[brian]

For mountain running sports, is it better to set your weekly training volume by time, by distance or by both?

I understand if I have a 50k race, I need to be able to run 50k. However I have hear/read endurance coaches state that training by time is more beneficial than trying to hit a specific mileage goal during the week. I also know that 12 miles in the mountains takes way longer than 12 miles on the road.

Should I be combining both philosophies by setting my weekly volume by time, and my weekend long runs by distance based on what I put in during the week?

For Background:
I am building (and doing) a plan that culminates in early november, with a stretch goal of 50+ miles (Spartan Ultra 24hr). Typically I’m training for distance based Spartan events. I am modifying the 50K plan in Uphill Athlete by scaling it up.

Topic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on July 21, 2019 at 5:20 pm #25212

In general we prescribe mountain running by time and not distance. However we track both distance and vertical as well and try to adhere to the recommended rates of weekly increases in these as specified in our book Training for the Uphill Athlete. It’s not science but a 50 mile week with 15,000 vertical feet is going to feel very different than a 50 mile week with 3000 vertical feet. Only with experience (by tracking) will you be able to adjust the training load appropriately.

I hope this helps.
Scott

[brian]

brian on July 21, 2019 at 10:13 pm #25214

Thanks Scott,

I do track time, distance and vert for each week. I started be running X minutes 5 days a week, to make sure I could handle the volume; feel good, and be able to to “today’s” workout yesterday and tomorrow. As well as put in a 2-3 hour long run on the weekend. Looks like I will continue this model until I have a real feel for how much I can handle overall.

I’m a relatively new runner, Dec started my first structured running workouts (80/20 Running Marathon Plan). Now that the rest of my race season has mountains, I’m finding TftUA just awesome!