Are Long Steady State Runs worth it in 10k Training ?

Worth it. Full stop.

Didn't seem to work whenever I tried it. My 10k pace is 5:50 and my marathon is around 6:45.

My 10k pace is 5 minutes. My marathon woukd be DNF. I guess my marathon pace might be 8 minute pace if I walked a bunch. My easy runs are 7-7:15 pace. No place to do marathon pace.

Jack daniels prescribes sporadic marathon paced workouts in 5k training. So I'd say yes. Probably earlier on in a build though and maybe every 2-3 weeks.

Steady state is slower than marathon pace.

That’s what I thought. My sweet spot is half way between 5k pace and easy pace

I found steady state and tempo runs to be the most important and beneficial part of training. As another post said, steady state is probably slower than marathon pace. Jack Daniel's tables are a good starting point, but I usually found them slightly too fast, especially when in heavy training.

Steady state runs can be done year round, 1-3 times per week and they increase aerobic threshold while not taxing the body too hard. They also work on longer focus and ability to sustain a hard effort for a long time. Very useful in a 10k.

For a 10k, intervals should mostly consist of VO2 to 10k pace 3-6min with short recovery and follow up with a few quick 200s. These are not done year round, only during race buildup.

Yes. Tempos and steady state zone 2 runs increase aerobic power while stimulating race pace

The truth of this statement depends on how you define steady state and the ability level of the marathoner.

By definition, steady state is anywhere between LT1 and LT2. It is a workload that causes a rise in blood lactate, but as long as you don't increase the effort, the blood lactate will stay at that slightly elevated state for the duration of your run. Low end steady state gets a bad rap because a lot of runners end up running in that zone as their "easy pace". In truth, it still feels pretty easy, especially for newer runners.

Marathon Pace is a very amorphous term. Marathon pace for a 6 hour marathoner is likely below LT1, whereas Marathon Pace for a world class, low 2 hour marathoner is far closer to LT2. Former Mediocre D1 mentioned Daniels. Daniels puts M paced runs only slightly below LT2. If you're a miler or 5k/10k type, you can still use the pace charts. You don't actually have to run your true Marathon Pace. Other pace calculators use terms like "easy tempo" or "sub threshold" do describe this pace range. So, if OP is talking about true marathon pace, and he's not a good marathoner, he could get a lot of benefit from doing runs faster than his true marathon pace. If OP is talking about the MP on Daniels' pace charts, then for 10 miles, he's probably better off sticking to the pace prescribed for something like a 10 mile run

No. Too slow.

I mean, you'd certainly get a training effect, but there are probably better ways to spend your training pennies.

A 10-miler faster than marathon pace is gonna require some recovery time, so it's not like you can just slot it into your usual training schedule. You're gonna need to sub something else out.

Personally, I'd go with some sub-T intervals. Having breaks in the middle will likely reduce the amount of muscle damage accrued throughout the workout, and you'll get the added benefit of hitting faster paces with less effort.

You're running 10k, so building durability isn't as necessary as it would be for say, a marathon. You'll still get the mitochondrial benefit, and the improved ability to shuttle lactate.

Longer steady runs (let's say 60-90 min) are one half of the apple. The other half of the apple are faster runs/workouts. Or in Hadd's words: if you want to fully squize out the tooth paste: first optimize the pace of your steady runs, then add faster running.

You need good endurance/durability to perform 10k specific workouts such as 10x1k and 3x3km. Effective way to get this endurance are longer steady runs. For us mortals, marathon base training and 10k base training are quite similar: build up your endurance and use the endurance to move your threshold. Add some acid tolerance and you should be good to race 10k. Always keep some leg turnover for efficiency and fun.

BR

No. It's too slow unless your 10k is also slow.

What does that even mean?

Males sense to me. Like I said, my 10k pace is 5 minutes but I can't run marathon. Doing marathon pace would be slower than my easy pace.

Could you elaborate on this? Is this as simple as first building mileage and then adding in threshold workouts?

I incorporate 12-16k (7-10 miles) regularly into our training as steady/progressive on a hilly dirt circuit. I feel this a good aerobic stimulus when preparing for a variety of race distances and can be used throughout the year. I coach a female who has run 31:37 for 10 and 69:01 for the half and one of her favourite sessions is good steady 16k. So yes we use it at various times of the year.

Take 'marathon' out and just use M pace. If you run 5 min pace, that's like 31:15 for 10k. That's 69 on the vdot tables which gives you about 5:30 pace.

So for you, that's 10 miles in 55 min. Sounds like a good workout