Posted by Victor Birch on September 08, 2009 at 23:48:41:
In Reply to: I've discovered... posted by Victor Birch on September 08, 2009 at 06:51:16:
First of all I don't believe there is actually one correct answer to your question.
I do believe that in the general context of your question that "higher" mileage is a major ingredient to obtaining your optimal race times......but only to a point. As we have discussed here before, I believe one of the key points or reasons that the U.S. runners have been relegated to the back of the pack in past years (in distance events) is due to our attitude of wanting results now without the willingness to put in the work. Everyone wants to take a shortcut and skip the "boring" base period of their training......and it shows in the lack of success of our runners. If you go back and look at a time when U.S. runners were at least in the "mix" at the major races 10K & longer you will notice that these runners almost without exception put in a large solid base of mileage which was then followed up by the proper strength training and speedwork.
As to what is the ideal or magic number of miles? ......it depends on a few different factors. First of all what may be the optimal high mileage week for me may be one thing while it may be an entirely different number of miles for you. Another factor (and a MAJOR factor to keep in mind) is where are you starting from? If you are currently running 50 miles a week you don't want to go out and increase your mileage to 90 next week. The key is to gradually increase your daily and weekly mileage over several months or even several years. This will allow your body to properly adapt to the added stress of the extra mileage without breaking down from injury.
Is 80 better than 60? or 100 better than 80? Again it depends upon the individual and their capability to handle the mileage. For me personally I have found thru the years that 80 miles a week seemed to be my ideal. If I bumped it up too much beyond this I tended to break down. Could I have run a little better if I had been able to maintain 100 miles per week? Perhaps, but trying to run 100 miles a week while working 40 hours a week just didn't work too well for me. I know several runners though who found their optimal peak mileage both lower and higher than what I ran......again a very individual thing.
At what point does the high mileage produce diminishing returns? I would say at the point where your body starts breaking down and not recovering properly.
I think the key is to gradually increase your mileage over time and you will eventually find that "magic" number that works for you.....with a high emphasis on gradually & cautiously!