Why does weekly mileage matter so much? (Read 3293 times)

DirtyGraceFlint


The Crap Whisperer

     

    Some posters were able to respond politely with useful information, and some had to attack me personally.  I don't think I'm at fault for the personal attacks because of the way I posted.

    Perhaps you should try focusing on the posts that you perceive to be useful and ignore the rest??

     

    I would like an orange popsicle please and thank you.

    Being the best tiny spec that I can be!

    xor


      You get the spicy jalapeno one.

       

      AmoresPerros


      Options,Account, Forums

         

        Why are you twisting my words?

         

        Cause he has too much time on his hands cause he is busy looking for shortcuts instead of running.

         

         

        Now, see, there is a sarcastic response, which is more or less inline with the OP's apparent tendency to respond to "attacks" that were never actually there, and respond in ways implying some ridiculous strawman assertion was put out.

         

        The contrast between this sarcastic response, and the earlier sincere responses by many, including spaniel, Jeff, and JeffGlobule, is pretty easy to see, in my opinion.

        It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.

        grinch031



          Giant Flaming Dork

            http://xkcd.com/621/

               

              Well I mean whats the point of having a board to answer questions if you are supposed to figure things out on your own or hire a coach.

               

              Perhaps there is no point.

              When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

              navghtivs


                 

                Well I mean whats the point of having a board to answer questions if you are supposed to figure things out on your own or hire a coach.

                 

                 

                Well I mean whats the point of answering questions if the 19 year old popsicle eater won't listen to anything he does not like.  

                GST


                    

                  Anyways I always hear about the weekly mileage, but I know people who run 2 to 3 times as much as me, yet they are running 9-10 minute pace.  What is the real benefit of running 30, 40, or 50+ miles when training for a half marathon?  Is it about preventing cramps and fatigue, or about increasing pace?   Why do some people who run so much never improve their times?  Whats more important, pushing yourself to run faster paces or the amount of miles (quantity vs. quality)?

                   

                  Alternately, I know people who run 3 x as much as you and who run much, much faster.  Can't be selective about your sample size, puts you up for confirmation bias (You note what matches your preconceived notions)  Because you seem in your following posts to keep doing this, you seem like you are trolling and trying to get a reaction, whether or not that is actually what you are trying to do.  That is what you were running (quickly, I promise Wink ) into here.

                   

                  Quality and quantity both matter.  A big benefit of more quantity, it prepares your body better to handle more and better quality runs, too.  And I certainly wouldn't consider 30 or 40 miles anywhere in the neighborhood of high mileage for a half marathon. 

                   

                  You ran your first half in 1:44.  Chances are, you can do much better.  If you chose to absolutely see what you were capable of (as a priority, whether it is or not is your business), increasing your weekly mileage over an expanded period of time (12 weeks at 60 mpw isn't the same as 2 years at that)... you could probably shock yourself. 

                   

                  And as to what other people you know and their results, trends over groups means more in deriving knowledge than an individual.  And the research and the trends support higher mileage for performance enhancement in endurance races.  At the individual level, you have to consider that each person is entering with differences in what they are capable of and what they can handle, and consider the details of their training plan, other influential choices, etc.... more data points and you can soothe that stuff out and see that for most people, higher mileage correlates with improvement.  This is relative to yourself, not another person.  Past that, make your own choices and choose what works best for you.   

                   

                  If you want to read some of the physiology on why the miles help improve performance,  most running physiology books do go into detail... However, it does (especially in the lower mileage range you are talking about, going up to over 50 miles per week) improve aerobic capacity... and there are other effects, including improving running economy.  

                   

                  Again, don't make the mistake of assuming it has to be all one or all another, because you need quantity and quality to achieve the best you can. It's not an OR question. 

                  xor


                     

                    Well I mean whats the point of having a board to answer questions if you are supposed to figure things out on your own or hire a coach.

                     

                    That is a totally reasonable question.  And as a message board veteran, I will assume you know very well that a common conversation flow on 101-style boards is the whole "check google, do research, find a real life person" rip tide.  It is what it is.  Anyway, there's good stuff in this thread; people are trying to help you.  As a message board veteran, you should be able to separate your harvest from your filler, because that's what message board veterans do.

                     

                    Good luck.

