Run On For A Long Time

I reached the seventeenth mile and, with a deep gasp, released myself from the exertion and locomotive form that carried me through in 5:20, my third consecutive mile at that pace. I was then a mere mile-and-a-half from completing my last true long run of the marathon cycle. This long run, which I completed yesterday, was a variation of a Jack Daniels' workout that incorporated segments of threshold effort near the beginning and end of the run, bookending an 8-mile steady effort.  

Throughout my build up to the Eugene Marathon, I've emphasized weekly long runs, assigning each a purpose in my physical and psychological preparation for race day. And I hope that I've attained the fitness and resilience needed to not merely complete 26.2 miles or compete for 20 miles and stagger the last 6.2, but to race evenly, composedly, and confidently for its entirety.  

I've neglected my blog for the past several weeks, due in part to the fatigue of the most arduous weeks of my training cycle. With race day looming on July 27, I devote this entry to the weekly long run and its place in my training.  Experience coupled with research led me to choose the following variations of long runs, each with a purpose and place in the chronology of this cycle. 

The Steady State Long Run: For the first half of my marathon cycle, I completed a series of increasingly long weekly runs at a steady effort slightly quicker than maintenance run pace. On May 1, I ran 11 miles and over the next five weeks increased my long run to 22, adding a few miles weekly.  I'd ran these workouts progressively, running the first several miles at a comfortable pace and the second half between 30 and 40 seconds per mile slower than goal marathon pace - an approach that coach Pete Pfitzinger advises. Occasionally, I included hills as an additional stimulus. Once I began my long runs with quality, or quicker, segments, I alternated weekly between effort-based and steady-state long runs.

The Fast Finish: Coach and physiologist Greg McMillan is an advocate of the fast finish long run, encouraging marathoners to complete multiple such workouts over the last several weeks of a marathon cycle. After my phase of steady state runs, I ran a fast finish long run of 22 miles.  The first 11 miles were at a solid clip. On my return trip along the trail, I ran progressively for ten miles, leaving the last mile to cool down. Beginning with a 5:54 twelfth mile, I smoothly progressed into the 5:20s, ultimately averaging low 5:30s per mile, near goal marathon pace, for the 10-mile segment. The purpose of this run, perhaps the most difficult of the cycle, was to train my body to run fast and push hard while fatigued, after having endured many miles of pounding. 

The Marathon Pace (MP) Long Run: Two weeks after my fast finish long run, I ran 20.5 miles with an 11-mile tempo portion near goal marathon pace. Like the fast finish long run, the purpose of this run is to prepare you for the demands of racing 26.2 miles by running fast for long periods of time on increasingly tired legs. However, MP runs have the additional benefit of race pace specificity. The goal is not to run the tempo portion all-out but to feel and, ideally, maintain goal marathon pace, mile after mile. I run marathon pace regularly in midweek tempo runs of 5 to 8 miles, but longer variants should be used sparingly given the demands of such runs. MP long runs are as close to a marathon dress rehearsal as you could get. I initially considered running 14 to 15 miles at goal pace, but, after much deliberation, I opted for 11 - slightly over an hour of running at pace - to avoid over training. Given my circumstances of running alone on a summer day, 11 miles was sufficient.

Time on Your Feet: Nate Brigham, my training partner, christened this variant Megarun.  At 24+ miles, this was the longest run of my cycle. It is essentially a steady-state long run, the only difference being that it exceeds the amount of time on your feet you'll have on race day by several minutes. Thus, while it may be shorter than race distance, you run for a longer time than it will take you to race 26. 2 miles.  Some athletes choose to exceed marathon distance. Kenny Moore, a two-time Olympic marathoner, ran over 30 miles multiple times during a cycle, believing that he lacked the natural attributes to be an international-class athlete without such efforts. Meb Keflezighi recently built to a 28-mile long run in preparation for Boston. These runs adapt your legs to hours of constant pounding while depleting your body's glycogen stores and training it to draw upon fat reserves - a necessary physiological process to excel in the marathon. My Megarun was three weeks before Eugene, and my legs were very weary throughout from the cumulative effects of the cycle. 

The Long Run with Threshold Intervals: In my last post, I discussed the influence of the venerable Jack Daniels.  His marathon program is structured with near weekly long runs that incorporate some form of threshold running. For me, threshold entails running between 10-mile and half marathon race pace. Including threshold intervals in a long run is especially demanding because you must run several miles significantly quicker than marathon pace when you are already fatigued. My introduction to this post described the sole long run of this kind that I completed during the cycle. You can place the threshold segments at any part of long run to derive benefits. I, however, opted to structure the run thusly: 3-mile warm up, 3 miles at threshold effort (16:06), 8 miles at a steady pace, 3 miles at threshold effort (16:00), 1.5-mile cool down. At the conclusion of my first threshold segment, I had over 12 miles to run on tired legs, including 3 miles at threshold pace in the late stage of the workout. Accordingly, I had to muster the physical and psychological strength to run 5:20 pace after 14 miles of pounding on a hot and humid morning.  If there is a better simulation of the last miles of a marathon, I've yet to encounter it. 

Each of these long runs have contributed greatly to my fitness, as I affirmed during my workout yesterday in difficult conditions. My season is abbreviated, lasting only 12 weeks. If I had the benefit of a 15-week build up, I may have included a second fast finish long run and perhaps another long run with threshold intervals, or, better yet, replaced one workout with a longer race. Training is both physical and intellectual endeavor, and, since I am still a marathon dilettante, I've yet to determine both my training needs and optimal periodization. I suspect I'll find answers to some questions in two weeks as I approach the 20-mile threshold in Eugene.