What's it like running 100+ miles per week?

The most I've run is 130 miles in a week. I've run a couple months straight of 100 miles or more per week. In my mind 100 miles is where it starts to be a lot. At that point you're definitely running twice per day at least a few days per week. So imagine running a morning run knowing you have to get out the door again later in the day, and this is a common occurrence.

But I wouldn't say I'm exhausted, it really depends on the intensity. 100 miles in a week of just mileage isn't too big of a deal, but when it's made up of a couple hard workouts or a long run with a workout portion in it it starts to get harder.

My first 100 mile week wasn't terrible. But that was because I had 3 years of 80-95 mpw before it.

Now during a build up for a marathon I'll run 120-130 mpw and honestly the hardest parts for me are the first few weeks where I am doubling.. I may only be running 85-100 but it isn't easy because I'm not in shape yet.

Eating and sleeping and easy days easy makes it doable. I also only do 1 workout a week and a hard long run which may not sound like much up tempo work but that means running 20 miles minimum each week at goal marathon pace. Which is more speed work than just about any 10k or under training plan. Throw in some easy 16-20 mile medium long runs and get yourself an afternoon off!

I’m 41, married with two kids and have a pretty hectic job. I’ve done a few blocks of several weeks of 100+ miles now including big workouts, with 115 being my biggest ever week and honestly, it’s hard work.

However, I find that the first 2-3 weeks I am extremely tired and then the fitness catches up and I don’t feel any different to normal (which is pretty tired generally).

I find the things that help are eating everything - I eat all the good stuff but all the bad stuff on top too. Beer is a double edged sword, the calories are good and it’s great to relax but you can’t have too much as it messes with your sleep and you need that more than anything else.

The other thing that’s hard is that running becomes the only thing you think about. Getting up for the toilet in the night I’d be thinking about ‘how’s my knee? How’s my ankle?’ Sitting at work, I’d be thinking about the last or next session.

Worth it for the times though.

Every thing past 50 feels the same for a week or two then you adjust. Work/Life/Run Balance e can be tricky but if you want to figure it out you will.

Tiring

Lots of laundry

Lots of food, grocery bills are high

Don’t expect to run in good shoes constantly, run in shoes that won’t feel springy. They’ll get worn out in a couple weeks time anyway

Coffee is your best friend, so are all calories and sleep. If you got a wife or girlfriend, be prepared to need their support or not have one.

Run enough to get in your miles for the day, spend your day’s time otherwise at work, outside of work spend your time sleeping, sleep as much as possible

Felt fatigued for the first several months of consistently hitting about 100 MPW. After my body got used to it, things got a lot better. About 80% of my miles were very slow which is really needed in order for it to be sustainable. Lifting heavy 3-4 times per week can really help keep the testosterone and HGH levels high to avoid low libido. In my mid 30s, yeah, sometimes it would be lower but not crazy low. Running 7 days a week and doing doubles as frequently as possible helps a lot too.

Seriously though, you gotta learn how to run slow. I mean really slow. About 80% of my miles are 8 min pace or above so that I don’t feel fatigued after a run. Running slow minimizes your body being in recovery mode and more in adaptation mode. It’s the best way to really make the most out of the 20% of the miles I run fast. It has produced incredible results - for me, at least.

Not Running 100MPW wrote:

I have heard a lot about how strenuous extreme mileage is, and I'm curious about the extent to which the claims I've heard about it are true. Do you really feel chronically exhausted and lose your libido?

Its really easy if you do it the Ingebrigtsen way, and not the backward «train like the 80s» bowerman way. Choose your poison.

tresholdftw wrote:

Not Running 100MPW wrote:

I have heard a lot about how strenuous extreme mileage is, and I'm curious about the extent to which the claims I've heard about it are true. Do you really feel chronically exhausted and lose your libido?

Its really easy if you do it the Ingebrigtsen way, and not the backward «train like the 80s» bowerman way. Choose your poison.

You obviously know nothing about Bill Bowerman and his training philosophies.

