Marathon training - Any thoughts on long runs only every other weekend?
Tue, 24/01/2012 - 19:02
I read somewhere that weekly long runs might be detrimental to the shorter ones during the week. Our bodies do not have a chance to recover and hence maximise the training of the shorter runs. This seems to make sense but I can only find programmes that have weekly long runs. Has any one any experience of training like this? And most importantly what was the result on the day?
Tue, 24/01/2012 - 22:53
#2
it makes sense to me. I did the marathon 2 years ago but found that on my long run 22 before the race i got injured. so last year i decided not to do long runs in my training. The most i did was 13 miles once a week and i worked up to this. I found by doing short runs i could build on my speed. It worked. my best for the marathon was 4.10 last year i finished in 3.36.
Wed, 25/01/2012 - 14:29
#3
Hi All. I am almost 3 years running now. I was ment to take part in the dub mar last year but had a bad fall. Gutted as I was training really hard. Back running now and have a few events in mind for this year, first being the wick half mar at the end of march. Running 30-40k pw. Not to sure as to when the best time to start doing the longer runs as I dont want to peak to early. Any pros out there who can offer tips/advice?? Cheers
Wed, 25/01/2012 - 18:12
#4
Very Very impressive Ronan. May I ask what age bracket you are (don't know why that is important?!) - that is such a great result. Very heartening.
I love the quote 'I am an experiment of one' Michael. Well said and so true. I am seriously considering experimenting with the long run. And after Ronan's post I am inspired
Wed, 25/01/2012 - 19:35
#5
Welcome Keith
Two of the lads are doing Belfast in May and are hitting the half this weekend,Building it by a few miles a week,They done two 22 miles with a one week gap before the DCM last year and then tapered for the big day.They are working off a good base as they only rested for 2 weeks after the DCM.Short enough runs just to keep the fitness levels up.
Hope this helps you pal.
Wed, 25/01/2012 - 20:27
#6
Ponner, Thanks for that man. really appreciate you taking the time to reply!!
Wed, 25/01/2012 - 20:42
#7
Ronan, would also love an idea of your schedule.
Wed, 25/01/2012 - 22:51
#8
I agree that too much volume (especially at marathon pace) is detrimental to the subsequent runs the following week. My recommendation is to build your long run mileage up to a maximum of 3 hours regardless of how far that ends up taking you. There's more to marathon running than the long run!
Wed, 01/02/2012 - 21:23
#9
Hi I am aiming to run in the Limerick Marathon which will be my first, I did. the Lisburn half marathon 2 yrs ago. I would love any advice, I find Ronan's comment very interesting any more info/advice greatly appreciated.
Fri, 03/02/2012 - 22:59
#10
Hi I am training for The Rome Marathon 18th of March .Longest run I have done to date is 16 miles last sat .I am struggling with my legs and have been told to run :one run on -one day off to give my legs a change to recover .Was running 50 miles plus a week .I ran Dublin in Oct 3.50 first marathon .But i put in a lot of training and in thinking about it now probably ran to many miles.My worry now is I won't be able for the Rome marathon with fewer miles .I have started swimming and cycling on my run days off.I am female and 32 .What is the best training prog i can follow was following Dub marathon training prog but It does not suit me any more with my legs ???
Sat, 04/02/2012 - 21:12
#11
Three runs a week is the sweet spot for marathon training. Max 35 miles a week gives your body plenty of time to recover and adapt. Make every run high quality and serving a purpose (threshold, aerobic endurance etc.) and concentrate on your technique. I've done a fair bit of blogging about it recently at intelligentrunning.com and recently wrote a marathon program intelligentmarathon.com, but happy to answer general questions here too :)
Sun, 05/02/2012 - 19:09
#12
doing 3.36 in dublin on 13 miles? take your word for it but to be fair marathons are about hard work-no shortcuts.what works for one person will not work for someone else.if it was that easy we would all do 13 miles runs;-) if you feel too tired to do medium runs after long runs have no fear!!!! we all have the same problem- you have to overcome it and wonder a) are you running your long runs at too fast a pace and b) wonder are you jumping straight into a marathon too quickly- is your base too low and c) are you following the 10% rule. if you don't know what that is then you are definitely not preparing properly ;-)
Sun, 05/02/2012 - 19:33
#13
I went round Cork in under 3 hours with just 2 runs a week but still recommend 3 for most people. Good point about the pace of the long runs though @cmickdaly, this is such a common problem for nearly all marathon runners!
