Is it possible to break 17 on less than 20 mpw

If the 30 min runs are normally 4 miles (or more)

I say yes!

it also depends on the effort you are putting in on the 2 or 3 miles.

id say a lot of this will come down to the effort you are putting in during practice. How do your legs respond on a 3 or 4 mile run if you decide to go out in 5:30 during practice? Or if you’re on the track are you pacing off what you want to run or your current time. But definitely possible. Seems like your almost there

If a teammate has already ran 16:30, and you’ve already ran 17:03, then yeah, it’s definitely possibly.

*Has already run

*you've already run

I would've upvoted you, but your grammar is putrid.

2 to 3 mile run at what pace?

Seems a bit low to me but obviously it is working. I'm high school senior and our coach has us doing between 30-35 mile weeks but we do less speed and I think that it shows. I have terrible leg speed. 17:03 is a good time so probably just keep doing what you are doing.

I ran 16:31 off of pick up hoops and heavy weights, so obviously yes!

Low mileage AND low stress is bad combination. The assumption with low mileage approach is you are doing a sig amount of quality. You are doing what, 3 x 800 at slower than interval/VO2 pace for the week? It helps that you have a race so that counts. But you need at least one quality day. If this isnt a troll, it is truly remarkable what you have accomplished. The sky is the limit.

Also, 2 mile run isnt much of a stimulus. I wonder what others think of combining the 2-3s into one 6 mile day and take a rest day or x train?

Of course it’s possible. But the bigger question to me is how good that same athlete could be if they fully committed to developing their aerobic engine. I would posit that any athlete with the talent to break 17 on 20 mpw could break 15 with a full commitment to training. Why not see what the true limits of your potential are?

Easy answer: If you have lots of talent.

Some people can do it without trying, and that's not a joke.

Yes, I’m more the decathlete type and I’m about 17:30 ag on that mileage. Pure distance runners, guys who can break 15 can do it easily.

You come here and tell us that your teammate is running less than 20 MPW and ran 16:30. You then ask if it is possible to break 17 on less than 20 MPW.

Yes.

The first time I broke 17, at 42, I was averaging 13 miles per week - including warmups.

Looks like you're already there and your training is fine. Just need to run the time.

That seems like an overly conservative training schedule. Still, it could be a pretty good schedule or it could be a pretty bad schedule, depending on the way the intensity, workouts, and races are varied throughout the year.

Why have a 5k pace/VO2 training day (aside: 3x800m @ 5k pace is very easy) the day after race day (where you race a 5k)? Race day followed by a workout day is something I've seen done before (so I'll assume it works for young runners), but I would want to see some faster sessions in there instead of the 3x800s. Maybe some work with high blood lactate, depending on the stage of the season.

For this program to work, those 30 min runs will need to be good and hard - with at least 2 or 3 miles under 6 min/mile (5:45-5:55).

As someone else pointed out, it would be good to have a longer run of at least 6 miles in there. I do see the point in having the 2-3 mile runs + strides though (assuming the pace is easy). So, I would be tempted to replace one of the 30 min runs with a 45-50 min progression run or fartlek.

Most people have a difficult time understanding the things they can't do themselves. So the runner with no "talent" may doubt it could be done. It can in fact easily be done. Also, "talent" or ability is often acquired by the individual themselves and they don't get credit for that. It's not like they spent their childhood sitting in the couch. They were probably outside running around playing games or sports, busting their a$$ which in turn acquired exceptional natural athletic abilities.

We have workouts every now and then. Its usually 1200 to 800 repeats on a grass course at a bit over 5k pace. We did a few farleks in the summer but we hardly do those anymore. We've never done any progression runs. We've done only one long run throughout the XC and maybes 4 or 5 during the summer. Most of our long runs were about 7 miles at 7:30 pace. But me and the 16:30 guy ran about 10 miles at 6:35 pace for our last long run which was over 3 weeks ago

Our 30 minute runs are usually at about 7 min pace as well. Our coach says we should be at "conversational pace" for the majority of our runs

Wed-Thurs-Fri is like one recovery day for most programs lol

If I were you, I'd get up early and get a quick 15 minute jog in before school everyday. Some people may think that won't do anything, but they'd be wrong. It'd be adding 50% more mileage without wearing you out.

I broke 17:00 as a sophomore doing exactly the same kind of stuff you are currently doing. Adding even a tiny bit more stimulus will pay big dividends.

I broke 16 in high school and 9:20 in the 2 mile running 3 days a week with a 4th day just being strides. This was nice but has made the transition to college a long process. If you want to run in college you need to increase your mileage. I'm a senior now doing 90 and I'm just now settling in and my pr's are finally drastically changing. You don't wanna wait 4 years to be good in college trust me