Junk Miles???

Question
I was reading Runner's World and they mentioned something about staying away from junk miles-- that they have no training affect and lead to injury. What exactly are junk miles?  

Answer
David,
"Junk Miles" are miles that people end up running because they feel a need to do it, according to some program they are following, when they really don't need to run those extra miles.  

An example is following a marathon program from the internet, and as you're doing it week by week, you notice your body is breaking down, feeling ill, and not up to par. But, you stick through the 'program' because you feel you need to do EXACTLY what the program says in order to complete it.  Well, these extra miles you end up pushing through are considered "junk".  If your body needs rest, don't do any more than what your body can take.

In my training of cross-country HS athletes, I try to avoid high mileage programs (such as 7-10 mile runs) because I feel excess mileage is 'junk' for today's XC runner.  Their main objective is to run 3.1 miles as fast as they possibly can, not 'build endurance' over 7 to 10 mile runs.  Today's youth runners aren't primarily runners, they are also multi-sport athletes, so super-long runs will actually get them worse off in preparation for their other sports.  (They lose speed for their power sports, such as hockey, basketball, wrestling, etc)

I hope that sheds some light on it for you.

Rick Karboviak
http://endure.speeddialcoach.com