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


Sultan of slug

    My question is have you taken any time off to re-juice your system in the last 12 months?  By time off I mean weeks (2+) in a row.

     

    Not exactly, but I've had several single weeks of 0 miles since end-October, sometimes abutting very low mileage weeks. I also ran very, very little in the few weeks after my October marathon.

    zonykel


      I was able to increase my mileage from the 20s to the 40s over a period of weeks. But I slowed down my pace by about 30-60 seconds per mile to do that.

      kcam


        I think Jeff's post has a lot of wisdom to it regarding how to think about increasing mileage.  I spent way too long at the 30mpw range (family/work commitments and just not knowing what I was doing) and now too long at the 50mpw range (still not knowing what I'm doing)!

         

        My biggest 'bump' was during 2008.  A very significant mileage bump and, based on the following years of 2009 to 2012 of no injuries and very good racing, it was successful.  Probably had something to do with the mileage I had run prior to 2007 although I had never in the years before 2005 ever run more than 1500 miles.  I'm attempting another big 'bump' in mileage this year.

         

        96-04 - ~1400/year

        2005 - 1500 miles

        2006 - 1200 miles

        2007 - 1500 miles

        2008 - 2750 miles

        2009 - 2750 miles

        2010 - 2800 miles

        2011 - 2900 miles

        2012 - 2750 miles


        Why is it sideways?

          Very nice thread -- between this and the "fast before long" thread, lots of good information. Nice work, folks!

          runmomto3boys


            I had a fast build up by most people's standards.  I was up to 40 mpw a month after I started running last March.  I stayed in the 40-50 mpw range for 3 months.  I ramped up to what ended up being 74 mpw average (suddenly, just one week I made the switch) when I decided to train for a marathon and stayed at that average throughout the cycle (18 weeks, but there was a taper in there).  I then ran a marathon 7 months after I started running in October.  I had a down week after my marathon and then I built back up week 2 to 70 mpw, week 3 to 80 mpw. I held that for a month, then I had a few weeks with fewer miles in December, but since January 1, I've managed to stay around 80 mpw pretty easily.  Right now, I'm a little less than halfway through training for a Spring marathon.

            runmomto3boys


              After being a slug toward the end of the year - I ramped up

               

              Jan 238 miles

              Feb 612 miles

              March 938 mile (Peaking at 257 miles in a week)

               

              Before an April taper of 750 miles

               

              Race was May 14th

               

              This is completely, totally amazing.  I'm in awe!

              Hipfan


              Proud Calgarian

                I've gotten to 119+ in a week last year in June and really all you need to achieve that total is time. I ran to work 3 times that week, ran a couple of triples, and at the end of the week, ran to and from my 5-mile race while I videotaped it. The miles just have to be easy enough, too many days of speedwork or 15+ day per day can really tire you out if you do it too quickly IMO.

                 

                 

                120+ requires special genetic gifts and recovery capacities, I think.

                 

                2015 Goals and PRs:

                5k - 17:59 (18:05);  10k - 35:59 (36:42);   HM - 1:19:19 (1:19:59);   FM - 2:49:59 (3:05:46)

                joescott


                  Zero to 70+ mile weeks in < 6 months after a 6-month layoff.  Last year, March-Sept.  I ain't da man like DB, but  I was rather pleased with how well it went.

                  - Joe

                  We are fragile creatures on collision with our judgment day.


                  Mmmmm...beer

                    I started running last April and went from nothing to my first 200 mile month in six months.  Had some ITBS hit me in Jan and have been working on getting my mileage back up (up until that point I had done all of my running on the left side of the road, switched sides and started foam rolling and it's been fine).  Should be back over 200 this month.

                     

                    -Dave

                    My running blog

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


                    Why is it sideways?

                      I've gotten to 119+ in a week last year in June and really all you need to achieve that total is time. I ran to work 3 times that week, ran a couple of triples, and at the end of the week, ran to and from my 5-mile race while I videotaped it. The miles just have to be easy enough, too many days of speedwork or 15+ day per day can really tire you out if you do it too quickly IMO.

                       

                       

                      I'm not talking about being able to run 120 miles in a week. I'm talking about getting to the point where that is the right mileage for you in terms of training. I think that most people will find 120 miles per week to be more mileage than is optimal or sustainable. I'm not sure that having run one 119 mile week really puts a person in position to comment on the sustainability of the 120+ mpw level.

                       

                      Put another way, if 120+ were the best mileage for training fast for most people, I think you'd see a lot more elites and college runners running that kind of mileage. But most top out somewhere shy of that mark.


                      Feeling the growl again

                         

                        I'm not talking about being able to run 120 miles in a week. I'm talking about getting to the point where that is the right mileage for you in terms of training. I think that most people will find 120 miles per week to be more mileage than is optimal or sustainable. I'm not sure that having run one 119 mile week really puts a person in position to comment on the sustainability of the 120+ mpw level.

