Who has consistently run 75 miles per week?

Triathlon Forum
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Who has consistently run 75 miles per week? Define “consistently” however you like, but I’m hoping for more than “I did a few 75 mile weeks in a marathon build.” When you were running 75 mpw:
How many years had you been consistently running more than 50 mpw before you hit 75?Any notable injuries that you attribute to the >75 mpw?Distance training for?Race times?Brief overview of that year’s training?

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How many years had you been consistently running more than 50 mpw before you hit 75?

I was a casual runner (~25-40 mpw) for about 10 years before I decided to up the ante and try to get BQ. Before starting the BQ mileage, I was ~35-40 mpw, per marathon. During BQ mileage, most of my weeks in the 70-80 mpw range. You could kinda sorta say I went from ~35-40 to ~70+ within a month.

Any notable injuries that you attribute to the >75 mpw?

During my first run at 70-80 mpw, a lot of tired legs and soreness, more than the usual. No show stoppers though. During the 2 subsequent years of 70-80 mpw marathon season, perfectly healthy. I was very careful the first year of 70+ mpw. I did a lot of slow mileages with no speed workouts. I’ve added tempo runs (and faster stuff) in the 2 subsequent years.

Distance training for?

Marathon

Race times?

3:05:xx, hoping to go sub-3 this year. Went from 3:37 PR to a BQ time when I upped the mileage.

Brief overview of that year’s training?

~30-40 mpw during IM season. After the IM, ~70-85 mpw for the marathon/run only season.

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  1. 4+ years. I ran between 60 to 80 miles per week, averaging around 70 over a 3-4 month training block.

  2. Yes - ITB syndrome, hip bursitis

  3. Road races ranging from 5k to the marathon, focusing in 10 miles to marathon

  4. 5k: 15:29 / 10 miles: 53:27 / half mary: 1:12 / marathon: 2:38

  5. Jan - March: Easy miles and hills / March - November (2-3 quality days per week including speed work, tempo run, and long runs or weekend race) / December: off

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I consistently trained a 75 mpw+ for about 5 years (that means ~4000 mile years, some weeks were a little low (lowest was around 50 for a high intensity taper, and peaked out at 111 (biggest week ever)).

  1. How many years had you been consistently running more than 50 mpw before you hit 75?
    Got into running after being a college soccer player. Was lower than 50 for 3 months, and around 50 for 3 months, then 75+. I did do a lot of doubles throughout my entire running career. Probably doubled, on average, 4 days a week.Any notable injuries that you attribute to the >75 mpw?2. Notable injuries

Healthiest I ever was. I had a bout of plantar fasciitis for about 4 weeks. I took a bit of a break after I got married as I was also collecting a second degree while limiting debt (working 20+ hours a week and 20+ credits as a civil engineer student left only about 4 hours to train a week). When I tried to ramp back up quickly is when I got Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome. My ortho said I may have never gotten it if I just maintained that milage.3. Distance training for?

College 5k-10k cross and off season half marathons4. Race times?
15:40 5k (track)24:52 8k (really fast road race)32:38 10k (track 34:17 xc)1:09 HM (fast course)4. Brief overview of that year’s training?
Summer was really the off-season and consisted of basically “summer of malmo.” Doubles, lots of easy milage (7:15 pace or slower), with drills and one day of a higher-end aerobic run (what some would call a tempo run around 5:20-5:40 pace). I would substitute that for an occasional hill workout or local 5k. - 90% easy miles, 10% high-end aerobicFall was X-C and not much changed, except the addition of long hill repeats (1200 meters or so), and long intervals (1000, miles, and even 2-mile repeats). 80% easy miles, 10% strength, 10% Winter - back to a lot of easy miles 90% easy 10% hillsSpring - Track season - 80% easy miles, 10% strength/lactate buffering type work (intervals with flying rest (rest at about 7:00 pace), tempos at HM pace), 10% specific endurance/really fast stuff (400s, 800s, 500s, even some 200s late in the season)

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Just a couple questions if that’s ok.

  1. when you upped your mileage to 70+ miles, what was the progression of your pace over the weeks? So did your easy run pace just gradually improve or did it only show when you raced?

  2. did you continue to bike/run during your 70+ mile running period? If so, what bike/ swim did you do?

  3. what did your weekly run schedule look like to get to your 70+ miles?

  4. when you go back to 30/40 miles/week for IM training, did your run speed decline or were you able to keep it on the lower mileage?

  5. Over the course of your 3 periods of 70+ miles, did your running speed increase each time and by how much each year?

Many thanks

Will

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N=1 5k time vs mileage

30mpw: 18:20
40mpw: 17:30
50mpw: 16:50
60mpw: 16:19

I haven’t ever put in 75mpw consistently due to the demands of tri training. Costill and Noakes both note that performance improves rapidly with increased mileage until ~75mpw.

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How many years had you been consistently running more than 50 mpw before you hit 75?Any notable injuries that you attribute to the >75 mpw?Distance training for?Race times?Brief overview of that year’s training?

