Run to the Top Podcast | The Ultimate Guide to Running

Mileage in the Bank: Can you Really Run More Now to Make up For Missed Runs Later

Feb 26, 2025

In this discussion, Jeff Gaudet, founder of Runners Connect and expert in training strategies, explores the concept of 'banking mileage' for runners. He highlights the significance of aerobic fitness and how long it takes to lose it during breaks. Jeff examines how to effectively plan training volume and recovery, the role of cross-training, and the differences between supercompensation and banking mileage. He emphasizes the importance of long-term consistency in training over temporary peaks, offering insights for athletes looking to maintain fitness.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Consistency Drives Peak Fitness

Consistency over months produces the best running fitness outcomes.
Short bursts of extreme training rarely beat long-term steady progress.

ADVICE

Plan Recovery With Any Mileage Block

Plan a high-mileage block only if you schedule a recovery period afterward.
Treat the recovery as part of the plan to let the body rebuild and absorb the load.

INSIGHT

Short Breaks Barely Hurt Fitness

Missing one workout or a few days causes negligible physiological loss.
Larger drops appear after 7–14 days, with measurable VO2 max reductions.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

What if you could take a long break from running and not lose any fitness?

The theory is simple; train harder now so that you have mileage "banked" for later when you might be training less.

We'll look more closely at whether this could be an effective strategy with topics including:

Why mileage matters for building aerobic fitness
How long it takes to lose fitness during a break from training
What is supercompensation and whether it helps you to hold onto fitness longer
Whether it matters how you spread mileage across a training cycle or if it's only the total volume that counts
Whether banking mileage is an effective strategy that you should consider adopting

Don't let a break eat into your fitness and find out if you can really bank fitness beforehand.

Supercompensation training: Supercompensation Training: Learning from Elite Runners - Runners Connect

Fuelling Blueprint: https://runnersconnect.net/fuel

Connect, Comment, Community

Follow RunnersConnect on Instagram
Join the Elite Treatment where you get first dibs on everything RTTT each month!
Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community
RunnersConnect Facebook page
GET EXPERT COACHING AT RUNNERSCONNECT!

This week's show brought to you by:

Lagoon

Lagoon specializes in making pillows designed specifically for runners and athletes to help them optimize their sleep and recovery.

Their sleep quiz pairs you with the perfect pillow for you based on sleep position, body size and more.

And the data on sleep improvement isn't only from research papers. Using her whoop device, US Olympic Trials marathon qualifier Caitlin Keen saw her deep, restorative sleep increase by 52 minutes when she switched to a Lagoon pillow.

If you want to see the dramatic affect a pillow designed just for you can be, head to lagoonsleep.com/top

Then take their awesome 2 minute sleep quiz that matches you with the Lagoon pillow that's perfect for you. Plus, if you use the code TOP at checkout, you'll also save 15% off your purchase.

Previnex Joint Health Plus

Joint Health Plus from Previnex is clinically proven to reduce joint pain, joint stiffness,and improve joint flexibility in 7-10 days.

In fact, it is clinically proven to be up to 5 times more beneficial than glucosamine and chondroitin alone or in combination.

I saw immediate results when I started using Joint Health Plus and that's why I reached out to Previnex to see if we could put together an offer for you guys.

If you're suffering from joint pain or simply want to get a jump start on protecting your joint health as you get older, head to runnersconnect.net/joint and use the code RTTT15 to save 15% on your first order.