20 mile long run on road. - Training

travis bickle

08/03/2004 at 09:53

running advice given to our group by a seasoned runner.do at least one long run ie.20 miles on road in ordr to prepare for the rigours of the marathon.all our long runs at present are off road/x country with plenty of hills.
any advice?

Deneo

08/03/2004 at 10:05

I did all my long runs off road and suffered no ill effects, in fact I thought it did me good as the rough surface and hills helped to develop muscles that roads don't.

Don't worry by 18 miles on a marathon everthing hurts whether you've trained on roads or not.

Best of luck

Deneo

jason X

08/03/2004 at 10:27

Its worth doing one on road because whilst it tends to be harder (not to mention infinately more interesting) running off road, it is different and it does make different areas ache more.

Also if its a hilly XC route whilst its great training and really does your endurance good - its not constant paced running. On a flat boring Marathon course its all about holding that constant pace which can be difficult in the later stages if your a cross country runner and are used to slowing down and speeding up depending on terrain and hills.

If your not used to it - 22 miles on tarmac can make your knees and hips ache like hell as opposed to 22 on soft trials.

travis bickle

08/03/2004 at 10:58

good advice jason.will do one long run on road this wkend then back to x country.you are right about the x country.i do a lot of hills on the route i run and you do need to slow down and then speed up to make up time.
cheers all.

08/03/2004 at 12:27

I did all my training off road for a recent 10miler. Running up to 1hr 40min. Did the 10miler in 1:17 and have been left with a stress facture. Doc put in down to a sudden change from soft surface to a hard surface.

Barnsley Runner

08/03/2004 at 12:54

You could always do a section of the run round a track. Last Sunday I did the middle 14 miles of my 21 mile run at even pace round our local track.

Minks

08/03/2004 at 13:11

God, BR - 14 miles on a track! How did you manage to stay awake, never mind motivated?!

The Imp

08/03/2004 at 13:16

Lydiard suggests that all long running should be done on road. From personal experience I've had more injuries running on trails and grass than on the road, but, you'll probably hear tales from people saying exactly the opposite. I wouldn't suggest running around the track - you will be putting a lot of stress on your left leg as you are constantly turning left.
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