  1. last 3 years 3000-3500 miles per year
  2. typical overuse injuries if you run too “hard/fast”. nothing major yet
  3. hobby jogger
  4. sub 3 marathon
  5. my runs tend to be long singles 13-15 miles 5x a week, occasionally i’ll run 7-8 days in a row if i don’t have my bike. it doesn’t take long to feel the effects of running 100 miles per week. people that constantly run 100mpw are super talented in their ability to recover. 75 miles a week should be ok for everyone to adapt to. you just have to make sure that until you have years of consistently running that mileage you must run 90% of it at an easy pace.
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  1. Race times?
    15:40 5k (track)24:52 8k (really fast road race)32:38 10k (track 34:17 xc)1:09 HM (fast course)

instead of “really fast” it looks like that the 8k was “really short” unless the 5k on the track was done at a quite different fitness level. All darned fast times in any event though.

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How many years had you been consistently running more than 50 mpw before you hit 75?
Since freshman year of college (starting summer of 1997) till this December (2012) when I started training for triathlons, so close to 15 years. Had around 8 years of running 90-110 a week (obviously with some rest/recovery/taper weeks in there).
Any notable injuries that you attribute to the >75 mpw?
Occasional ITB issues, occasional achilles tendonitis, had my first ever stress reaction spring of 2012. I’ve been pretty lucky when it comes to injuries.
Distance training for?
College it was 8k cross country, 3k/5k indoor track, 5k/10k outdoor track. Post college it was 5k-marathon including a few track 5k/10ks.Race times?
800 - 2:06 (track)
1500 - 4:11 (track)
Mile - 4:30 (road)3000 - 8:47 (track)
5000 - 15:06 (track)
8k - 25:25 (road)
10000 - 31:24 (track)
10 miles - 52:something, for the life of me I cant remember1/2 marathon - 69:30 (road, der!)marathon - 2:30:11 (road, double der!)
Brief overview of that year’s training?
Not sure I understand this question. Generally I would run singles until I was up to 80ish a week, and then start doubling 2 days a week. Long run on Sundays, usually around 2 hours. Usually two workouts one being a tempo,hills or progressive run and the other being something faster. When training for marathons I’d throw a fast finish long run into the mix every other week. Did this general format week after week after week, year after year after year.

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  1. when you upped your mileage to 70+ miles, what was the progression of your pace over the weeks? So did your easy run pace just gradually improve or did it only show when you raced?

This is hard to say. Except for 1-2 key workouts per week, I keep my pace in check and very easy. The “easy” is more by feel. I don’t wear a Garmin on those days. My key fast workout was to go as fast as I could for whatever distance without loosing form or pace. I don’t wear a Garmin on those days either. I will say that my easy pace did “feel” faster as weeks progressed. My overall training pace did improve with time, not just race day.

  1. did you continue to bike/run during your 70+ mile running period? If so, what bike/ swim did you do?

I gave up biking and swimming on my road to 70+.

  1. what did your weekly run schedule look like to get to your 70+ miles?

I do a few 2-a-day to get to that mileage. Below is an example. It varies from week to week
M: AM: 6 miles, PM 5 miles
Tu: AM: 6 miles, PM 5 miles
W: Semi-long run 10-12 miles
Thu: AM: 6 miles, PM 5 miles
F: AM: rest or 5-6 mile run
Sat: AM: Long run: 14-20
Sun: AM: semi-long 10-14

  1. when you go back to 30/40 miles/week for IM training, did your run speed decline or were you able to keep it on the lower mileage?

I started with 30-40, then go to 70+, then go into offseason. In other words, I didn’t go from 70+ directly back into 30-40. There is an offseason with very little running (<20 mpw) as a buffer. In my sequence of doing things, my speed decreased when I returned to 30-40 IM training again, due to the offseason buffer. I will say that the decrease wasn’t as great as I thought it would be.

5) Over the course of your 3 periods of 70+ miles, did your running speed increase each time and by how much each year?

At the marathon distance, I went 3:37 → 3:14 (year 1) → 3:05 (year 2). I’m hoping to go sub-3 this year in my December marathon (year 3). Year 1 and year 2 time decrease were on a 10-12 weeks marathon specific training schedule (i.e., 10-12 weeks after an Ironman). I’m sure it would be a bit faster if I had more weeks to train specifically for a marathon. This year (year 3), I will have 14-15 weeks to train for a marathon. This is why I’m hopeful for a sub 3.

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The 8k was a net down-hill road race (300’ down, 0’ up)…probably should not list that as my PR…

I was moderately talented in High School. Ran 4:24 for the mile and 1:53 for the 800 off of soccer training essentially. When you have a conservative long-term oriented distance coach like my college coach, you get results with consistent training and relatively high volume. I feel like I could have gotten a bit faster in the 5k and in reality, Steeple probably would have been my calling if I would have ran it. 8 and 10ks were really hard for me.

