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Maintenance Mileage (Read 195 times)

    What do you consider to be maintenance mode mileage? either as a percentage of peak mileage or actual miles per week.

     

    For me who averages on the lower mileage scale, maybe 1000 miles a year, I consider weekly average i.e. 20 miles to be maintenance, I might build up to 35-40 miles a week for a specific goal race, falling back to 0-10 miles for some weeks whenever life or injury or laziness gets in the way.

    GinnyinPA


      Maintenance for me is 30-35 mpw, unless I'm on the road, then it's more like 20. I do one marathon a year, peaking at 55, averaging about 45 during MRT. Yearly total is 1700-2000, depending on how much travel I do.

      Joann Y


        I guess maintenance is 30-40 even though I would prefer it be more. Building up to a marathon I get up to 55-60. I can never seem to keep the body parts all working well enough to get above that. Well, maybe things are going okay at the moment (creeping up to 50 a week without a race on the calendar until April) but on average 30-40.

          Training = 55-70

          Manitenance = 40-50

          Dave


          an amazing likeness

            I aim for 45 minutes for most days 'just logging miles at easy pace', fall back to 30-35min if some recovery is needed.

            Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

            wcrunner2


            Are we there, yet?

              In practice it's about 20 mpw though I would prefer it to be 30+ mpw.

               2024 Races:

                    03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles

                    05/11 - D3 50K
                    05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour

                    06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.

               

               

                   

                Follow up question - at your maintenance level do you expect to have your fitness to stay level, or accept some degradation?  for e.g. my Garmin estimated my VO2max to be 48 (yeah right, but it's a apples to apples comparison absent race results) last fall as I was training for a race, but has fallen to 42 ish with maintenance miles. Granted the lower reading was in the summer, not sure if Garmin's algorithms account for the weather.


                SMART Approach

                  I love my Garmin, but I would not depend on what you see on the Garmin. It tells me I should run a half marathon way faster than I ever have and I am less fit now. It is just a tool or sometimes a toy Smile

                   

                  There will be some degradation of fitness in off season of lower miles but not earth shattering. It is fine.....one needs an off season but keep in mind all miles go into a bank. Going into a training program in early 2019 with 500 miles in the bank vs 300 miles in the bank......of course you will be more fit.

                   

                  It is helpful though to not forget about faster pace work in off season. I have always believed you should stay in touch with tempo pace, interval pace, speed with striders. Volume is less, paces may be a bit slower in off season but don't let your body forget about those paces. I always like to think I could jump into a race in off season and be respectable. Think about that.

                  Run Coach. Recovery Coach. Founder of SMART Approach Training, Coaching & Recovery

                  Structured Marathon Adaptive Recovery Training

                  Safe Muscle Activation Recovery Technique

                  www.smartapproachtraining.com

                    Follow up question - at your maintenance level do you expect to have your fitness to stay level, or accept some degradation?  for e.g. my Garmin estimated my VO2max to be 48 (yeah right, but it's a apples to apples comparison absent race results) last fall as I was training for a race, but has fallen to 42 ish with maintenance miles. Granted the lower reading was in the summer, not sure if Garmin's algorithms account for the weather.

                     

                    Well I usually hope it stays level. (Although I have no idea what my VO2max is, or what it ever was.) When healthy I am racing year-round, so even with maintenance I include some speed work. Or if for no other reason, to stave off boredom.

                    Dave


                    Prince of Fatness

                      I try to focus on consistency, i.e., whether on not I'm training for a race I try to run the same number of days per week (5 has been working for me these days).  So for me the main difference for maintenance is shorter and less intense runs as a whole.  But I try to get out an run with the same frequency.  So I guess maintenance for me really means maintaining the habit.

                      Not at it at all. 

                      LedLincoln


                      not bad for mile 25

                        Follow up question - at your maintenance level do you expect to have your fitness to stay level, or accept some degradation?  for e.g. my Garmin estimated my VO2max to be 48 (yeah right, but it's a apples to apples comparison absent race results) last fall as I was training for a race, but has fallen to 42 ish with maintenance miles. Granted the lower reading was in the summer, not sure if Garmin's algorithms account for the weather.

                         

                        Seems to me that maintenance by definition means to maintain without degradation.  Degradation due to age/illness/injury, though, might mean that true maintenance is impossible in the long run.

                         

                        And this is pretty much me:

                         

                        Training = 55-70

                        Manitenance = 40-50

                        paul2432


                          If you maintain the same fitness during your maintenance period as your previous peak, then you are not peaking for your goal races properly.  Nobody can maintain peak racing fitness year round.  I maintain a base level of fitness during the off season, but not a peak level of fitness.  If I can start a training cycle a little ahead of where I started my last training cycle, then I consider that a win.

                            Two posts both logical, yet reaching opposite conclusions.

                             

                            My thoughts (post a couple of beers FWIW)

                            • training if done correctly is supposed to be a series of higher plateaus.  Each goal race training helping reach that incremental higher plateau, and maintenance mileage/workouts are supposed to help us retain that hard earned higher fitness, and hopefully recover mentally and physically so we can target  the next race and a slightly improved fitness level.  
                            • Racing frequently has a better training effect than running more
                            • Running with a group has better training effect than running alone
                            • Cross training helps our running more than we give credit for
                            • Flexibility is underrated in avoiding injuries and
                            • Running 70 miles a week is  

                              Two posts both logical, yet reaching opposite conclusions.

                               

                              My thoughts (post a couple of beers FWIW)

                              1. training if done correctly is supposed to be a series of higher plateaus.  Each goal race training helping reach that incremental higher plateau, and maintenance mileage/workouts are supposed to help us retain that hard earned higher fitness, and hopefully recover mentally and physically so we can target  the next race and a slightly improved fitness level.  
                              2. Racing frequently has a better training effect than running more
                              3. Running with a group has better training effect than running alone
                              4. Cross training helps our running more than we give credit for
                              5. Flexibility is underrated in avoiding injuries and
                              6. Running 70 miles a week is  

                               

                              Numbered for easier response.

                              1. Until age overtakes performance gains and things go in the other direction.

                              2. I don't know whether that's true, but it makes it more fun.

                              3. I don't know about that either, I've never really tried it.

                              4. I think this benefit is pretty well accepted. Although I don't do it.

                              5. Same comment as #4. Both parts.

                              6. Truth. But people here certainly do a lot crazier things than that.

                              Dave

                                Two posts both logical, yet reaching opposite conclusions.

                                 

                                That's what happens when you leave the definition of fitness to the responder. If you define fitness as race results then it becomes pretty obvious that you lose fitness in maintenance mode.

                                 

                                By the by, talking to d.a.p. on Thursday night and we were lamenting just how many "weeks from race fit" we were. Up until a couple years ago, I had probably never been more that 8 weeks from race fit in 15 years. Now I'm almost afraid to estimate ... 25 weeks? Could be 40 for all I know. Probably well past time to find out. Alas.

                                Runners run

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