Sun, 05/02/2012 - 20:46
#14
running rome marathon too-did dublin last year in a new PB of 3.40.51. training for rome I realised would be tough as I was exhausted after dublin so I am adopting a see and enjoy it approach in training. perhaps this would suit the lady above. I don't expect to PB, just hoping to enjoy it and then rest for 10 weeks and then train for sub 3.30 in dublin over the summer
Thu, 09/02/2012 - 08:52
#15
Morning all, last week was a good week. ran about 36k in total.Ran a very nice 13.5 on Tuesday night. Great to see the evenings getting brighter, gives you such a lift. On the bike a this week to brake it up a bit. Planning to do a long run on Monday. Wick half is fast approaching, cant waitttttttttt.
Thu, 09/02/2012 - 14:25
#16
hi george. good runing there but i presume you have years of running a good base built up? a newbie would hardly do such a time on so little running
Sat, 11/02/2012 - 11:52
#17
I am one of George Anderson's 'intelligent runners' and I ran Dublin last year in 3hr58 after following his 3 runs a week training programme. - a PB for me.Believe me, there is nothing easy or corners cut about his training programme, just no junk miles and making every run count. Its brilliant and I'm really looking forward to Connemara. Happy running people,
Sun, 12/02/2012 - 20:58
#18
I'm training for Rome too, glad to see there's a few more Irish going over. I did 18 this week and plan a 20 in two weeks, then taper for three weeks. Not in the same league as you but will be very happy with Sub 5 hours. I'm 53 and female.It should be a great weekend with the Ireland/ England and Italy /Scotland match on Paddy's Day!!
Fri, 17/02/2012 - 13:37
#19
Great time for Dublin Jenny. How many weeks was your programe?. what sort of distance were you putting in on the 3 days??
Rgds
Keith
Sun, 19/02/2012 - 20:54
#20
Thanks Keith. It was a PB, I have done a few previously. In fact, I did Dublin in 2005 in 4hr06min. I'm not sure about the distance I was putting in, but it panned out at about 7 - 8 mile threshold session, 6 - 7 mile interval session and long run building up from half marathon distance. The longest I did was 22miles and that took me 3hr30min. George reccommends sticking to a max of 3hrs for your peak running sessions before easing back. Check out 'intelligentmarathon.com' I think, maybe google it if that isn;t the right address. He has lots of great ideas. Am following his programme again for Connemara and really enjoying it. He also has a great facebook group for people following his programme where we all swap stories and advice. Happy training...
Mon, 20/02/2012 - 10:11
#21
Hi guys,
Reading all the above is making me very jealous of how far ahead you all are. I made a decision this year to run the Cork marathon and on advice from one or two looked into Hal Higdons running plans for novices. I am doing 3 runs mid week (highest currently 7mile on wed) with my long run on saturday where I completed a 12mile run in 1h 58s. Was really chuffed as I have set personal goal of 4h20m to complete marathon. Since training my times have improved and have kept consistant pace but seem to be doing same times with both my short and long runs is this ok? Mick what is 10% rule? is that where you should be doing 10% less speed in long run than in your short ones? Btw am newbie to running and 36 (It took me this many years to build up the courage :-) )
Doing Wild West challenge this weekend and really excited but due to course will not be sticking to my time goal as wish to get out uninjured!!!
Mon, 20/02/2012 - 11:59
#22
I ran Rome last year and it really is a great experience. This is part of something i was asked to put together for a non running wesite, it may be of interest to those running there this year.
For me the only down side was the cobbles, lots of them in the last miles and my feet got sore.
