Midweek Long runs. Yay or Nay?

Sure, why not?

semi-long runs. Say 12-15 miles on Wednesday, saving the 20-22 mile true long run for Sunday. No reason.

pfittzy wrote:

semi-long runs. Say 12-15 miles on Wednesday, saving the 20-22 mile true long run for Sunday. No reason.

+1

joho wrote:

pfittzy wrote:

semi-long runs. Say 12-15 miles on Wednesday, saving the 20-22 mile true long run for Sunday. No reason.

+1

Assuming marathon training. If not, maybe there is better use for that day than another long run.

I agree. My Tuesday workout, during a marathon or half marathon build-up, is usually around 12 miles. For example, this morning's session was a LT 4x2 with 2 minutes jog/rest between reps. The total for the speed work comes out to 8.75, and so with 2 to warmup and 2 to warmdown it totals 12.75 miles. My long run this past Saturday was 20. As long as I keep things fairly easy/moderate between now and Saturday, it works fine. Thus, something in the neighborhood of 12-15, depending upon pace, is okay for midweek.

Say it is for marathon training, i am always curious how people structure the rest of the week.

Sun - long run

mon - easy?

tue - short reps? hills? track?

wed - semi long run ~12-16

thu- easy?

fri - tempo?

sat - easy?

is this template sustainable? I guess Deek did it

Pro. If you have the available time during the week then I enjoy getting out when there are fewer people out there. Plus then you have more time on weekends for social activities or watching football.

To me, this schedule may be a bit too much. I think it is good for some, though. The key factor would be the paces involved. I do not always run my easy runs easy, and so I guess you can say that I adjust my pace accordingly during the week. If I feel good, I will do something moderate or perhaps a progression run. My week looks more like...

Mon - easy

Tue - track session, with some hills to and from track (no choice there, as my area is hilly)

Wed - easy

Thur - moderate or hills, probably around 10 miles

Fri - easy

Sat - long run, 17-22 in a marathon build-up

Sun - easy

thats noy what Deek did. there are other threads around here on this, however he and the 'Aussie' system was and still is for many aussies

Sun Long hilly (22mile)

Mon easy 10miles

Tuesday workout (hills, fartlek, etc)

Wed:Long flat (15-18 miles)

Thurs: track (8 x 400, 200 float)

Fri 10miles easy

Sat 10miles hard hilly tempo

(plus a second run of 5-6 miles each day)

I used to run two 18-mile runs each week during base phase. I was running doubles 6-days/week with Sunday only having 1 run and the afternoon off to eat pancakes. The highest mileage I hit was 121, but I was typically in the 90-105 range for that base phase. (75-90 during other phases that did not include race weeks.)

For the why... I did it because I improved every cycle. Also, there's a mental win in knowing that you not only can put in that kind of work, but that you have.

Not every week....but in the weeks of training that include a shorter race, it makes sense to do a Wed long run.

The body only knows training stimulus, it doesn't know days of the week.

Had a lot of success in college with this type of schedule:

M - 10mi tempo / 5mi

T - 10mi/ 5mi

W - 15mi / 5-8mi

T - 10mi / 5mi

F - 10mi progression / 5mi

S - 17-18mi

S - 8mi / 5mi

W or S 17R or M 4F or T 8 (track short) up to 3 miles of workS or W 6S or R 12 (track long) 4-7 mi of workM or F 8T or S 10 (tempo or 2-10 mile race)pacesR *current* 5k race paceT 5k - 50to70secsS 5k + 15to30secs depending on distance, etcSMWF 5k + 75to90secsuntil 5k pace is 5 minutes I'll probably keep this general guide - at which point I'll probably need to change the stimulus slightly to keep improving. works for all distances up to MUTs of 40 mileswith a 17 mi long run, i don't need a massive amount of time to get it in - an early Saturday so that the rest of the day is with family or an evening on Wednesday could both be realistic. i have found that 22 mile long runs really serve no purpose than taking up too much time.

random3 wrote:

Not every week....but in the weeks of training that include a shorter race, it makes sense to do a Wed long run.

I'm not sure what you other guys are doing, but I found it virtually impossible during marathon training not to have a high mileage workout midweek, whether a consecutive run or not. I frequently did something like 8xmile or 4x5k on a Wednesday and then would alternate long runs on the weekends, one weekend doing long and slow and the other weekend faster, but not as long. My point is that if you do 8xmile or 4x5k with any kind of warming up and cooling down you're easily doing 12+ miles midweek in one session anyway. So, yes, absolutely can you do a day of higher volume midweek. Making it an easier consecutive run even lowers the level of difficulty.

You just need to remember that if the run goes long enough (approaching two hours or more) you're looking at a nervous system that needs resting, fueling system that needs carbs, and of course recovery to muscles, tendons, etc. True long runs should require two super easy days after them so your body has enough time to feel and recover from delayed onset muscle soreness so that you actually know how well you handled the workout. Even after a big midweek effort you should be very skeptical for the next day or two about how well your body handled the stress of your recent workout.

get yourself on a 10 day cycle. forget trying to jam everything into a 7 day calendar week.

Mid weeker wrote:

and why?

Depends on schedule.

When are you racing?

Are you only training, no outside commitment?

What phase of training are you in?

No reason you couldn't do a long run in the middle of the week (assuming you mean Tuesday-Thursday)