                         

                        Put another way, if 120+ were the best mileage for training fast for most people, I think you'd see a lot more elites and college runners running that kind of mileage. But most top out somewhere shy of that mark.

                         

                        You're right, it all comes down to the definitions.  A single 120 mile week is very different from 4 of them in a row, which is very different from 4 months of them in a row.

                         

                        I don't think stretches of several months of 120 mile weeks are unusual for elite marathoners.  Probably more unusual for shorter distances.

                         

                        But periodization must be taken into account...I view such very high mileage weeks (ok, except to DB) as a tool and tools are meant to be used for the right purposes.  I've runs stretches at 120mpw but obviously overall intensity will be lower, so at some point mileage drops to the 95-100mpw which was my personal max for doing 3 hard workouts per week and keeping a decent (sub-7) pace for most of the remaining miles.

                         

                        It's all a balancing game.  Doing stuff at the right time, and not indexing too much on either volume or pace for most of your running.  Indexing too much on either one leads to bad habits.

                         

                        I think a lot of people could build to the point of getting some good benefit from a stretch of 120 mile weeks.   But they probably wouldn't race well before dropping down for a few months of more moderated miles with faster workouts.  After coming down off a couple months of very high mileage I used to not race well...but after just a few weeks of workouts it was like I'd used EPO I'd progress so fast.  One particular year I ran a couple months of high mileage that was challenging, I raced 5K in 16:01 at the and of this (January).  My PR was 15:37 so this was pretty disappointing.  I didn't have the gears.  I dropped from 110-130 mpw to 90-110 mpw and made the workouts faster/harder, and only 6-7 weeks later was at a 1:09-hi HM (March).  A month later even faster.

                         

                        High mileage (from the perspective of the individual) is an investment that should pay out later.  It's a foundation for speed to build on.

                         

                        If anyone's head explodes trying to resolve this with the "faster before longer" thread, I guess I'll have to post again.  Smile

                        "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

                         

                        runbum


                          I started running after a 10+ year break at the beginning of July '12.

                           

                          Starting at zero miles, I have been averaging 57mpw for the last 5 months. Here is a weekly summary of my mileage over the last 20 weeks:

                           

                          53, 50.5, 55, 62.5, 42.5, 65, 65, 67.5, 63.5, 54, 45, 55, 58, 59, 57, 45.5, 59.5, 63.5, 67.5, 57 = 1145.5 total miles.

                           

                          I attribute my success so far to my previous running experience, beginning in 1986. That is when I was a true beginner, and didn't really understand how to train properly and avoid injury. So I made all of the typical mistakes back then, and suffered from one overuse injury after another. These hard learned lessons have been invaluable.

                           

                          It has been hard maintaining this schedule, especially since I"m not the fastest runner. I have been averaging about 8.5 - 9hrs weekly. I suffered a mini-breakdown back in late December, which I attribute to a cumulative overload of both quality and quantity. I  was averaging 2 quality workouts per week plus a 2hr+ long run during November and December. I ultimately ended up with a horrible cold that forced me to stop running completely for two days, and limited my running for several days after that.

                           

                          It could have ended up much worse, obviously. I was lucky not to end up injured or completely burned out trying to maintain that difficult a schedule so soon.

                           

                          I was able to maintain my mileage by eliminating all long runs, and most quality runs, for about a six week period. I slowed my pace, and increased my frequency instead. I ended up doing 12-14 runs per week, most of them in the 30-45 minute range. It has only been over the past month that I have begun to build myself back up. I am still doing a lot of doubles, but now I'll typically include one longer run of 6-10 miles, along with a short easy/recovery run of 3-4 miles. I've rebuilt my long run to the 12-14 mile range. I have been doing a reasonable amount of sub-threshold stamina work (MP), strides, and hill work, but have been cautious about anything more strenuous during what I consider to be an extended base-building period.

                           

                          I am feeling much stronger now than a few months ago. I think I'm finally ready to handle the volume, but it has been a tough struggle. 70 mpw (around 10 hours per week) seems like an impenetrable barrier. I'm not ready for that yet.


                          Why is it sideways?

                            Spaniel: Absolutely agreed with everything you said, especially for someone who really responds to mileage. My only comment is that somewhere around that point you're going to really start to separate out the "mileage responders" from folks who just can't handle it for reasons that have more to do with physiology than drive.


                            Feeling the growl again

                              Spaniel: Absolutely agreed with everything you said, especially for someone who really responds to mileage. My only comment is that somewhere around that point you're going to really start to separate out the "mileage responders" from folks who just can't handle it for reasons that have more to do with physiology than drive.

                               

                              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

                              "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

                               


                              Why is it sideways?

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

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