get out and run

[Paul Petersen]

This quote was so golden, I stole it from the letsrun.com front page (quote of the day)

"If the most common question I get asked is, 'How do I run a fast marathon?,' the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th ... most common questions have something to do with diet, running form, sleep, footwear, stretching, weights; anything but actual running. American runners seem to have an unending fascination with all these extra-curricular activities, yet we continue to get slower at running marathons ... If you want to improve your performance in the marathon, stop worrying about minimalist shoes, caveman diets, and new-age running form, and start worrying about getting out the door and running a little more than you did last week. High mileage works!"

- American marathoner Pete Gilmore telling the truth.

[Paul Petersen]

Gilmore's full blog post here:

http://www.bayareatrackclub.com/blog/post/show/id/27-Get-Out-the-Door

[Colby]

Great quote. I can't tell you how true that quote is. As a Platoon Leader in the Army and a "coming along" runner, I get asked so many times by my soldiers what they can do to get faster. But once I start talking about running more miles or more times a week they completely zone out and stop listening. I don't know if it is this younger generation growing up with all sorts of technology and video games, but they want everything to make them faster but the discipline and work ethic. So true Pete, so true!

[dave rockness]

Thanks Paul!

[Rob Murphy]

Saw the same quote myself yesterday. Had to wonder how many evenings Bill Rogers spent sleeping in his altitude tent or running on his anti-gravity treadmill.

[Dan]

Thanks for posting!

[Superfly]

Great quote... seriously Clyde just run and stop worrying about all the other junk!

[Sasha Pachev]

Colby:

You could add "quit smoking and drinking" to your advice.  Also maybe a modification of "run more miles" can be "have faith to run more miles sufficient to actually do it!"

[Colby]

Quit smoking and drinking...mixed with the word "faith" in an Army infantry unit...I think they would murder me  haha! We talk about it, but they just don't have the discipline.  A few have come along, but not many.

[Seth]

I've recently been putting this into practice, among other adjustments to my running/training, and I feel much stronger than I ever have.  I used to run a decent base of about 30 to 40 mpw and then a few speed sessions to peak at about 55 mpw....along with drills and strength exercises as well.  Over the past month I've run in the mid-50's to 60 mile range, mostly to all "easy" miles and I feel much stronger and more fluid than I ever have.  I believe this is the one tip/trick/secret/word of advice/etc. that all the training programs I've looked at have left out.  Before you go into the array of hard workouts and supplemental training build a strong base!

So here's a question:  What do you think a solid base mile per week should be for someone hoping to run a 15:00 5k?   

[Bonnie]

As much as you can and not get injured ... some of the genetic freaks (e.g., Lagat) don't run more than 45-50 mpw and run it all really fast, others (like Teg and the OTC guys) run in the 70+ mpw ... and it is said that Solinsky runs in the 100-120 mpw range.  What I have heard is "run as much as you can *consistently* and make it to the starting line" 

here is a nice article on structuring your week during training:
http://geoffmoore.blogspot.com/2007/07/article-by-nic-bideau.html

[Jon Allen]

Seth- like Sasha preaches, you are exactly right- most training programs try to get the results without the hard work of daily, base mileage.  That is the most important thing, by far.

As for your second comment- A 15:00 5k?  That's a pretty steep task.  I think the only guys on the blog to do that are Paul and Jeff Mc (sorry if I missed anyone, but a 5 minute check of other fast bloggers didn't find other 15-min PR's).  So if you want to run that fast, you better run a ton (3000 miles per year) and have good genetics.

[Seth]

Thanks for the insight!  I'm currently following a plan I saw of Solinsky's that has long runs on the first day, then tempos and speed work later in the week.  Most of my running has been pretty easy right now since I'm jusdt trying to build a good base, but I'm pretty sure the higher mileage will pay off when I start running faster.

Happy running!

[David S]

Looks like they removed the blog entry from the website.