That is an effing unreal schedule. I can never imagine doing that in my life. Yes I suppose single with no kids helps; independently wealthy with no job would be even better. But still, there is the small challenge of avoiding having your body totally break down.

Being single and retired would not be enough for me to be able to do this. There is the mental aspect of it as well. I have a hard time just doing my regular Pfitz double of 6 and 4 at recovery pace, simply because I can't bring myself to dress in running clothes again and then shower again, etc... When I'm done, I'm done. I don't like going out a second time, there is a mental blockage there for me. So I have to run 10 at recovery instead. I could never do a 10 and a 10 the same day, on a regular basis. Also, of course, there is the physical aspect of it. Running 100 miles one week I can do, once every 6 months, maybe... But doing it consistently? No freaking way... My body would totally break down. But then I'm old. Jay is a youngin... But he definitely is amazing to be able to do something like this on a regular basis, especially at the speed he does it. And all the other 300+ milers are amazing as well.

But also amazing are all the moms and dads who juggle family life, work and running. And everyone who only started running recently and have to hang on to the belief that one day things will be easier and feel more natural to them. It's not easy in the beginning... And everyone running through pain, or injury (you know about that one, Dave). You also need a huge dose of faith to believe that things WILL get better for you. And everyone back to running after struggling with cancer, or any other illness, disease, etc... Rebuilding is darn hard and it would be easy for anyone to just give up and go back to the couch...

I think whether the number is 0 mile for the month, or 300, if we're posting in this thread, we all rock... May next month be even better for everyone!

If anyone is looking at my weekly / monthly / yearly mileage they need to consider my profile. In my 1st 4 years, when I resumed running post-college, I never ran more than 900 mpy. I was in my mid-20's and doing the bulk of my training between 7-8 mpm [which may begin to explain why I ran such low mileage]. I ran a 50 mile week ONCE and never heard of people running doubles! I ran 2000 miles for the 1st time 30+ years after I began running back in high school. I didn't have a lot of miles under me in those 30 years I did have a wealth of experience. I knew what my body was capable of [or so I thought]. My progression was very modest - people go from zero - 2000 in 2-3 years, not 30 [granted a portion of that time I was inactive].

If someone had told me back then I'd be running 50 mpw consistently or a single 80, 100, 120 or 150 mile week I would have IOI. All of my high mileage has been in the last 5 years, so it's hard to say how my body would have adapted if I'd run at that level decades earlier. In talking with other Masters I think I would be running fewer miles now if that was the case but I'm fortunate not to have suffered a lengthy injury history and own a resilient body.

I've mentioned this before but I had a more trouble maintaining a 40 mpw schedule in my 20-40-s than I do a 60-70 mpw schedule in my mid-50's. I believe the higher mielage has benefited me most in improving my rate of recovery. What took me days to recover from now takes me 6-12 hours. Doubles have become a staple in my training schedule [even post-stroke]. Admittedly I'm not able to tolerate the percentage of quality workouts I did in the past but the simple fact is as your mileage increases a greater % of those miles have to be easy and you need to be more selective about when you push the envelope. I witnessed people starting out at very modest levels and they now run more miles than me, so don't limit yourself. Miles are like pennies in a jar - doesn't look like much at 1st but over time adds up.

well stated....everyone has their reasons, limitations and expectations. i salute everyone here and am interested to hear and read about ANY accomplishment. we are all doing a lot more than most people out there, so let's keep moving!

 

Being single and retired would not be enough for me to be able to do this. There is the mental aspect of it as well. I have a hard time just doing my regular Pfitz double of 6 and 4 at recovery pace, simply because I can't bring myself to dress in running clothes again and then shower again, etc... When I'm done, I'm done. I don't like going out a second time, there is a mental blockage there for me. So I have to run 10 at recovery instead. I could never do a 10 and a 10 the same day, on a regular basis. Also, of course, there is the physical aspect of it. Running 100 miles one week I can do, once every 6 months, maybe... But doing it consistently? No freaking way... My body would totally break down. But then I'm old. Jay is a youngin... But he definitely is amazing to be able to do something like this on a regular basis, especially at the speed he does it. And all the other 300+ milers are amazing as well.

 

But also amazing are all the moms and dads who juggle family life, work and running. And everyone who only started running recently and have to hang on to the belief that one day things will be easier and feel more natural to them. It's not easy in the beginning... And everyone running through pain, or injury (you know about that one, Dave). You also need a huge dose of faith to believe that things WILL get better for you. And everyone back to running after struggling with cancer, or any other illness, disease, etc... Rebuilding is darn hard and it would be easy for anyone to just give up and go back to the couch...

 

I think whether the number is 0 mile for the month, or 300, if we're posting in this thread, we all rock... May next month be even better for everyone!

There's another factor that needs to be considered, and that's the runner's pace.   I'm slow, (easy pace about 11:30) so my 30-32 miles per week takes me between 6.5 - 7 hours (running time, not counting time for stretching/showers). But someone with a 9:00 easy pace will get 40 miles with that same time commitment.   So you get faster by running more, and as you get faster you can run more without devoting more time to running. 

I'm impressed with those of you who juggle work/kids/running and rack up the miles. I know I wouldn't have been able to do it when my girls were still at home.