Uh, yeah. There’s 30 days in a week, right.
What would you (and the board in general) equate to being the equivalent of a 120mile week in terms of:
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cycling volume?
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swimming volume?
My own guesstimation is that 120mpw running is maybe similar to someone biking 600mpw (although that would likely take about double the hours, but that just seems like a rough intensity equivalent) or swimming 50,000yds (which just seems like a big number).
200mpw seems like 1000mpw of biking or 100K (or 100,000yds) swimming.
somewhere i think i heard that 1 mile of running is supposed to balance out to 4 miles on the bike…so 480 miles biking to 120 miles running…does that sound right to you uber cyclists…i’m still trying to hit 200
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What would you (and the board in general) equate to being the equivalent of a 120mile week in terms of:
-
cycling volume?
-
swimming volume?
Breaking 120miles down to 14 hours, which is an average of just under 7’ pace…
In terms of stress on the body, cycling and swimming volume equivalent would be 36.65 hours.
I’ve seen that conversion for using the “Empfield points” system. I’ve never logged 120mpw running, but I didn’t think it was particulary a lot the weeks this year that I came close to 480 biking. I bike a lot, though, so I guess it is what you are used to… Maybe 120mpw isn’t really a big week for someone who runs a lot.
Cant speak for the runners or cyclists but when I was swimming… we would do a few weeks every year where we would hit 120,000m or ~73 miles and regularly top 100,000m. This was done with about ~30 hours of pool time per week (also had dry land and running in there too).
All of this is made MUCH easier than running by the fact that it takes place in a nearly zero G enviornment.
How’d you get 36.65? I assume there is a formula somewhere…
personally, 120 mpw isn’t completely insane…it’s still a lot of miles but it’s not out of the question. 480 miles on the bike seems like a ton to me but i’m also fairly new to cycling and running is what i’ve always done
That’s exactly the same response I’d give for cycling. And similar to what aus_tri said for swimming. Really, I guess it’s what you know and are comfortable doing. Some people can’t ever get into a zone in a certain sport, and therefore mileage seems much greater for that discipline.
How’d you get 36.65? I assume there is a formula somewhere…
1 unit of stress = 1 hour of running = 2.618 hours of cycling = 2.618 hours of swimming.
phi^2 ~ 2.618
I see running as the masculine expression here, with cycling and swimming equalling the feminine expression. To equal one unit of masculine force I choose to square the feminine force. So, where the feminine is represented by phi, the masculine will be equal to 1.
I think the equation is dead on personally, mainly because phi is a naturally occurring way for energy to express itself in nature. 14 hours of running on singles is pretty intense, as is 36.65 hours of cycling or swimming on singles. But, if you are doing doubles, it’s not as taxing or intimidating.
Back in the 80’s when I was primarily a runner, I put in a few 120+ mile weeks. I was focused however, on Marathons and Ultras. I ran Western States 4 times (twice top ten), numerous Ultras including two World Championship 100k’s in Europe. I was also running sub 2:30 for the Marathon. As such, that kind of mileage was very understandable. However, I will say that at least for me the huge mileage did not help me that much. It proved I was durable and could rack up the big miles, but I actually went faster on 80-90 mpw with a higher concentration on speed. Having said this, when it cam to preparing for races like WS, I did put in some really long single workouts ie. 6-7 hours, on very rugged mountainous terrain. The risk/reward of 70 mpw for a Marathoner/Ultra Marathoner vs. 120+ are I believe, negligible, unless you are a 2:20 guy looking to get to 2:10
HUH!?!?!?!?!?!? i don’t even think i want to know what in the world you’re talking about
Not doubt about this. I couldn’t phathom 200 miles of cycling in one week, and I’m lucky to swim 6000m a week - I have however only been doing these to sports for a year though. I could go out and run 6 miles as easy as walking 2 though, and a hundred mile running week, while taxing (I wouldn’t race off of it), is not that really anything extreme to me. It all about long term adaptation. Like my college coach used to say “Funny, the more I ran (insert swam/rode) the more talented I became.”
I must also disagree with you. After reading this thread this morning, I went and ran a lunch run with a freind of mine. He is now the cross counrty coach for Montana State University(Billings). In his prime He would log up to 170 a week. Was a 2:20 marathoner. Him and his freinds would see how long they would go without a rest day(for some it was years,though sometimes slow two milers). His reply…No problem if 1) You are bio-mechanicly correct 2)You do not have a predisposed disposition to injury ie…flat feet ect… He will turn 50 this year and still racks up 70 per.
