Progression for Moderate (30-60 mpw) & High-Mileage Runners (>60 mpw)
Moderate and High-Mileage Runners (with the artificial mileage ranges I chose) generally represent a different kind of runner than one in the low-mileage group. Those in the low to middle of the Moderate range training volume group (30-45 miles/week) likely are at least runners that would consider themselves committed to pursuing personal bests or even completing longer distance races such as half or full marathons. With different levels of commitment and goals come different expectations between the coach and athlete relationship.
A. The Shift: From General to Specific Fitness
Just as you would with the Low-Mileage runner (as discussed in the previous lesson), or any runner for that matter that wants to improve, the first task is evaluating what the athlete is not currently doing that can be added in to the training schedule. One difference with the Moderate-Mileage Runners from the Low-Distance Runners, is that with the Low-Distance Runners, for the most part they will all be training for or racing distances on the shorter side, from 1 mile to 10k. You will rarely if ever see somebody training for a marathon while running 20 miles per week.
As people begin to progress into the Moderate Mileage group, you will start seeing athletes that want to or currently are training for longer distances such as the half and full marathons, even though they may only be able to tolerate 40-50 miles per week because of a number of limitations (physical, work, family, etc.). This can be okay and many can do this just fine. But the key thing to note in this case is that the distance becomes the primary training stimulus that changes as the athlete moves up in distance. Easy runs become longer, workouts comprise more total volume, and long runs become really long (at least 20 in most cases for marathon athletes). The athlete needs greater general endurance and physical adaptations to be able to withstand the pounding of 26.2 miles, and for those that are running more mileage than they have in the past, this change alone will likely provide more than enough for them to handle. So, depending on their training background, and how much training they can handle within their daily lives, making sure I’m locking in those adaptations is my number one priority.
This is much different for the 40 mile/week athlete training for the 5k. For this athlete, workouts with 12 miles of volume or 20-mile-long runs would be considered excessively and unnecessary, with likely a high increase in injury risk.
The key for the runner in the Moderate-Mileage group is to realize this need to begin to hone in on specificity to make sure they’re properly constructing their workouts and allocating their mileage in a way that best prepares them for the race distance they are training for. This means that if they are only able to get in 40 miles per week, and they are training for 5k, they will get more benefit physiologically out of working up to being able to tolerate 30 minutes of total running at their anaerobic threshold pace than they would by running 15 miles easy. While the Low-Mileage runner tends to be weaker across the board due to a decrease in general work load, prompting them to really need to train in all facets, the Moderate-Mileage runner will have a greater structural and general aerobic fitness that will allow them to start focusing on the minute details that will help them progress across a certain race distance.
B. High-Mileage Runners: A Different Breed
High-Mileage Runners (> 60 miles/week) can technically comprise runners competing in events even as short as the 800m/1500m, beginning from late high-school age into adulthood. The one commonality they all share regardless of their race distance or ability is a certain level of commitment that can’t be questioned. This level of commitment is important, because if they are already doing quite a bit in terms of running volume, and want to do more in general, then it gives the coach full reign to explore all the potential avenues to exploit to help the athlete improve.
Because the “High-Mileage Runner” could refer to several very different athletes based on age, talent, and race distance, there is no one heuristic to apply on how to help the High-Mileage Runner progress. The High-Mileage Runner is a different breed from a talent, evaluation and coaching standpoint. Because most of them will likely have been running many years to even be able to tolerate the high mileage, this means they will likely have been exposed to a wide assortment of coaches and types of workouts over time. This makes the job of the coach (or very intuitive athlete) more difficult when it comes to identifying what aspect of training has been lacking that could potentially make the difference in propelling the athlete into success in the future. Since what is missing is (likely) not mileage, the question is often what metabolic system has not been sufficiently stressed? Renato Canova often talks about trying to target and “embarrass” different biological systems in training, and this is something I aim to do with my athletes that I coach.
Those runs in training that are really stinking hard and you feel like you’re holding on for your life, or the long run when you bonk hard and are riding the struggle bus for the final 2 miles to your car. When you find yourself in those positions, those are often when you know that you found a soft spot in your armor that has been cracked, and you’ll come out of those sessions stronger than before.
Maybe your mileage is right where it needs to be, and you’re hitting all the right workouts, but you’re fading hard at the end of races when others are kicking it in. For some a good, consistent strength program could be the one change that will make all the difference.
There are no simple answers, and each athlete in this group should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.