Calling half marathon types - Training

richardc

14/10/2002 at 09:32

For all you half marathon types following training schedules, what constitues a 'long' run?? Mine is around 10 miles and I'm doing around 1:45 race times.....should I be doing longer 'long' runs to improve?????

Keith

14/10/2002 at 09:39

Normally your long runs would be excess of your race distance, except for marathons. For half marathons I normally reckon that 15 miles is a good long run.

Scar Runner

14/10/2002 at 09:51

You're getting good times on that Richard, so it obviously works for you. I would say 10 miles is perfectly adequate distance.

For the GNR my longest road run, apart from a
1/2 m the month before was 8 miles and I only did one of those. I don't like doing long road runs apart from racing as I find it boring; I do run 2-3 hour on the hills every so often, I reckon that's enough to maintain endurance until marathon training starts. Sadly that has to involve longer road runs!

WildWill..... pirate

pirate

14/10/2002 at 10:04

I like to do over the distance at least once in the lead up to the race - just to add a bit extra confidence – In the lead up to the GNR by longest run was 16½-mile (but at a much reduced pace)

Will

Nessie

14/10/2002 at 10:24

My last half marathon really benefitted from having done a 15 mile run beforehand. I took 7 mins off my (albeit still slow) PB. However, as Laura says, offroad is better, so if you can do a couple of 2 hour trail runs, that would be ideal. Especially if there are hills involved too.

mmmm...marmite

14/10/2002 at 10:27

Typically, I find 15-16 milers to be good, at a steady pace (maybe 1-1.25 minutes per mile slower than goal pace for the half).

Dustin

14/10/2002 at 11:22

I've been doing several runs of 16.5 miles over the summer , along with marginally quicker 10-13 mile runs.
Part of this however is because I aim for a spring marathon so don't want to let go of the endurance run overthe summer/autumn.

If halfM was my longest race distance, I'd still try and do the occasional run in excess of 13 miles. Given your a 1.45 runner (similar to me) then try the odd run towards 2 hours , but slower than race pace.

Mij

14/10/2002 at 11:25

I would say 10 is the mimimum for a half if your goal is to enjoy it. If you want to set a PB then you are into running 14 to 16 say every other week (10 on the between weeks) with the last one about 3 weeks before your race. I would also suggest that 1:30 to 2:00 mins slower than race pace is fine.

Muttley

14/10/2002 at 11:25

I do the same as Marmite Master. It's a nice feeling to start a half with no doubt that you can cover the distance. If you've done a couple of 15-milers or beyond, the 13.1 miles are much less intimidating.

Velociraptor

14/10/2002 at 11:52

Hmmm...if 15+ mile training runs are the order of the day, looks like I won't be thinking seriously about half-marathon PBs until the spring. I haven't done more than 13.5 miles in training and won't fit anything much over that in before Cheddar. So that's something to keep me out of mischief over the winter.

drew

14/10/2002 at 11:55

Although not essential a few long runs of 15miles + certainly helps, especially if do the final 3 or 4 miles at 1/2 marathon pace of faster.

Gavo

14/10/2002 at 12:07

Your pace of 1:45 is fairly similar to me (tend to vary between 1:40 - 1:50). If you don't want to go for extra distance, then you could make the miles harder by using hills or going off-road. This may not improve your basic speed but should improve muscle strength so by going a few seconds per mile less should lower the PB. However, I've read in RW a few times that training for longer runs helps to improve your time on shorter distances.

WildWill..... pirate

pirate

14/10/2002 at 13:30

Talking about going over distance – would anyone advocate this for marathon training? (my marathon target would be about 4hrs)

Will

mmmm...marmite

14/10/2002 at 13:46

WW,
not a chance! I never go more than 22 miles before a marathon.

drew

14/10/2002 at 14:39

WW, I'd second MM on that one.

Mij

14/10/2002 at 14:48

Definitely not. Given you long run sshould be slower that M pace you can run for the target duration but cover less miles.

Mike S

14/10/2002 at 15:16

Not normally a thread I'd follow wwith great interest, but at the moment I am still weighing up the possibility of having a crack at Helsby in January....strictly as a one-off!

Can't see myself getting used to 15 mile runs by then, but if I reached the stage where I could manage 10 at a reasonable lick, does anyone have any thoughts as to whether that would be enough to enable me to manage the remaining 3.1 in a race without the wheels falling off?

Velociraptor

14/10/2002 at 15:19

Since WW's question was whether ANYONE would advocate going above the distance when training for a marathon, the answer is yes, some experts do, but most don't.

WildWill..... pirate

pirate

14/10/2002 at 15:28

One of the main reasons I ask is my long term goals is an Ironman event – which is about 13 hours of racing with the latter part being a marathon – my thinking was …

If I am eventually going to be racing for around 13 hrs in total I should be at least be able to run for 5 or so – and I thought training for London would be a good chance to test the theory, as London is not my ultimate objective – just a goal (stepping stone) on the way?

Scar Runner

14/10/2002 at 15:35

Wish I'd never looked at this now. Looks like I'm in a minority of one doing so little on the road. I feel distinctly lazy! Looking at my training log since my last marathon (June) I've got by on lots of 5-7 mile runs, 2 1/2 marathons and long hill runs about every 3 weeks.

Ah well, speed session tonight, one thing at a time eh?