty slow mileage buildup.  Here are my numbers (year: overall mileage/overall pace of that mileage):

                     

                    2006: 962.0/9:29

                    2007: 1,264.7/8:53

                    2008: 1,401.7/9:16

                    2009: 2,045.3/8:46

                    2010: 2,745.3/9:21

                    2011: 2,726.7/9:25

                    2012: 3,080.8/8:54

                     

                    I included the pace instead of the weekly average because it really illustrates how I slowed down to build up to that mileage.  2006 was my first year of running consistently.  I ran my miles much faster in 2007-2009, from what I recall I was running a lot of 5 and 10Ks, but wasn't running much mileage overall.  At some point in 2009, I decided to run a marathon and upped my mileage.  I ran my first marathon in the spring of 2010 and another in spring 2011.  (I wouldn't have guessed my training was that consistent over those two years but it's uncanny how the mileage and pace are almost identical).  By 2012, I was used to that level of mileage and decided I wanted to run it faster.  And, I've been injury free this whole time.

                    Wing


                    Joggaholic

                      This is me ramping up as a total newbie with no history of doing any sports.

                      mid 2011 is when I discovered RA and "run easy" Smile (I didn't delete the rows in 2010 and early 2011, I actually did not run)

                       

                      Date ▲DistanceDurationPace
                      Sep 2010 19.9 mi 3:46:30 11:22
                      Oct 2010 28.0 mi 4:55:21 10:33
                      Nov 2010 10.3 mi 1:41:30 9:52
                      Feb 2011 2.5 mi 26:46 10:43
                      Jul 2011 31.9 mi 5:42:18 10:45
                      Aug 2011 62.6 mi 10:33:27 10:07
                      Sep 2011 98.5 mi 15:38:51 9:33
                      Oct 2011 177.3 mi 28:21:38 9:36
                      Nov 2011 200.8 mi 31:50:37 9:32

                       

                       

                      This is me doing a sudden mileage bump, it was not sustainable, but I think I responded well in July, it felt really easy once the mileage came back down.

                       

                      Date ▲DistanceDurationPace
                      May 2012 156.9 mi 25:32:15 9:47
                      Jun 2012 330.7 mi 54:15:07 9:51
                      Jul 2012 159.5 mi 24:41:49 9:18

                       

                      Gotta love RA's reporting feature!


                      an amazing likeness

                        2006: 962.0/9:29

                        2007: 1,264.7/8:53

                        2008: 1,401.7/9:16

                        2009: 2,045.3/8:46

                        2010: 2,745.3/9:21

                        2011: 2,726.7/9:25

                        2012: 3,080.8/8:54

                         

                         

                        That's an impressive7 years, Julia.

                        Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

                          Here is my weekly mileage the last few years.

                          mileage 2

                           

                          Fall 2010, I was struggling with an injury. Haven't been injured since (at least not to an extent that I had to miss any runs), but I can't consider my first experience with averaging 50 mpw (that was my pre-taper average last year while training for the Buffalo Marathon in May) successful, even though I'd been over that level for particular weeks several times before. While I did not get injured, my paces were horrible, and my marathon, after a 3 week taper, was a total bust, around 23 min slower than I ran in 4/2010 on ~40 mpw average (didn't run any marathons in 2011). Legs felt dead the entire cycle and did not improve with taper. This time around, I'm tolerating the mileage level much better. Increased it very slowly this time, only at a rate that would allow me to still hit my paces on quality workouts.

                           

                          Here's my average pace/week:

                          pace

                           

                          Not sure why the x-axis scales are a little different, used the same date range for both, but I tried to adjust the size of the pace graph to make it somewhat line up.

                          PRs: 5K: 21:25, 10K: 44:05, HM: 1:38:23* (downhill), M: 3:32:09

                          runbum


                            I have found that increasing my run frequency has been an essential element contributing to the success of my ramp up. I double at least 3 to 4 times per week, often 5 or 6. It has trained my body to recover far more quickly, making the mileage manageable.

                             

                            It is unfortunate that standard training dogma encourages beginners (and masters runners) to severely limit their frequency. Of course, a complete novice needs to start off running three times per week initially, and then build from that level. The problem is that most training plans encourage an obsession with the long run, and compensating for that stress with lots of days off, when that is probably the worst approach a beginner can take to ramp up mileage. It isn't any big surprise to me that injuries are practically considered par for the course for beginners when so many are using Higdon plans and the like, where long runs account for 40-50% of weekly mileage.

                             

                            Not only is it less stressful to run two fives as opposed to a ten miler, running twice a day forces the body to adapt by recovering faster.

                             

                            Once the body is properly conditioned to recover, that is the time to introduce longer runs, leaving one run during double days as a short easy / recovery effort.

                             

                            At least this has been my experience. I'm sure there are some runners who are far less tolerant of high frequency than myself. However, I do think coaches should keep an open mind that, for certain runners at least, this can be a very effective approach. Cookie cutter training plans and a one size fits all runners mentality seem to be the biggest obstacles to beginners wishing to ramp up. They would be far better off spending their time learning about proper training principles and techniques than plunging into three hour+ long runs because some "magic plan" says this will get them through a marathon.

                            Julia1971


                               

                              That's an impressive7 years, Julia.

                               

                              Thanks!  I'm hoping for an even better 2013.


                              Mmmmm...beer

                                Forgot about paces, mine have definitely picked up as my mileage has increased.  This is with all easy running, no speedwork, just good newb gains I guess. Smile

                                 

                                Apr 2012       25 mi 4:46:00 11:27
                                May 2012       48.6 mi 8:54:00 11:00
                                Jun 2012       93.3 mi 15:52:19 10:13
                                Jul 2012       130.6 mi 21:32:59 9:55
                                Aug 2012       146.2 mi 23:04:59 9:29
                                Sep 2012       150.6 mi 21:46:44 8:41
                                Oct 2012       201.0 mi 26:58:49 8:04
                                Nov 2012       212.9 mi 28:51:52 8:09
                                Dec 2012       222.4 mi 29:30:43 7:58
                                Jan 2013       170.5 mi 22:52:02 8:03
                                Feb 2013       189.1 mi 24:54:23 7:55
                                Mar 2013       67.7 mi 8:48:47 7:49

                                -Dave

                                My running blog

                                Goals | sub-18 5k | sub-3 marathon 2:56:46!!

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