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The Weekly Mileage Program
It’s not enough to merely have easy days each week. A steady mileage program, at whatever level, leaves a residual tiredness that builds up and eventually produces injury. You not only need the rest days after stress but regularly scheduled rest weeks with reduced mileage, allowing the body to rebuild.
As you increase stress or even maintain the same load, tired muscle cells break down and must be replaced with fresh ones. When one group of cells becomes exhausted, the burden of carrying on is shifted to other, usually weaker, muscle groups. Small tears and broken tissues are not healed completely by a few rest days within a steady mileage program. If you don’t reduce overall mileage, you will dig into reserves which eventually run out and leave you exhausted. Over time, the isolated small tears in the muscle fibers accumulate enough to cause an injury. If you’re increasing mileage or speedwork, you are even more apt to face an injury.
The Easy-Week Rule. If you cut your mileage by 30% the second week and 50% the fourth week, you can avoid this mileage stress. This is a safety valve which allows your body to recover and shake off the accumulated stress and the physical abuse of running.
Some runners need more rest than others. Be conservative and find the pattern that works best for you. Don’t be worried about losing conditioning. Studies have shown that athletes can cut their workouts by 50% for ten weeks and not lose significant fitness. In fact, you may gain rather than lose by cutting back, because you return rested and less prone to injury.
Low‑Mileage Ultras? Steve Boyer, a friend of mine from college, is a doctor and has had to regulate his running and racing addiction. He has run several marathons (a best time of 2:42), for which his weekly training miles varied between 20 and 45.
In preparing for the Mt. Hood (Oregon) 40‑miler, he decided to test my low‑mileage/long-run theory to its limits. A complicating factor was the altitude and the rise and fall of the course (10,000 feet of gain and loss). Steve decided to spend his limited training time as specifically as possible for this difficult race.
He gradually built the long run to 30 miles with 2000 feet of vertical gain or did repeat hill repetitions with 7500 feet of vertical gain. Two weeks before the race, he pre‑ran the course very slowly. The day after each long run, he did not run and gradually eased back into running (3–4 miles, 6–7 miles, etc.). The last week before the race, he ran only 20 miles. Most weeks he ran less than 50 miles.
The results should be of interest to high-mileage advocates: In a strong field, including Bill Davis (third in one of the Western States 100s), Rae Clark (Tahoe 70‑mile record holder) and Frank Thomas (who holds the record for running across England), Steve finished second. He was six minutes behind the winner and later told me he thought he might have won had his ego not pushed him too fast (a 10‑minute lead at 15 miles going up the first long hill).
Less Mileage for a Faster 10K — After Age 50.
Lower mileage can also improve times for the middle distances. John Perkins found this out after three 2800-mile running years. He had reached plateaus with his marathon and 10K racing times despite his 50–70 miles per week, which included long runs and speedwork. After a disappointing finish in the New York City Marathon, he decided to give up racing and the hard training and run many fewer miles.
During an 18‑month “vacation,” John’s competitive instincts didn’t die. When he heard that a number of runners were improving performances with a program of reduced total mileage, a relaxed pace for the daily runs, and weekly speedwork, John decided to test the new theories.
For about nine months, John reduced his weekly mileage from almost 60 to 39. He did a speed workout once a week with 8–10 440s at 82 seconds and gradually increased to 18 440s. Then he dropped to 10 440s, run at 74 seconds. This program helped him lower his 10K and 5K race times significantly.
John says he now feels strong from start to finish, whereas he used to feel lethargic, tired, and unresponsive. He’s not afraid to challenge other runners or to increase the pace slightly after the first mile. Before, he was tired throughout each race and was looking for the finish line after the first mile.
Anthony Sandoval won the US Olympic Marathon trials after several years of 100+ miles per week. The following year, during his M.D. residency, he cut his mileage to about 40, running every other day, and ran 2:14 in the Boston Marathon.
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