Does it matter how fast you do your long runs?

No, particularly if your emphasis is on something shorter than a marathon.

The slower you go, the more time you have to develop the capillaries that your body will use to transport more oxygen...take them easy. Sometimes I like to pound them out, but I'd say going slower has the ultimate benefit.

I agree that it's usually best to take them easy, but I think hammering out a long one from time to time is good if for nothing other than building some toughness.

A couple quotes from the thread "The Kenyan Way" (I also do long runs at a fast pace. I see it as a workout and not just part of my general easy mileage. I believe it works as an aerobic support for my threshold sessions. If I can run 20km or my 26km run at marathon effort it makes my tempo sessions feel like a piece of cake to finish):

Renato Canova:

c) During the first 5-6 years of activity, all kenyans runners increase the volume of km, reaching a very high level (with exclusion of the specialists of 800m coming from sprint events). After this period, their "aerobic house" is finished, and they can look for improving quality of training, reducing a little the volume. For example, with Shaheen the weekly average (during winter) of volume was 140 in 2001, 170 in 2002, 200 in 2003, 180 in 2004, 150 in 2005, 140 this year. But, at the some time, his SINGLE long fast run raised from 15k at 3:15 pace in 2001 till the current 25k at 3:10 pace (once per week), with one session every 4 weeks of 37-39km so fast. Last year, one week after winning Golden Gala with 7:56 in July (4 weeks before World Championships in Helsinki) he ran 37 km in 2:02. This winter he ran 39 km in 2:07 giving 4:00 to marathon runners like Cheboiboch and Frederink Cherono. I use the same methodology with Dorcus Inzikuru, that this winter ran 2 hours once every week.

"curious bystander" quoting a young Kenyan runner in the SEC:

He was surprised that American collegiate runners didn't run long hard runs. "Either they run 40-50 minutes, hard," he said. "Or they run long, but as a joke, just joking around." Kenyans, he said, pushed harder on long runs, although they started slow.

I've found that it's good to run long runs slow at first and gradually picking it up till the last few miles are at a pretty fast pace. I think most athletes agree. However, I've found that really "hammering" a long run really wears me out and does little to improve my fitness. Like someone said, long runs shouldn't be done at a fast pace unless you're focusing on the HM and marathon. Long runs should be comfortable and gradually pick up to that pace where you're really cruising but not straining. That's the method that has worked best for me.

Early in the training cycle you should be running easy as you adjust to the length of your long run. This is when your developing your aerobic endurance for the more specific preparation yet to come. Once you're into your season, you want your training to be more specific for the event you are preparing for. So if you're training to run a 5k in 15:30, you have to ask why you're doing your long run. If it is a recovery run after a workout or race, it should be easy. However, if it is treated as a training day, it is more beneficial to run closer to your desired race pace since that will have more application in your race. So, instead of 7:15/mile, do your long runs at 6:15/mile. This should be a fairly gradual change over the season. You don't want to make a big change in your LRs so that you're tired for your workouts which are more beneficial to you in the mid-season.

I have a good question. How should the progression of a long run go from the season's start to the season's end?

Do you lower it as you progress, or do you maintain it?

I've found that maintaining keeps my confidence up, but I've never tried it any other way.

I was racing when there was not as much information available but I developed the opinion that at least some of my long runs needed to be close to marathon pace. You use muscles differently if you are running 2 minutes slower than marathon pace for your long runs and you are not pushing your glycongen limits since some much of you energy course can be from other sources. I often ran the first 20 miles of a marathon at about marathon pace 6-8 weeks before my target marathon date.

Later I observed that runners that had faster 10Ks and pretty good mileage who ran long runs slowly (never fast) had inferior marathon times and much more trouble maintaining pace the last 10K of the marathon.

slow long runs = just as much benefit as fast ones except your legs are not dead for your next workout.

As Pre told an interviewer, prior to the '72 Olympics, when asked why he did his road work at a 'fast pace'...

"I already know how to run slow, I want to learn how to run fast."

I don´t know if pre said that, but I know that that it is a very popular emil zatopek quote. Someone asked him way he ran hard everyday and he said he already knew how to run slowly, he needs to learn how to run fast.

I wish someone would have told me to go slower on my long runs summer before xc when i was in high school where i would go at 6:15ish pace and end with sub 5:20 last mile on 13 mile runs. But then end up with only 16:54 PR in the 5k during XC :(

Not true... If you want to develop your aerobic threshold (not anaerobic threshold) you better be running quicker long runs. This is directly relevent for marathon training. The correct intensity is roughly 20 seconds per mile slower than your marathon goal pace but it's best to use a heart rate monitor and have done some lactate testing to make sure you're doing things right(ie. you want to run these between roughly 1.0 mmol and 2.0 mmol).

For those who will say 'just get out there and put the time on your legs, do lots of miles, easy longs runs, train hard, blah, blah, blah', try going out and running 50km long runs at 5:30-5:40 pace if you want to break 2:20 for the marathon! Just make sure and look at your long runs like a workout though and respect the amount of recovery you'll need before your next harder session. Plus, you'll want to have a good fluids protocol in place since it's very tough to recover from big longs runs if you're not setting up correctly for them.

For the doubters, take a close look at what the top marathoners in the world are doing for their long runs...

that was zatopec who said that. at least originally anyway

Well personally I'd take my long runs slow. I make a point to hold form really well and make sure my footstrike is as much off the heel as possible. I pay attention to being relaxed and I make sure I'm not straining.

you are completely wrong. the best way to do a long run is to start off easy for the first mile and then decrease it substantially throughout the run so the last 2 miles are at or slightly below tempo pace. The guy that said the slower you go the more time your capalliries have to grow is an idiot. If that were true why wouldnt we all just walk 20 miles a day?? No, long runs should be long, fast and HARD.

Do them at the pace that benefits you most.

If you are a seasoned runner you should know what gives you the best results for your training effort.

I like to do my long runs slowly when maintaining base and then quicken them during the last 8-12 weeks before a Marathon.

For me this covers all the slow to medium speed bases and helps with my confidence.

snatch wrote:

Do them at the pace that benefits you most.

If you are a seasoned runner you should know what gives you the best results for your training effort.

I like to do my long runs slowly when maintaining base and then quicken them during the last 8-12 weeks before a Marathon.

For me this covers all the slow to medium speed bases and helps with my confidence.

That has been my experience as well.

everyone and their brother says slow (marathon pace or +)

Id say most people should listen to the Daniels and Pfitzingers..

Jack Daniels

Jack Daniels, in Daniels' Running Formula, states that long runs are "still considered an easy day in terms of intensity." They should be "free from trouble or pain" and run at the same pace as recovery runs, or at a conversational pace. Daniels points out that long runs are all about spending time on your feet and that you don't need to run fast to benefit.

http://www.competitiverunner.com/long_run_pace1.html?PHPSESSID=56a...a27135203b96441824d8e8dcc