Can you really say a 12 mile run, or less than 90 minutes, is a long run?

ChuggsBunny wrote:

Can you really call it running if it takes you 90mins to run 12 miles ?

It's called jogging. Nothing wrong with that.

Yes, 91 minutes is officially a "Long Run". And 89 minutes does not confer the Magic Benefits. So run 70 minutes most days and at least 91 minutes once per week to reap the Magic Benefits.

By the way, the words are "supposed to accomplish".

You are welcome.

but why wrote:

is that the study about 2-hours being maximum productive? or is that another one?

I've limited all my run now to no more than 2-hours because of that study and the relatively new research that shows micro-tears in heart tissue are not like other parts of the body and do not heal properly

I feel a distinct difference between a 15 mile run and a 18 mile run, the 18 mile definitely starts to touch on an LT wall like before the last 5k or two in a marathon.

Once you learn that sensation of LT though, it's sneaky because you know you can just pretty darn hard or far until that magic bad mile.

12 miles is not a long-run if you are a distance runner, maybe for track people but otherwise middle-long.

So 12 miles is not a long run for hobby joggers

Jeremy R wrote:

Depends on the individual and the event.

This. Think about Bernie Lagat.

Depends on what you are training for. I always got in the best shape of my life when I was doing ten mile long runs at sub 6 pace. The 90 minute garbage just put wear and tear with no benefit for 5k 3k or mile racing

aquafina wrote:

I think I read in Daniels (could be somewhere else) that around 90 min. is when you start to see the benefits of the long run, more mitochondria, more capilaries, etc..

That pretty much jives with my personal experiences as well. When I was "training" and not just doing a daily run when I started having those regular weekly runs of at least 90 min. I could see a change in fitness, but then that's just my experiment of one.

This is pretty much what I thought and have observed as well. A question though on semantics: if we agree on the 90 minute thing, have I received the benefit at 90 minutes or is it just starting at 90 minutes?

I've always been taught/coached that a long run should be between 20-25% of your weekly mileage so if you are doing 80mpw you would be looking at a 16-20 mile run.

Questions2 wrote:

Depends on what you are training for. I always got in the best shape of my life when I was doing ten mile long runs at sub 6 pace. The 90 minute garbage just put wear and tear with no benefit for 5k 3k or mile racing

Yeap. A lot of runners simply forget to evaluate what suits best for them.

wonder as I wander wrote:

aquafina wrote:

I think I read in Daniels (could be somewhere else) that around 90 min. is when you start to see the benefits of the long run, more mitochondria, more capilaries, etc..

That pretty much jives with my personal experiences as well. When I was "training" and not just doing a daily run when I started having those regular weekly runs of at least 90 min. I could see a change in fitness, but then that's just my experiment of one.

This is pretty much what I thought and have observed as well. A question though on semantics: if we agree on the 90 minute thing, have I received the benefit at 90 minutes or is it just starting at 90 minutes?

The benefits of increased mitochondria and capillarization will have already been occurring from 60-70 minute point so by 90 minutes you will have gotten the benefit from it sufficiently.

EanO96 wrote:

I've always been taught/coached that a long run should be between 20-25% of your weekly mileage so if you are doing 80mpw you would be looking at a 16-20 mile run.

So if you`re running 140 mpw you should do 28-35 mile long runs? The percentage rule is stupid.

For any middle/long distance athlete (1500m-10,000m) running 90-100+ miles a week a 14-20 mile run is considered a "long run" (1:30- 2:00 hrs).

LSD- Long Slow Distance. This pace should feel comfortable. Adjust accordingly to your mileage. A good rule of thumb is to divide your weekly mileage by 7 at the minimum. If you have a low mileage recovery day (4-6 mi) then divide by 6. You can add a few miles if you're feeling good.

If you are a high school cross-country runner, your long run needs to be between 70 - 90 minutes in duration. Whatever mileage you need to get to that is your long run.

Pretty sure Joe Vigil used to tout the benefit of running for 2:05, and not any longer. I could be wrong, but I think he said there was no benefit to be had beyond that point.

Whatever he promoted, I'm sure it was correct.

Generally, I think a run is long when:

1. Your mind goes silent

2. It feels like your energy is 'depleted'

3. Your movements are stripped to the bare minimum (Relaxed, with very little excess motion)

I think you only get that feeling when going slow though. I once went for a long run with people that do everything at tempo pace, and it didn't feel the same at all.