How I train: Running volume

A quick note - Thanks for the questions. If I don't answer your questions here, I will do a Q and A post at the end and answer everything I miss.


 Day one of How I Train: 
Ah, volume. I know it's important, but so is having enough free time to re-read all the Sherlock Holmes mysteries.
Want to know a dirty little secreet? Part of the reason I got faster is because I didn't want to have to dedicate so much of my time to running. Faster = more miles, less time commitment.

Mileage: I run about 45 miles a week. To get faster, I added 15 to 20 miles a week. I think more would be better - probably 70 - but I simply don't want to commit the time. After a race I cut it down to about 30 for a recovery week.
If I averaged out miles for marathon #1, I did about 20 a week. Now I generally stay around 45, but I go over that on weeks that I race or do a 20 miler.
I know mileage has made a huge difference in my running, and I really would improve if I could buckle down and increase that number. Last year when I went from a 4:15 to a 3:27 marathon, I didn't do any speedwork - I just increased my miles. It's that important. If I could make just one change in my training it would be to increase mileage. In fact, I think ANY runner with the time and inclination to build up to and maintain 70 miles per week could meet or beat my marathon time. You just don't get good at anything without practice.
In the future I would like to add miles, so if you are friends with me on Dailymile and see me slacking off, send me a "Get off your tush" motivation.*

Days a week of running: I feel best with six or seven - six on weeks I remember to go to the gym and get my puny muscles pumping. I don't like taking days off. If I do, the fronts of my calves hurt the next day!
This is another change I made that improved my time - running just 4 or 5 days a week, like I used to, gave me fewer quality runs because I felt stiff and out of shape after off days.

Days off: Rarely am I off from running and the gym - probably two or three times a month. If I'm sick I take off, unless I feel like a run would do me good. I prefer to limit the excuses that I'll allow for a day off. When I was 4-hour marathoner, I took days off whenever anything hurt, believing that I was preventing injury. Not only was I injured anyway, I was just hurting my fitness, which in turn led me to more injury. I went into my first marathon with low levels of fitness and low confidence in my running.
This brings me to a point I meant to make: To a certain extent, running will hurt. That's ok. If you maintain a certain level of fitness all the time, you will know if the hurt you are feeling is normal and will go away (ie, sore knees from old shoes, pain from bruised nail bed, stiffness post-race, side cramps during a fast run) or if you are heading for an injury like a sprain, tear, or fracture. So it sounds paradoxical, but more running can actually help prevent injury.


Next up: How I run - the types of running, speed, and distances I do.
Questions? Ask below. If I don't know the answer I will make one up that sounds plausible. 
*You aren't friends with me on Dailymile? Why not, you don't like me?