Typical Miles Per Week to Max

[BarrettRC8]

To be honest I'm pretty dissapointed at my run time when it comes to the USMC PFT. Pullups (30+) and situps (130+) come natural, I've just never been a gifted runner. I took my first Marine Corps PFT and ran it in 20:47 around a track. I figure I'd knock at least 30 seconds off that had it been any other type of course... but excuses asside. How many miles a week do the studs who max the run portion normally run during the course of a week to hit that 18:00 mark?

I started a running schedule 8 weeks ago that I got off of runnersworld.com and am up to nearly 30mpw. Unfortunately, I probably have plenty of time before I will be able to leave for OCS so if all it takes is time and effort, then it'll get done... I'd just like a ballpark figure or any relevant advice.

Thanks in advance.

 

[thull]

Hey Ryan,

what sort of a running "base" do you have. typically, you spend some time building up a base with slow easy miles, then you move into three day/week speed workouts and as you approach your race day/PFT day you cut back on the long easy miles and cut your speed workouts to shorter with more intensity. typically your workouts should total your race distance, followed by at least a two mile cool down and stretching.

depending on how much time you have to train, i'd be tempted to say get your mileage up to around 50 miles per week and work in that base.

hope that helps...

Troy

 

[BarrettRC8]

Hey Ryan,

what sort of a running "base" do you have. typically, you spend some time building up a base with slow easy miles, then you move into three day/week speed workouts and as you approach your race day/PFT day you cut back on the long easy miles and cut your speed workouts to shorter with more intensity. typically your workouts should total your race distance, followed by at least a two mile cool down and stretching.

depending on how much time you have to train, i'd be tempted to say get your mileage up to around 50 miles per week and work in that base.

Troy

The plan I've been going with has speedwork on Tuesdays, ie several 400 sprints and jog another 400 in between each sprint. Tempo runs on Thursdays. Fast runs on Saturday of about 5 miles and long runs on Sunday (8+ miles). The other days are easy run days.

What you're suggesting is focus on doing a number of long runs a week in the beginning, essentially "building a base" and then working on speed, once the pieces are set in place, correct? I honestly haven't heard that on any of the running forums up to this point, they all seem to advocate mixing all of the varying types of workouts into your weekly schedule, but what you speak of seems to make sense.

I believe I'll go ahead and finish this 16 week plan as I'm already halfway through, but after that I'm going to utilize your advice.

One more question... I swear it feels like every candidate/young officer I speak with who is a Marine max's the run. This can't really be the case however, right?

 

[thull]

The plan I've been going with has speedwork on Tuesdays, ie several 400 sprints and jog another 400 in between each sprint. Tempo runs on Thursdays. Fast runs on Saturday of about 5 miles and long runs on Sunday (8+ miles). The other days are easy run days.

What you're suggesting is focus on doing a number of long runs a week in the beginning, essentially "building a base" and then working on speed, once the pieces are set in place, correct? I honestly haven't heard that on any of the running forums up to this point, they all seem to advocate mixing all of the varying types of workouts into your weekly schedule, but what you speak of seems to make sense.

I believe I'll go ahead and finish this 16 week plan as I'm already halfway through, but after that I'm going to utilize your advice.

One more question... I swear it feels like every candidate/young officer I speak with who is a Marine max's the run. This can't really be the case however, right?

no way...lots of people dont max the run. i think you got a good shot at taking 2:45 off your time. do what you will, but remember the only time you can build any kind of "base" is early on, with the idea of tapering out and peaking for a certain date. remember the broader the base the higher the peak.

troy

 

[pdx]

A base if very important. Your "base" is your general level of aerobic conditioning before you start your specific training. A 20:47 is not that bad, so you already have a base.

The real danger of starting training without establishing that base is for people who are out of shape or in shape for a totally different activity. Best case scenario is mediocre results, more likely case is an injury. I would highly suggest reading some literature about overtraining and overtraining injuries. Runner's World is a decent place to start. Navy OCS is much less intense with regard to running, but we still had some people get preventable injuries because they wanted the fast results and trained too hard or too specifically.

I'm rambling a little here, but the point is I wouldn't just pile on the miles as soon as you feel like can handle them. Your muscles (leg and heart) build relatively rapidly, bones and tendons take longer. Read the forums and count how many guys show up at OCS, post good PT numbers, then go down with tendon and bone injuries (like stress fractures). I am not laying fault on those guys. After all, injuries are 1/3 genes, 1/3 preparation, and 1/3 luck. I'm sure some of these guys were well prepared, and had bad luck. I'm also willing to bet, however, that some of these guys were overtrained. They might have worked their asses off to go from couch potato to stud in 3 months, but they damaged their bodies doing so.

If you have the time before OCS, do it right. Lay down some easy miles for a while and give your body time to adapt. Then start ramping it up with a good program. Don't look for immediate results, and don't plan to peak at OCS week 1. If you do, you are more likely to tear yourself up at OCS.

I'm not a sports doc or anything, but I am pretty confident that I am passing good gouge here.

 

[xmid]

I have to second what Thull said, and he knows what hes talking about. I think he runs a 4:20 mile or something. I have been training for triathlons and all of the major coaches say you need to

1.) Build an aerobic base (high mileage)
2.) Build strength (hills, intervals)
3.) Build speed

As Thull said the speed is a direct result of your base. You wanna build your house on the strongest foundation you can. Those pull ups are outstanding though! I really wish I was "naturally gifted" in that area.