The start was beside the Colosseum where the check in and baggage drop was performed with the minimum of fuss. During the next 26+ miles we passed almost every landmark in this beautiful city. At ten miles we crossed the Tiber and approached the Vatican. Here we were greeted by a crescendo of choir music that took us up around St Peters where the Pope was celebrating Mass for the crowds that had assembled in the Square. We reached the Olympic stadium at the half way point as the course made its way up and down beside the Tiber. The course then twisted and turned from 20 miles to the finish on narrow cobbled streets as we took in as many of the sights as the organisers could fit in. The Piazza Navona, The Trevi Fountain and the Victor Emmanuel monument were just some of the sights along those beautiful narrow streets until the finishing mile took us past the Circus Maximus and around the Colosseum to the finish beside the Forum.
It’s not surprising that Rome has been awarded a place in the top 5 European marathons as in a city that always seems to be choking with tourists the authorities had cooperated with the marathon organisers to showcase the city to the runners and supporters.
Mon, 20/02/2012 - 12:53
#23
Keith, George Anderson has a really good blog/training site http://intelligentrunning.com/. He advocates only 3 runs a week. He is actually coming to Ireland this Sunday to do a 4 hour works shop. I am really excited about it. Hopefully I will get my mojo back. I think that is the same person that Jenny is probably talking about.
Mon, 20/02/2012 - 12:57
#24
Keith, I think the person Jenny is talking about is doing a workshop in Dublin this Sunday. He is a UK trainer and blogger http://intelligentrunning.com/. I heard him speak at the Dublin expo in October; very sensible obvious stuff that I used the next day and got a personal best (realistic goals based on training, mental attitude etc). I am looking forward to workshop. His website has loads info and training vids on youtube
Mon, 20/02/2012 - 13:05
#25
Keith, I think the person Jenny is talking about is actually coming to Dublin Sunday to take a runners workshop. intelligentrunning.com is his website where he blogs and has loads of stuff on it. I heard him at the Dublin expo last October and he gave a lot of sensible advice for the next day - obvious things that I hadn't really thought about as someone new to marathon running - Dublin was my second one -realistic goal setting based on training, race plan. attitude etc. Very good stuff. So I am really looking forward to Sunday and hearing what he has to say - and do cos think he is running with us too
Mon, 20/02/2012 - 21:42
#26
sorry about all the posts. other members of the household's names kept popping on the 'your name' and I didnt think post was sending.....
Tue, 21/02/2012 - 08:13
#27
@cmickdaly yes, I had a good few years of running under my belt before training for Cork though I'd not run for about 5 months before starting to train for the marathon.
I'd say that most runners could do with chopping out many of the junk miles that we see in so many training programs (not just marathon) but it's not just a case of eliminating 50% and seeing what's left. Every run should be a piece of the jigsaw, which effectively means you never step out of the front door with out a clear set of objectives for that particular run.
50+ miles per week on a marathon program is ridiculous for "amateur" runners. It's just not necessary. Elite runners will get up to crazy weekly mileage (120+) but unless you're shooting for 2:15s in the marathon and have a team of physios behind you to keep you on your feet there's no benefit in copying these training tactics for a 4 hour race target.
I've interviewed several veteran international champions including John Treacy and Catherina McKiernan and they all say that they probably ran way too much.
I'm in Dublin this Sunday for my iRunning workshop but unfortunately it's sold out :0)
Tue, 21/02/2012 - 21:11
#28
Hi Guys,
Thanks to you all for your advice and tips, all very helpful. Happy running
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To me a long run every two weeks makes perfect sense and i have seen programme once that had a medium marathon pace run on the other week.Also i have read that there is no reason why the long run has to go to 20 miles only that it is a nice round figure and in some countries that work totally in metric the long run can go to 30k or 18 mile.I have read as much as most on the subject of running and the one piece of advice that stands out for me is from george sheehan who said YOU ARE AN EXPERIMENT OF ONE so dont get bogged down too much in what others say ,see what suits you.