run volume and long runs.

I try to keep my long run at 35% or lower of my total weekly volume.  But I agree the closer you get to 25%, the better.  It probably means you're running often, and doing some decent miles on your regular run days...which is always good assuming you're not pushing yourself beyond your capabilities.

Just remember that it's a "guideline".  It doesn't need to be followed every week religiously.  Just because you miss a 6 mile run during the week, it doesn't mean you automatically have to adjust your LR to make your percentages match up to what you feel is ideal.

Training for my 1st marathon I did too few base miles & fell into pattern of sticking to my long run schedule regardless.  Often my long run was >50% of weekly miles.  Big mistake. During training I was always fighting nagging aches/pains & often could barely finish those LR's.  Completed the mary, but very slow time (>5hrs) & literally couldn't walk down stairs the next AM.  Couldn't run seriously again for 2 months.

Currently training for HM (May) & full (June).  Generally keeping my LRs to <35% of weekly mileage & feeling better.  Still doing swim/bike 2-3x/wk each. Overall my speed is much improved (PB 10k by 3min 2 wks ago).  Up to 15mi LR last weekend, which is fine for 7wk pre HM & 12kws pre-marathon. 

IMHO- miles-per-week is more important than arbitrary LR length.  If you can work up to 10-11 mi LR 2 wks pre-event, you should be able to finish your HM.  Remember to take it easy for 7-10 days pre-race.

Good luck!

I think the 25% figure is more appropriate for just runners.  If you're a triathlete, you're cross-training a lot, and so it's probably okay for your long run to be more of your weekly mileage than if you were strictly a runner, and running 5-6 days a week.

For example, right now my long run is about 40-50% of my weekly run mileage; however, it's less than 20% of my weekly training in terms of time spent on it.

This article has some pretty interesting info, more on run volume and quality of runs.

http://coachdeanhebert.wordpress.com/2008/07/24/the-marathon-average-pace-vs-mileage/

I agree with your thoughts but trying to compare the times across sports is difficult. bike rides tend to be longer than runs and run probably longer than swims. So comparing times across them won't give a true look at what you're doing % wise compared to your total minutes.

To the original poster...I would up the long run at least 1 mile per week, then follow the 10%-15% for upping the long run distance and overall mileage. For instance if your long run is 5 miles rather than doing 5.5 the next week just up it to 6. do several weeks of build up then cut back for a week to let your body relax and recover.

When my long run was 50% or more of my run volume, I couldn't absorb the runs and they made me very tired.

The closer I am to 25-35% to weekly volume I am the better I handle them and recover from them.

I've done run training differently over the years. Adding 1-2 runs per week helped a lot to improve my running.

I trained for my first marathon last fall and found that as the weekly mileage increased I also had to increase the run frequency to avoid injuries (knees and feet) and reduce recovery time. At 25 miles, I needed to run 4 times a week. At 35+ miles, I needed to run 5+ times a week. This could be running 5 days or splitting a run into morning/afternoon.

Once I switched over to triathlon training, I thought that the biking would be an adequate substitute for some of the running. Nope. I still have to run 3-4 times a week to maintain decent running ability.

Some of you must run ALOT....   At best majority of folks get out 4 runs a week if on non-run focussed plans.  25% of weekly total would equal, ummm, same amount each run.   So 25 mile week @ 4x per week = 25% @ 6.25 mile long run.    Change that to 5 runs a week and your still have long run at 6.25 and others at a 4.68 mile avg.   Is 1.57 miles really a difference maker for your long run?  Maybe I am missing something here.  

Everyone's body will react differently, but I am having hard time figuring how you CAN'T have long run be at least 35-50% of your weekly run total...