You'll be eating way more than you ever thought possible, and make sure what you eat is calorie dense. Keto and vegan diets can be problematic when running high mileage. Don't be afraid to eat some junk just to get the calories inside you.

Not Running 100MPW wrote:

I have heard a lot about how strenuous extreme mileage is, and I'm curious about the extent to which the claims I've heard about it are true. Do you really feel chronically exhausted and lose your libido?

Lots of good answers in this thread, but I just want to lay it out a bit bluntly: it all depends on your level of fitness, how much you eat and how much you recover&sleep.

If you have built up to 100MPW over years, have a great diet where you eat a lot of nutritional food, have few obligations and your focus is on running, and you prioritize to sleep as much as you need it obviously is better than if you didnt build up to it, eat too little, have a stressfull job and family life and sit on Letsrun rather than sleeping every evening.

This is also true if its 30MPW, 50MPW, 80MPW, 100MPW, 150MPW etc.

tresholdftw wrote:

Its really easy if you do it the Ingebrigtsen way, and not the backward «train like the 80s» bowerman way. Choose your poison.

This is a great point as well, to add to my previous point. Food, sleep&recovery, adaptation (build up gradually) and ofcourse INTENSITY! You should be extremely vary with high intensity when doing high volume. A lot of people get this wrong and end up injured. Train smart, all those "all out, show some heart" workouts every session only get you views on youtube and maybe appraisal from your high school coach.

In the summers of ’78 and ’79 I did hundred-mile weeks, peaking at 131. I followed Lydiard, singles of (10, 15, 12, 18, 10, 20, 15). It was just part of the system with the specific purpose of building a good aerobic base prior to CC. So, you knew it was temporary. I had to eat 4 meals a day and I found it interfered with doing anything else. I found it boring. I was not chronically exhausted and I did not lose my libido. It contributed to making me a consistently decent regional runner, but it never did anything like break me out into a good national runner. It helped me to realize I was not going to make any Olympic teams. So, in a sense, it may help to “define” if you have got "IT" or not.

Yes, this

No

It’s hard but doable

Just be very very disciplined.

I find not thinking about it when not running greatly helps

Done stretches in base training of 10-16 weeks all over 105

Diet and recovery has to be spot on

It works.

Over 150 mpw it’s counter productive…too much risk of injury.

The only people I have seen running 100 mpw are those who successfully ran a marathon in anything from 2:22 to 2:37. In other words their regular pace is fast, so it doesn't take them long to cover the mileage compared to an average joe.

I've felt low libido at 90 m/w. I am still relatively functional at my other aspects of life but that seems to drop off first.

wkbvkwjbv wrote:

CrossFan wrote:

I think it depends on if you are doing it running 2-a-days or singles. When I did it, I ran 2-a-days 6 days, and one single (20) in the middle of the week. The single felt like I was getting a "break" that day only running once, even though it was 20mi. ;-)

But generally, it dominated my week. Always felt like I was recovering from a run or resting to do the next one. I would eat a lot after the morning run and then have something light to not eat too much for the later run. Then eat a big dinner. Very picky about eating only foods that made me feel good when running, no partying, and slept a LOT.

What were some of the foods that worked for you?

Easily digestible foods. No fried stuff, no heavy sauces/creamy, heavy stuff. Nothing too spicy that you would pay for later. Hydrating CONSTANTLY.

And what someone said...LOTS of laundry. 13 runs a week...even with just shorts/shirt/socks, it piles up FAST.

100 miles a week is easy jogging for half an hour (4 miles) in the morning before breakfast then running 10 miles (70 minutes?) in the afternoon/evening six days a week with a 16-mile long run (one hour 40-45 minutes) on Sunday. For a male NCAA D1 runner getting their base mileage in during the off season, this isn't as hard/burdensome as many think.

I’m running 80 miles per week off singles with a mid week track workout (5k pace and faster) and a weekend threshold workout. I’m likely in sub 2:30 shape for the full. What kind of improvement could I make adding 20 “miles” of say elliptical. I would do the elliptical based on the normal amount of time it takes me to run a mile on a regular run.