Grant Fisher’s long run

Yawn. A sub13/27 guy is fit & can do an amazing long run.

Wake us up when he develops that championship kick. Until then, perennial 4th-8th place finisher when it matters on world stage.

That's basically 2:27 marathon pace

that was not at 6000 feet.

What would you say about a Kenyan girl who ran 35K (21.75 miles) in 2:15? That is a 6:21-mile pace or 2:43 for the marathon, and she did it in Iten, Kenya, which is the High Altitude Training Camp! It was just another training run for her, and she told me that she started out way too fast.

This is the key point. I was a sub-14 5K runner with a fairly low HR (max ~170 in my late 20s); I had training partners who could go 50 bpm higher. So if you looked at my average HR during runs/workouts you might (mistakenly) think I was really good. Obviously Fisher *is* really good, but without knowing his max, you can't really draw any conclusions about how impressive his HR was here.

He races under 4:10 per mile for 5K. This is not extraordinary even at altitude. This is like 7:00 min 5K pace runner doing 9min pace long run.

At this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country?

No can do buddy. Best we can do is a 35 year old Grant Fisher transitioning to marathons after finally getting tired of 4-6th place at global events

I’m pretty sure my heart rate is over 138 when I run 8:30 miles at sea level. Good lord.

This is incredibly helpful information. Thanks!

The thing is, nobody cares who you are or what you care about.

Guessing his HR max around 210.

Therefore, 65%

At that HR, at that pace, for that distance, at that altitude with undulation of terrain- I’d say that is a sign he is a monster .

With speed fine tuning he will be deadly this summer.

Unlikely

Pretty much exactly 90 seconds slower per mile than his 5,000m race pace. Not super crazy.

like a 16:00-ish 5k guy (me) running 6:38 pace. Done it before, but not sure of my HR.

I used to do a 20-22 miler 4 weeks out from the marathon that was usually 6:40 pace. I only ran 2:33-34 in the marathon.

You are right. On second thought 221 max HR at 138 = 62.7% = monster!

that is a very solid workout. very typical of elites, run on a regular basis. base training.

note that the equivalent long for non elites say 15 min 5k runners, a "long run" would be 12 miles instead of 18. that is to run at the optimal pace to run closer to threshold, but well under.

i'm a fan of the quality long run, but not 20 milers slow, rather at the decent pace.

slow running is fine for recovery, but not too much, as there is an adaptation and recruitment of slow twitch, and the cost of fast twitch.

which is why distance people in their mid 20's slow down beyone the natural age decline.

they adapt to running pace from their training.

after you accomplish the great aerobic base,over the first several seasons, back off on the duration of the base (slower) pase, and move on to threshold training, and things like jumping, and a small useful amount of cross training recruits faster twitch.

and more active rest phases are useful in longevity, and better response in the training cycle.

a longer run of 20 miles over hills, once in a while isn't going to hurt, and is psychologically beneficial, and can be a lot of fun when fit. but done on a regular basis, it's dangerous to those that want to finish in 52 seconds 400.

i liked the long run a lot, but 15 or 16 miles on hills hitting them hard, that's the bomb for middle distance.

800 guys, the above is off the table. you want to make sure you don't recruit but only a small amount of slow twitch.

It's a good run for a pro. For perspective's sake, Cheptegei probably does multiple 30k runs a week as it's a training staple for him.