HUH!?!?!?!?!?!? i don’t even think i want to know what in the world you’re talking about
Don’t worry, that’s normal.
now i’m even more confused…i just got called ‘normal’…i need to go run
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You hit the nail on the head. When I ran track and CC at Eastern Michigan… Depending on your focus you’d either run 100mpw or 40-60mpw…But not too much further… Quality miles… not junk just to get it in… I was a miler and a little bigger, so 80mpw was about all I could do before getting injured/burnt out. My buddies who went on to race in marathons are pulling 2:12-15 ish pace… with about 100 ish mile per week avg. Interestingly enough, in Triathlon, we can train 15-20 hours a week religiously without any worry of injury… The comment about other countries killing us in running (except in the 70’s)… How many gold medals and world championships did we win?
The comment about other countries killing us in running (except in the 70’s)… How many gold medals and world championships did we win?
Frank Shorter won the Olympic Marathon in '72 and was 2nd in '76. The guy who beat him in '76 was and Eastern Bloc dude who records have shown was taking drugs, so really Shorter aught to have repeated as Olympic Marathon champion. In the late '70s and early '80s Bill Rogers and Alberto Salazar won about 8-10 Boston and New York marathons between them. We also had some pretty competitive middle distance guys in the early 80s–Steve Scott come to mind who still holds the American record of 3:47 for the mile. At the time the world record was help by Sebastion Coe at 3:46ish. I have not read of an American runner who has broken 3:50 for the miles since then. The World Championships of track and field didn’t start until 1983, so we have never really had a decent male finish in the marathon since then, unless you include Meb from last year and that just proves the point that Americans were not competitive.
Bob Kennedy was probably the most competitive American distance runner in the '90s (6th place in the O-5,000 in '96 and the only American to every break 13 minutes for 5K) and again he was a high volume, I read 130 a week, guy. He even went and trained with the Kenyans on at least one occasion and they probably run more miles than anyone.
I read a quote by Bill Rogers once who said something to the effect that “When I can get my mileage up to 140 miles a week and hold it there without injuries, then I know I am going to have a good marathon.” I think there are two key points there–1) huge mileage is necessary to run marathons, and by extension other long aerobic events, and 2) even a gifted runner runs the risk of injury at that kind of volume.
Chad
Steve Scott come to mind who still holds the American record of 3:47 for the mile. At the time the world record was help by Sebastion Coe at 3:46ish. I have not read of an American runner who has broken 3:50 for the miles since then. The World Championships of track and field didn’t start until 1983, so we have never really had a decent male finish in the marathon since then, unless you include Meb from last year and that just proves the point that Americans were not competitive.
Chad
Using the mile isn’t the best gauge considering the big races in Europe contest the 1500. Webb has run some pretty damned fast times this year. Getting pretty close to dipping under 3:30 I think. Let’s not forget another “American” that holds the second fastest 1500 time ever
I think I was watching the Discovery Channel when a program said that all humans originally came from Africa. So, while Meb wasn’t born on American soil and has parents from Eritrea, supposedly if you go back far enough I’m from the same region!
Using the mile isn’t the best gauge considering the big races in Europe contest the 1500.
They certainly run the 1500 at the worlds and Olympics, but there are a number of big meets, Oslo comes to mind where they pay big bucks to bring people in to contest the mile. There are still enough mile races that it is a legitimate gauge of how fast people are running. My real point was that when the mile record was 3:46, we had somebody running only a second slower.
Webb has run some pretty damned fast times this year. Getting pretty close to dipping under 3:30 I think.
If he is running that fast then he is closer than anyone has come in a long time. He may just do it. I would be very interested to know how many miles he runs.
Let’s not forget another “American” that holds the second fastest 1500 time ever
A trivia question? Sydnee Maree. That’s my guess, though that is really going back a ways.
I think I was watching the Discovery Channel when a program said that all humans originally came from Africa. So, while Meb wasn’t born on American soil and has parents from Eritrea, supposedly if you go back far enough I’m from the same region!
I have no problem with Meb or any other naturalized citizens. I saw him and heard from him a little bit one year when he won the winter cross championships. He seems to be a great guy, but his success can’t really be attributed to any roots in America. It has been more than 20 years, Salazar I think, since any American won Boston or New York.
Chad