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Many many thanks for your reply. All great info. I am planning a period of high run mileage after my IM (July) so it’s really useful to have a reference. I don’t intend to run a marathon, the aim is just to get my IM run time down. Just a couple more questions if I could:

  1. What was you recovery schedule like after IM before starting your 70/week marathon build?
  2. Has your 70+/week marathon build made you faster in your IM run split, and if so what is the progression of those times?

Many Thanks again,

Will

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N=1 5k time vs mileage

30mpw: 18:20
40mpw: 17:30
50mpw: 16:50
60mpw: 16:19

I haven’t ever put in 75mpw consistently due to the demands of tri training. Costill and Noakes both note that performance improves rapidly with increased mileage until ~75mpw.

Once you stopped running 60 mpw (if you have), did your 5k time revert what you’d earlier seen at lower mileage (in other words–if you dropped back down to 40 mpw, did your 5k time slow down to 17:30 again)?

Do you attribute your 5k gains solely to additional mileage, or also the ability to handle more speedwork?

My observations agree about the diminishing returns past 75. To the others posting here: have you found that as well?

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  1. What was you recovery schedule like after IM before starting your 70/week marathon build?

No real excercise of any sort the week after the IM. This is mostly due to traveling back from the race site. I’m from the U.S, but my past 2 IMs have been in Europe. I usually stick around the race site for 3-4 days to tourist around. Lots of walking or riding on a rental cruisers around town with friends/family. After that first week, it’s usually something like 40 → 50 → 60 → 70. That initial 40 mpw is at a very easy pace. It’s just consistent running over a 5-6 days of running.

  1. Has your 70+/week marathon build made you faster in your IM run split, and if so what is the progression of those times?

Yes, but it could be due to a lot of factors, such as better bike fitness, pacing on the bike, and weather on the run. One of my IM runs was in pouring rain while my fastest IM run last year was in as good a weather condition as one can expect (70 degrees, no humidity). Keep in mind that I wasn’t transitioning from 70 mpw to 30-40 mpw of IM specific training. It was the other way around (i.e., IM → 70 mpw → offseason → IM). My IM marathon times have gone down about 15 minutes per IM for my last 3 IMs.

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Never. For me odds of injury at 75miles/week are → 100%

I’ve run 30 miles per week and that’s barely worked. ITBS, PF, knee issues. You name it. Now ITBS flared up and only running 15 miles per week next month or so. I swim a lot and ride a lot, for what that’s worth.

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  1. How many years had you been consistently running more than 50 mpw before you hit 75?

1 year

  1. Any notable injuries that you attribute to the >75 mpw?

PF (mainly from running in vibrams) , now AT

  1. Distance training for?

5k-marathon

  1. Race times?

5k / marathon before:

20-39mpw: 23:xx / 3:54

39-45mpw: 20:06 / 3:06

70-100mpw: 18:54 / 2:59

  1. Brief overview of that year’s training?

5-6 days easy pace, aim to hit 12 miles a day at least. 1 day of a race, fartlek, hills, or strides at end

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  1. About 6 years straight from ages 24 to 30 (many eons ago). Hit this level within 2 years of becoming a full time runner. Was doing 4000+ miles per year running ONLY.
  2. Definitely had injuries but more from training mistakes, not the mileage alone. E.g., mistake 1 - doing 200m repeats on the track with a light covering of snow. Put a tweak in my left knee from the slight slip rounding each turn. Couldn’t run for several days later and about several weeks to get back to normal. E.g., mistake 2 - track work out of 10x1600 in 5:20 w 400m recovery jog followed next day by track work-out of 10x200m leading to pulled hamstring. STUPID.
  3. Predominantly 10K road races, but anything I felt like racing.
  4. 5K - 14:35 uncertified, 14:50 certified road
    8K - 24:18 certified road
    10K - 30:11 certified road (wind aided), 30:49 certified loop
    1/2M - 1:08:16, 1:08:26, 1:09:10
  5. Apart from stupid mistakes, I tried for consistent training, often 13 runs per week. 2 a day except Sunday…even if racing. Short runs in the morning. Main efforts in the evening. Long intervals on Tue, short intervals on Thu, race or more speed work Sat, long run Sunday.
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5-6 years of doing that in the 1980’s.

This was following 4 years of small college running where we put in some 90+ mile weeks in Summer and Winter, lots of intervals in Spring and Fall. I doubt if I ever ran a 50 mile week in High School and was hitting 90+ as a college sophomore.

I always had a nagging pain in my lower leg. Years later a doctor X-rayed it and found a bunch of odd bumps on both shin bones (tibias, fibulas?. They scared the shit of me making me think I might have cancer. Bone scans, more tests and hilarity followed. Just bone from old previously undiagnosed stress fractures.

I have rolled my ankle so many times that when I first tried a kick board in the pool, I actually went backwards.

After I sit for a while and then get up, my wife says I walk like I’m 90.

After college I ran about 10 marathons, Fastest was 2:42. BQ standard then was 2:50. 1:15 for a half, on a hot day. Best 10K was 34:08.

I did pretty much the same thing week after week: 40 minutes in the morning Monday-Saturday, 8-10 miles in the evening,16-20 miles on Sunday.