General Discussion Triathlon Talk » How much longer is a long run? Rss Feed  
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2005-03-22 4:59 PM

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Minneapolis, MN
Subject: How much longer is a long run?
Hello All,

I have finally registered for my first triathlon in August (I had reconstructive ankle surgery last summer so I am taking it easy)...a nice Northern Minnesota sprint tri to ease into the sport. Anyway, lately I have been running on the treadmill for 30 minutes at a 10mph pace (2-3 times per week). I have been reading about adding a long run to a running program. In terms of time, how much longer is a long run, considering most people say to never increase your running by more than 10% per week. Thanks for any thoughts.


2005-03-22 5:15 PM
in reply to: #132889

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Subject: RE: How much longer is a long run?
My long runs are typically twice the length of my normal runs (~11-12 miles).  The key is to do them slowly, so that you can do the whole distance.  Don't worry too much, yet, about the long runs, just keep building your base.  Sometime in mid-June, I'd recommend lengthening one of your runs (by the 10% suggestion) until you're doing about 8-10 miles (you shouldn't necessarily need to do 10, to cover your sprint distance run).  The long run is all about endurance, not speed.  Let the distance come to you.
2005-03-22 5:20 PM
in reply to: #132889

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Subject: RE: How much longer is a long run?
Well, this might seem like the DUH answer... but your first long run would be about 33 minutes. And your next about 36.3 minutes...

Seriously, there are a number of schools of thought here. The 10% rule generally applies to your WEEKLY mileage, so you're running about 9 miles a week. So you'd probably be okay stretching one of your runs to 4 miles for a couple of weeks, then 5 miles.

Being curious, I checked Runners World's latest 1/2-Marathon training plan as a sample reference. There, they define "long run" as anything at or longer than race distance, run at or below race pace. Specifically, the long runs in their 9-week buildup appear to hit about 33% of the weekly mileage.

So it looks like the rule of thumb would be to:
1) Add about 10% (or 1 mile at first) per week to the total mileage
2) Keep your "long run" about 1/3 (give or take) of the total mileage.

Note that as one gets significantly above 10mi/week, this may require adding a fourth and/or fifth running day...

So, pick one of your runs and add a mile. Then add another mile the next week. At about the 4th week, you'll have to add a 4th day of running (2 miles or so) to keep rule #2. At some point, though, I think rule #2 goes away. probably at the point where you're running about 9-10 miles (3 days) a week in addition to the long run. Just a guess though.

Good luck and watch that ankle!

Perhaps someone who actually knows what they're talking about will weigh in here...

:-)
2005-03-22 6:37 PM
in reply to: #132889

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Subject: RE: How much longer is a long run?
With a totally untutored answer - I figure a long run for a slow paced double what your regular running time run is; NOT double your distance.

The point for me has been to build time endurance the distance endurance has followed. When my 5K time was 30 minutes I started doing 60 minute runs once a week. Those turned into my regular runs then morphed into 10K training runs (50-55 mins) and my long runs became 2 hour runs (about 20K).

I am sure there will be a chorus of disagreement from the better informed I'm just letting you know what has worked for me so far.
2005-03-23 7:41 PM
in reply to: #132889

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Subject: RE: How much longer is a long run?
Good input above. My long runs are 15 to 18 miles. My wifes, however, are 8 miles. My neighbors is 4 miles. Over time you will learn what long runs mean to you. They are longer, slower runs that stretch you a bit more endurance-wise than your normal runs. I like the 33% more rule.

Keep training and congrats on your scheduled race.

John



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