                     

                    grinch031


                      AmoresPerros


                      Options,Account, Forums

                        I've seen (on video) K. Bekele race a 5K in over 14 minutes. Yes, slow as dog doo. But to be fair, he continued on without stopping through the next 5K in under 13 minutes. So context is important.

                         

                         

                        (PS: I'm ignoring all the insulting and "hurt feelings" stuff that the OP is throwing out. See, that is one way to deal with counter-productive emotional stuff -- ignore it. I recommend that approach -- of ignoring the emotional stuff -- as often a good approach.)

                        It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.

                        xor


                          Yup.  You are right.  Totally right.  On behalf of runningahead.com and its parent company, I apologize for trolling you and for all the experts being mean to you.

                           

                          As compensation, may I offer you a popsicle?

                           


                          Feeling the growl again

                             

                            In other words, it is completely inappropriate for me to reach out to a message board prior to becoming an expert on my own or by hiring a coach?  I mean are you serious?  What is the point of having the Running 101 forum if people are not supposed to ask for advice?

                             

                            I never said it was inappropriate.  I simply explained why such plans were general and why it was not realistic for them to be incredibly detailed.  Then I offered you two different solutions to get to what you wanted -- learn, or take a shortcut by hiring a coach.  Your response to this very clear attempt to help you get to where you wanted was a snarky and sarcastic brush-off.

                             

                            I have posted several sincere and informative responses to you on this thread.  Instead of giving any indication that you are trying to comprehend them and learn, you appear to flip between ignoring useful responses that don't agree with your pre-conceived notions and knocking your own chip off your shoulder so you can start arguments with people trying to answer your question.  You come across very argumentative and as if you have no real inclination to listen to the advice being offered....much less appreciate peoples' time spent trying to answer your question.

                             

                            Several accomplished runners have tried to help you yet you continue to play the victim.  Nobody wants to waste their time trying to help someone who behaves like this.

                             

                            This is a very friendly forum.  With extremely few exceptions, people are very helpful and those legitimately asking questions get helpful responses.  If you feel like you aren't, I suggest looking over your own posts again to figure out why you are the outlier.

                            "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

                             

                              Yup.  You are right.  Totally right.  On behalf of runningahead.com and its parent company, I apologize for trolling you and for all the experts being mean to you.

                               

                              As compensation, may I offer you a popsicle?

                               

                              And this may help, too.

                               

                              When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

                              xor


                                 

                                Well not too many people in this thread are capable of being argumentative without throwing in some personal attacks. 

                                 

                                Here is a summary of this thread (responses in no particular order):

                                 

                                Me: I am skeptical about the recommended weekly mileage and am wondering if its really that necessary for me...

                                 

                                Poster 1 (assumes everyone on a board has no life): By family I hope you mean your parents, as I assumed you were just a zit-faced teenager

                                Poster 2 (after my first post): You have made up your mind, there is no point in even trying with you

                                Poster 3 (resident troll): Have a popsicle

                                Poster 4 (Overly offended): How dare you cut down us 9 minute milers

                                Poster 5 (How dare you waste our time): Why don't you do some research on your own instead of asking ignorant questions

                                 

                                 

                                 

                                Ah well, I'm bored.  You've trolled now, so I will take this bait.

                                 

                                Poster 1 (assumes everyone on a board has no life): By family I hope you mean your parents, as I assumed you were just a zit-faced teenager

                                This was Nobby, I think.  In his second post, he tried to explain where he was coming from (BTW, he is not a native English speaker) and he made a reasonable assumption based on what he thought your post meant.  He went pretty far in explaining this. 

                                 

                                Poster 2 (after my first post): You have made up your mind, there is no point in even trying with you

                                This was Ennay.  She also tried to offer up real information AND tried to explain why she said "it SEEMS..." When someone writes "it SEEMS..." perhaps you should look at your own tone and words. You are being dramatic.

                                 

                                Poster 3 (resident troll): Have a popsicle

                                That was me.  I didn't troll you.  You brought up your message board expertise, but you can't tell the difference between a troll and someone providing actual feedback.


                                Poster 4 (Overly offended): How dare you cut down us 9 minute milers

                                I think this is in reference to Doug Little on p2, but I'm not 100% sure. You might want to re-read that post.  There was no "how dare you".  You are being dramatic.

                                 

                                Poster 5 (How dare you waste our time): Why don't you do some research on your own instead of asking ignorant questions

                                Spaniel did not use the phrase "ignorant questions".  He provided feedback.  You are being dramatic.