Post by marathondude on Jan 22, 2009 14:47:43 GMT -5
Multiple Long Runs
The conventional wisdom regarding long runs leading up to a marathon looks similar in most training programs. During the last three or four months before a marathon long runs start to increase from 14 or 15 miles to 17 or 18 miles. Then several 20-milers are done in the final six weeks or so before tapering off one’s training. Sometimes slightly longer runs of 22 or 23 miles are completed to give a marathon runner the confidence necessary for an optimum marathon performance. But there are other options of including long runs in a marathon buildup that may be selected by choice or out of necessity. Leading up to the 2009 Walt Disney World Marathon my training wasn’t anywhere near what it should have been. I was forced after recovering from an injury to do multiple longs runs in a short period of time. I wondered how I would perform since this was not the norm and knew I’d find out on race day.
A nagging calf injury prevented me from doing any running longer than ten miles at a time and it was less than four weeks before the Disney Marathon when I implemented my crash program of multiple long training runs. In a nine day period which ended 15 days before my race I did runs of 16, 15, 17 and 20 miles. Amazingly I felt great afterward. I believe there were four major factors that contributed to this successful training: running on trails; keeping a relaxed pace; training partners and prior marathon experience.
The shock of running on a road which pounds our legs is several times stronger than when running on trails. Other than six miles of the first 16-mile long run, the remainder of my long run that day and the entire other three long runs were trail runs. My legs were cushioned and recovered much more quickly than when I run on pavement or concrete.
My targeted marathon pace was somewhere in the 6:45 to 7:00 pace per mile so I took care to run more slowly on all of the training runs even if I felt like running faster. On all four long runs I kept my pace between 7:30 and 8:00 per mile. This was after starting off even more slowly the first couple of miles as I warmed up.
It would have been difficult to do so many long runs in such a short time without training partners. The first run I ran alone but on the net three long runs I did a solo trail loop followed by a 10-mile loop with training buddies. Conversation flowed and I didn’t even think about how far I was running. Before I knew it the runs were completed.
A very important, perhaps the most important, factor is my previous marathon experience. Since I had raced 47 marathons I had a very good idea of what I would be facing in the race. I also had logged enough serious training in the past that I was mentally ready for about any challenge. Since I had done hard track sessions, 100 plus mile weeks, tough hill sessions and fast tempo runs in the past the challenge of doing multiple long runs was something I could handle physically and mentally.
My marathon preparation was inadequate in many ways. My average weekly mileage for the final ten week preparation period was only 35 miles per week compared to my norm of 50 – 60 miles per week. I didn’t do any tempo runs, fartlek sessions or track workouts due to my calf injury. Luckily I had raced the New York City Marathon in 3:00:33 ten weeks earlier so I had a good level of fitness during the fall of 2008. The only thing I did that gave me some confidence were the multiple long runs. I ran the first half of the Disney Marathon at 6:45 pace and faded to a 7:15 average pace during the second half of the race to finish in 3:05:05. I wasn’t sure beforehand the effect that the multiple long runs would have on my performance but now I knew. They didn’t only help me – they allowed me to run superbly with limited training. In this case I was the only subject in this test of the results of doing multiple long runs, but it is a method I will use again in conjunction with more intense training.
MarathonDude has 35 years of competitive running and racing experience highlighted by a marathon PR of 2:22:34. He is a regular writer for Florida Running & Triathlon magazine. At www.garycohenrunning.com you will find over fifteen FR&T articles, interviews with running personalities such as Greg Meyer, Brian Sell, Jenny Barringer and John Tuttle and dozens of “All in a Day’s Run” essays like this one on a variety of topics including training, nutrition and racing.
The conventional wisdom regarding long runs leading up to a marathon looks similar in most training programs. During the last three or four months before a marathon long runs start to increase from 14 or 15 miles to 17 or 18 miles. Then several 20-milers are done in the final six weeks or so before tapering off one’s training. Sometimes slightly longer runs of 22 or 23 miles are completed to give a marathon runner the confidence necessary for an optimum marathon performance. But there are other options of including long runs in a marathon buildup that may be selected by choice or out of necessity. Leading up to the 2009 Walt Disney World Marathon my training wasn’t anywhere near what it should have been. I was forced after recovering from an injury to do multiple longs runs in a short period of time. I wondered how I would perform since this was not the norm and knew I’d find out on race day.
A nagging calf injury prevented me from doing any running longer than ten miles at a time and it was less than four weeks before the Disney Marathon when I implemented my crash program of multiple long training runs. In a nine day period which ended 15 days before my race I did runs of 16, 15, 17 and 20 miles. Amazingly I felt great afterward. I believe there were four major factors that contributed to this successful training: running on trails; keeping a relaxed pace; training partners and prior marathon experience.
The shock of running on a road which pounds our legs is several times stronger than when running on trails. Other than six miles of the first 16-mile long run, the remainder of my long run that day and the entire other three long runs were trail runs. My legs were cushioned and recovered much more quickly than when I run on pavement or concrete.
My targeted marathon pace was somewhere in the 6:45 to 7:00 pace per mile so I took care to run more slowly on all of the training runs even if I felt like running faster. On all four long runs I kept my pace between 7:30 and 8:00 per mile. This was after starting off even more slowly the first couple of miles as I warmed up.
It would have been difficult to do so many long runs in such a short time without training partners. The first run I ran alone but on the net three long runs I did a solo trail loop followed by a 10-mile loop with training buddies. Conversation flowed and I didn’t even think about how far I was running. Before I knew it the runs were completed.
A very important, perhaps the most important, factor is my previous marathon experience. Since I had raced 47 marathons I had a very good idea of what I would be facing in the race. I also had logged enough serious training in the past that I was mentally ready for about any challenge. Since I had done hard track sessions, 100 plus mile weeks, tough hill sessions and fast tempo runs in the past the challenge of doing multiple long runs was something I could handle physically and mentally.
My marathon preparation was inadequate in many ways. My average weekly mileage for the final ten week preparation period was only 35 miles per week compared to my norm of 50 – 60 miles per week. I didn’t do any tempo runs, fartlek sessions or track workouts due to my calf injury. Luckily I had raced the New York City Marathon in 3:00:33 ten weeks earlier so I had a good level of fitness during the fall of 2008. The only thing I did that gave me some confidence were the multiple long runs. I ran the first half of the Disney Marathon at 6:45 pace and faded to a 7:15 average pace during the second half of the race to finish in 3:05:05. I wasn’t sure beforehand the effect that the multiple long runs would have on my performance but now I knew. They didn’t only help me – they allowed me to run superbly with limited training. In this case I was the only subject in this test of the results of doing multiple long runs, but it is a method I will use again in conjunction with more intense training.
MarathonDude has 35 years of competitive running and racing experience highlighted by a marathon PR of 2:22:34. He is a regular writer for Florida Running & Triathlon magazine. At www.garycohenrunning.com you will find over fifteen FR&T articles, interviews with running personalities such as Greg Meyer, Brian Sell, Jenny Barringer and John Tuttle and dozens of “All in a Day’s Run” essays like this one on a variety of topics including training, nutrition and racing.