The long run is the cornerstone for success in the half marathon, but we sometimes don’t give it the attention it deserves. Let’s reassess how you’re running your half marathon long runs, why you’re running them that way, and if you should be doing something different.
This is week #2 in May’s You Don’t Know the Half of It: Half Marathon blog series. Check out last week’s breakdown of half marathon workouts here.
Don’t Know the Half of It: Half Marathon Long Run Essentials
Why a Long Run?
While the saying is, “You can half-ass a half marathon,” prioritizing the long run in your training can lead to faster times on the race clock.
A long run will…
- Make you more comfortable with the distance of the half marathon
- Build your cardiovascular system in ways shorter runs cannot
- Change your body on a cellular level into a powerhouse
- Increase your endurance for half marathon and beyond
- Increase your speed endurance for all distances by strengthening your aerobic system
The great thing about the long run for the half marathon, is that it isn’t as time consuming as the marathon’s long runs, but they should still be sacred in your eyes. Often times for frequent half-marathoners, their midweek training is already maxed out by time constraints, but improving their long run will go a long way to improving their half marathon performance.
How are you running your long runs?
Increase your long run by 1-2 mile or 15-20 minute increments. Since long runs for half marathons don’t build as high as marathon long runs, I often take the opportunity to increase long runs by 1 mile or 15 minute increments. Given the proper running base, we can get up to 15 or 16 miles, do some shorter long runs with a speed component, or both. These long run workouts boost confidence and fitness for the race when basic distance begins to feel easy.
Does my week support my long run?
Despite the wonderful benefits and values of a long run, you can’t just run 10 miles every Saturday and take the rest of the week off. You need appropriate shorter runs throughout the week to support your long run, to minimize injury risk, and keep fitness gains.
Preferably your shorter, maintenance runs will be half the distance of your long run. For example, regular runs of five miles supports a ten mile long run. Or looking at total mileage, your long run is 25-33% of your weekly mileage. Both of these guidelines are great for base running, but as you get deep into your training cycle, it may not be feasible. You may want to peak with a 16 mile long run, but be unable to increase your midweek mileage accordingly in that same span of time — this temporary imbalance can be OK with a strong running base. Just don’t make it a regular off-season occurrence.
You can also offset this imbalance between midweek miles and long run miles by developing a medium-distance run during your week. Maybe you can’t run 6 miles every midweek run, but you could on Wednesday. You might run 3 miles / 6 miles / 3 miles / 8 miles. Now you’re long run is at 40% of your weekly mileage. Add in another day of 3 miles, and you’re at 35%, further minimizing the injury risk from an “acutely long” long run.
Am I running my long run too fast?
Unless you’re purposefully running goal pace miles or another specific workout, your long run should be done at easy, conversational pace. These runs are about time on your feet and encouraging your body to improve its aerobic system, so don’t rush your long runs – you’ll lose the benefits.
If you find yourself slowing at the end of your long runs, try starting slower next time. You’re looking for a steady pace without panting, without unintended walking breaks, and with the ability to take a quick phone call or chat with a partner.
Read more about pacing the long run here.
When am I ready for overdistance?
If you’ve…
- Raced at least one half marathon,
- Have a high-mileage base (ie, you’re already running 8-10 mile runs), and
- Have the time to build the distance safely with proper rest
then you’re probably ready for overdistance runs. 13 or 14 miles may be enough stimulus for your first over-distance training cycle. Later, overdistance of 15 or 16 miles could be beneficial to make the half marathon feel more comfortable and build aerobic endurance.
When am I ready for speedwork within the long run?
- When you’re ready to progress to overdistance or you already have,
- You’ve already incorporated speedwork in shorter runs during the week, and
- Your long runs feel easy.
Rather than continuing to pile on miles onto your long run to make it harder, you can sprinkle in a few faster miles to increase the difficulty of the workout.
Should I fuel my half marathon long runs?
Fueling is individual to everyone. For runs less than 16 miles, you may want to eat a small meal before your long run and run without mid-run fuel with the philosophy that your body will learn to more effectively burn its fuel stores. Or, you may want to fuel mid-run any run over 60 minutes. I at least recommend fueling for any “high quality” long run, such as race pace miles where performance is the goal vs time on your feet. Also, use one or two long runs to practice your race-day fueling to remember the logistics and test your stomach.
Learn more about fueling the long run here.
Can’t I just stick with a 8 (or other number) mile long run every week?
From a running science perspective, you introduce a stressor to trigger fitness gains. Eventually the body adapts to the stressor and fitness plateaus. By changing up the stressor – by changing the distance, pace, terrain – you improve. Keeping the same variables day after day will make you very efficient at those specific variables. Change it up to improve.
In the long run…
The long run takes up a lot of your time. Make sure you’re supporting it with reasonable midweek workouts and conscious decisions regarding fueling.
Then, make sure you’re getting what you need out of it. If not, switch things up. If you’re not sure what changes to make to your training cycle, I’d be happy to help. I do online coaching and custom plan designs.
Stay tuned next week on how to build a training plan for your half marathon. Maybe you won’t need my services after all. 🙂
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington on Thursday. Leon Neal/Getty Images
CNN
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the White House on Thursday could be his final chance to convince a receptive American president of his country’s war aims.
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The precise details of the “victory plan” Zelensky plans to present in separate meetings to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are unknown, having been closely held until they are presented to the American leaders.
But according to people briefed on its broad contours, the plan reflects the Ukrainian leader’s urgent appeals for more immediate help countering Russia’s invasion. Zelensky is also poised to push for long-term security guarantees that could withstand changes in American leadership ahead of what is widely expected to be a close presidential election between Harris and former President Donald Trump.
The plan, people familiar with it said, acts as Zelensky’s response to growing war weariness even among his staunchest of western allies. It will make the case that Ukraine can still win — and does not need to cede Russian-seized territory for the fighting to end — if enough assistance is rushed in.
That includes again asking permission to fire Western provided long-range weapons deeper into Russian territory, a line Biden once was loathe to cross but which he’s recently appeared more open to as he has come under growing pressure to relent.
Even if Biden decides to allow the long-range fires, it’s unclear whether the change in policy would be announced publicly.
Biden is usually apt to take his time making decisions about providing Ukraine new capabilities. But with November’s election potentially portending a major change in American approach to the war if Trump were to win, Ukrainian officials — and many American ones — believe there is little time to waste.
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Trump has claimed he will be able to “settle” the war upon taking office and has suggested he’ll end US support for Kyiv’s war effort.
“Those cities are gone, they’re gone, and we continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refused to make a deal, Zelensky. There was no deal that he could have made that wouldn’t have been better than the situation you have right now. You have a country that has been obliterated, not possible to be rebuilt,” Trump said during a campaign speech in Mint Hill, North Carolina, on Wednesday.
Comments like those have lent new weight to Thursday’s Oval Office talks, according to American and European officials, who have described an imperative to surge assistance to Ukraine while Biden is still in office.
As part of Zelensky’s visit, the US is expected to announce a major new security package, thought it will likely delay the shipping of the equipment due to inventory shortages, CNN previously reported according to two US officials. On Wednesday, the US announced a package of $375 million.
The president previewed Zelensky’s visit to the White House a day beforehand, declaring on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly his administration was “determined to ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to prevail in fight for survival.”
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“Tomorrow, I will announce a series of actions to accelerate support for Ukraine’s military – but we know Ukraine’s future victory is about more than what happens on the battlefield, it’s also about what Ukrainians do make the most of a free and independent future, which so many have sacrificed so much for,” he said.