Good point about measuring in liters/min. rather than ml/kg/min. I definitely agree with you there. But the runner would need to lose 10kg of fat and not lean body mass to raise his/her VO2max to this new level. Otherwise, we risk decreasing performance albeit the high VO2max.
Do you have any studies to support your assertion that an experienced runner can attain maximum mitochondrial mass in a few weeks? I have always believed that spending weeks upon weeks racking up the miles is somewhat ineffective in reaching peak performance and can sometimes be detrimental in the long run. It would be neat to see some research that supports this assertion.