How Many Miles Per-Week Do You Run?

I realize this can be somewhat of a controversial issue and some will disagree with me, but I hope to maybe stimulate some different ways to think about training. I feel like in America we are overly obsessed with mileage, or maybe I have been the only one. I have time and time again fallen into the trap of heading out the door for a few extra easy miles on Sunday so I could meet that magical 100 mile a week number.

Don't get me wrong. I think the principle behind mileage is important: we should run a lot. However, from my own experience I believe there are many great athletes and great performances that should have happened that are simply covered in junk mileage.

My perspective on mileage has changed a lot since those early years in high school and college from keeping copious notes on how many 100 mile weeks in a row I had build up. Now, when I look at a week I don't see the necessity for mileage, I see the necessity for hard, quality workouts followed by adequate recovery and even making sure to over-recovering (if there is such a thing).

So what does adequate recovery look like? The answer to that question is obviously individual. Some people can recover running an hour run twice a day, some may only be able to do one short run. I have learned to listen to my body and if I am not seeing improvement in my workout than I know my body is not absorbing my workouts properly. The art of running is learning when to push and when to rest, but in general I have found that when in doubt it is best to error on the side of rest.

Mileage can be a good thing if it encourages us to run more, but not at the expense of recovery. I have certainly learned throughout my career that it's not always necessarily he that runs the most mileage that wins the race.