 

[AV8BQAR]

Good advice here.
Your training schedule will build your core strength, something that will come in handy for the long haul at OCS. Not only will core strength carry you through the physical training, but it will help immensely with sleep deprivation and mental stress.
Treat your body like an efficient machine and it will perform for you. Also, do yourself a favor and learn how to run on all types of terrain. An 18:00 run will do you no good if you turn your ankle as soon as you leave the pavement.

 

[cWood30]

I'll leave my two cents here as well, as a PFT max-runner. For me, after you have a good base built, which you do, it's just time to focus on speed. I got to my base with about 20 miles per week, but once it was time to speed it up, I would run simply 3 miles Monday, speed work Wednesday, and 3 miles Friday. Both 3-miles were at or near PFT pace, and speed work usually consisted of interval or sprints for about 2-2.5 miles. Now, I don't frequent running forums and I don't seek out advice, but the feedback I've received from my body tells me that my muscles and cardiovascular adapted to the "endurance sprint" style of running once I trained that way. Once you've begun to build that, you just keep pushing that limit and soon enough you'll be there. I've also never been a "runner" until I started training for OCS.

I'll also throw this out there. I swim about 2-3 times a week, at about a 60-75% exertion. At OCS, our fastest runner (17:04) in our platoon was a collegiate swimmer who doesn't run at all except for two weeks before his PFT and two weeks before OCS. Something to think about, and perhaps give it a try to supplement.

 

[BarrettRC8]

Swimming is a great supplement that has worked well for me in the past, I've just got to wait until the end of August for classes to begin so I can use the pool.

Two more questions.

I ran a 9 mile course I've mapped out around the area and completely it at an easy pace of 8 min/mile this morning. What are the longest runs I'll need to be prepared for? I'm assuming it won't be much more than that.

And the second question. Are there any "ruck runs" at OCS? While in ROTC I was a member of Ranger Challenge and during the fall we would work up to a 10k at a 9-10 min/mile pace with a 25lb ruck plus rubber duck, LCE with full canteens, kevlar, and camelback. Those were a ***** to complete. Should I be looking forward to more of those? If there are, how far are they? Pace? Typical equipment?

Sorry for all the questions, just some things I've thought about the past couple of days.

 

[whitesoxnation]

Swimming is a great supplement that has worked well for me in the past, I've just got to wait until the end of August for classes to begin so I can use the pool.

Two more questions.

I ran a 9 mile course I've mapped out around the area and completely it at an easy pace of 8 min/mile this morning. What are the longest runs I'll need to be prepared for? I'm assuming it won't be much more than that.

Although I don't think it's part of the 'regular PT,' one of my friends who was at PLC last year said their sergeant instructor took them on a 8 mile run in boots.

 

[FLYMARINES]

Swimming is a great supplement that has worked well for me in the past, I've just got to wait until the end of August for classes to begin so I can use the pool.

Two more questions.

I ran a 9 mile course I've mapped out around the area and completely it at an easy pace of 8 min/mile this morning. What are the longest runs I'll need to be prepared for? I'm assuming it won't be much more than that.

And the second question. Are there any "ruck runs" at OCS? While in ROTC I was a member of Ranger Challenge and during the fall we would work up to a 10k at a 9-10 min/mile pace with a 25lb ruck plus rubber duck, LCE with full canteens, kevlar, and camelback. Those were a ***** to complete. Should I be looking forward to more of those? If there are, how far are they? Pace? Typical equipment?

Sorry for all the questions, just some things I've thought about the past couple of days.

If you can run nine miles prior to OCS at 8 min/mile you will be fine running- wise. Longest individual run at OCS is five miles which you have to run in I think 36:00. You will run squad runs that are a couple miles further, but they will be at slower paces, because they are squad runs. You will NOT do ruck runs at OCS, but there are parts of the humps where you will be running. The longest hump we did at OCS was 16 miles. Your pack weighs I believe around 60 pounds. You will also have your rifle, H-Harness, war belt, two full canteens. You will be pretty much be moving at a speed walk, but if you are in the rear, you will running parts of the hump to play catch-up due to the "slinky effect". Your first hump is 6 miles, then 9, 12, and the last one was supposed to be 15, but the Company Staff said it was really 16.

 

[USMCMidd]

the humps start from hardest to easiest though in my opinion. the 5 miler was up and down hills all day. as we progressed, they got flatter and flatter. i remember very little hilly portions of the 15/16 miler. Our platoon commander also decided we needed a 4 mile ruck run in full gear after we did the combat course.... not a fun day. we had kids that had to be scooped up and put in a truck cause they were so tired. but i think that was rare, echo company didn't do that and i dont know if any other platoons in Golf co. did it either.....

 

[Carno]

Must be different for each staff. The hump we did for SULE II had a **** load of hills, and we were going single file through the woods in some parts of it. It was kinda bizarre. I had no idea what the hell was going on.

 

[FLYMARINES]

I think more candidates got hurt on those d@mn night humps than anything else, stuff like twisted ankles and sprained ankles on those huge a$$ rocks on the trails.

 

[Lonestar]

Longest individual run at OCS is five miles which you have to run in I think 36:00.

That can't be right, I guess all those 22:00min PFT candidates are SOL.