marathon long run idea..

next question....

Have someone kidnap you, drop you off somewhere and run home.

See my same message to you in the D1 thread.

can someone just give me a straight answer please

I do not wish to discuss marathon long run ideas.

Instead, let's talk about our favorite Christmas movies.

1. Home Alone

2. A Christmas Story

3. Christmas Vacation

4. A Charlie Brown Christmas

5. Evergreen (a Hallmark Christmas movie, check it out. You'll never guess how it ends!)

jobbyjogger wrote:

Having trouble getting up over 15-16 miles by myself on my long runs

what if I did 5 miles as a warm up for a 10 mile road race, then race that road race and did a 5 mile cool down almost immediately after finishing? would I still get the same benefits as doing a pretty unbroken 20? or atleast SOME benefits, any advice you guys can offer. I know that if I do it this way the crowd for the road race will help keep me going.

I think you are splitting hairs and trying to be far too precise.

One concern I would have is running a 10 mile race would be at a pretty fast pace, but then there is a workout I really like that throws in fast-ish running during a 20.

jobbyjogger wrote:

Having trouble getting up over 15-16 miles by myself on my long runs

what if I did 5 miles as a warm up for a 10 mile road race, then race that road race and did a 5 mile cool down almost immediately after finishing? would I still get the same benefits as doing a pretty unbroken 20? or atleast SOME benefits, any advice you guys can offer. I know that if I do it this way the crowd for the road race will help keep me going.

It's a good idea. If you run the 10 mile race at marathon goal pace (even for just the last 4-5 miles of it), then the 5 mile cooldown will give you a bit of the feeling of the last 10k in the marathon. Or just do it like a long, slow run. A couple brief water breaks don't matter much. It's still 20 miles. Bring your gels and practice your nutrition plan for the race (every 45 minutes or so), or skip them and get a better depletion/fat burning workout.

There are a lot of negative a--holes here who seem to get some weird momentary satisfaction from ridiculing others. They must have some insecurity issues they take out on others.

I will add that so many guys talk tough here, or anywhere on-line, in fact, because they are anonymous. My user name is my actual name. I am no elite athlete, but this year, at age 58, I have run 4 marathons: 3:12 in January, indoors in Milwaukee, the day after a 1:24 half; 3:09 at Boston for a top 20 in M55; 3:16 in Lexington, KY in May in heat and humidity; and 3:07 in June in Manitowoc, Wi. All those results are on-line, I'm sure. I may be off by a minute or so on times, just going by memory.

I come here for the race reports and news, and used to enjoy some of the message board threads, but the atmosphere is increasingly toxic. Oh well.

No. The largest benefits from the long run are endurance related. The 10-mile race will be at the wrong pace to get those benefits. You'd have to jog the race.

I think it’s a good idea. A couple of times I have done a six or 7 mile run before a half marathon; if the race starts on time, you can time it perfectly so that you don’t even break stride. Plus, you don’t have to carry water because there will be aid stations at the race. I would do my long runs this way more often, except it’s too expensive.

exactly...it's a $25 race so I'm thinking it's worth it

Yes, it’s a good idea. I did it twice in the months before my last marathon, an 8k that I tempo’d in the middle of 15 miles, and a 10k I tempo’d in the middle of 20 miles. It worked great. I also did two other 20 mile runs with some MP included so that I didn’t have to worry about whether the run-race-run workouts had too much rest & transition time.

I would call you an elite athlete- just not in running- or there is another guy the same age with the same name who was quite accomplished in his event. Thanks for the post!

What do you mean by having a hard time? Is it physical or psychological? If it’s physical just try going easier at first and use last part for mp work. Do an out and back and don’t turn back till you are over 10 that way you are forced to finish or have a long walk home.

I would disagree wrote:

I would call you an elite athlete- just not in running- or there is another guy the same age with the same name who was quite accomplished in his event. Thanks for the post!

Thsnks. I'm that guy. Going to World Masters Athletics in Malaga, Spain, in 2 weeks.

Yes...if you raced the 10 miler which is ran close to TH you would have a high quality 20 miler. Time the WU so you are finished close to the start of the race.

No.

If you can’t do 18-20 miles nonstop why do you think you could do 26.2?

First off, switch to KMs. You end up running more of them, but they click by faster and it's easier to keep an eye on your pace. For any runs over 15KM, I like to break it up into sections. Either halves or thirds. For such a long run, thirds work best IMO. First 3rd easy (like a on an easy day when you're feeling decent), second 3rd, pick it up a bit (like in a smooth tempo run), last 3rd, get yourself slightly uncomfortable (Marathon pace). Those instructions are incredibly basic, but the point is, I find it makes the time go by faster and gives me something else to focus on and alleviate the boredom (as well as listening to the radio). There's also the idea that a Marathon is going to get harder as it goes, so even if the actual pace changes are minimal, you're also practicing stretching out an efficient effort which is what makes for a good Marathon. Similar to doing 4 sets of 5 x 200m with reducing rest (60/45/30/15), no extra rest between sets, and you try to get faster each set. We did that one back in HS (I think our coach borrowed it from Seb Coe) and it was a killer but in a sick way, really fun.

Maybe take a look at Hanson's marathon methods