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Long Run Mileage (Read 893 times)

grateful runner


    Just a quick poll. What percentage should your long run be of your total weekly mileage. 20%? 30%?
    2009 Goals 1500 Miles 21:30 5K 1:40 Half Marathon 3:45 Marathon 200 Mile month
      Mine is normally 40-50% of total, but most would say that is excessive (my long runs are pretty long though). Works well for me though... - Chris
      jdmcgregor


      All business

        30 - 35%

        "If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason." J. Handy

          Mine also tend to be toward 40-50% of the weeks I do them. BUT I don't train by weeks. I tend to use anything from 9-day to 15-day microcycles these days (being retired helps). Hence long runs only occur about every other week. I've never run frequently enough that the 20% thing makes any sense.
          "So many people get stuck in the routine of life that their dreams waste away. This is about living the dream." - Cave Dog
            For a 5k Jack Daniels says you should run 90 minutes or 25% of weekly mileage whichever is less. If I am running 40 miles in a week I will run about a 9 mile long run so I am a little short of that. For a marathon runner you probably want to do a longer long run...maybe 35% I am not sure about that though.
            Scout7


              There is no one right answer to this question. There are several wrong answers, though. A wrong answer would be whatever does not work for you.
                There is no one right answer to this question. There are several wrong answers, though. A wrong answer would be whatever does not work for you.
                It should vary anyway. It depends on whether this was a high or low milage week for you, whether you feel extra good on your long run day and add a little, or really bad and cut it back a little. I went out yesterday intending to run 20-24 km, and ended up running 31 km (19.49 miles for the imperial system) because I felt good. That's over 40% of my weekly running this week, but I was closer to 20% last week, and I added a little to that one too. As long as you're feeling like you could go further at the end, and it's not keeping you from running the next day, you're good to go. Again, training for longer races might be different, I'm pretty much a 5K and shorter racer at the moment. 40-50% being normal seems a bit excessive though, I'd say that would be a peak. If you're doing that all the time you might be better off adding a day and easying off the long a little bit for the same or a little more weekly distance.
                JakeKnight


                  It should vary anyway. It depends on whether this was a high or low milage week for you, whether you feel extra good on your long run day and add a little, or really bad and cut it back a little.
                  Right. The answer is: it depends. On who you are, what you're training for, how much mileage you run, and probably a dozen other factors. The real answer is - you need to run long once in a while, but it shouldn't be the majority of your mileage. If you're running 20 mile long runs in 25 mile weeks, you're going to have a problem. If you're training for a marathon and sticking with 40 miles per week (I wouldn't, but that's your call), and you do a couple 20-milers, I guess 50% is the right answer. If you're an elite who runs ridiculous mileage, your long runs might be 7-8% of your weekly mileage. Alberto Salazar famously claimed rarely if ever to go more than two hours in long training runs, but routinely ran 140-160 mile weeks. You do the math on the what percentage his long runs were. All I know is that you're better off running consistent, steady, significant mileage that isn't all in your long run. If you run 40 miles Monday through Friday, the long run will take care of itself, at whatever percentage.

                  E-mail: eric.fuller.mail@gmail.com
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                    Generally somewhere between 20% and 60% is about right, less for casual runners and more for experienced runners or someone training for a marathon. Only experience will determine what works best for you. Tom
                      Applying a percentage of total works best of you are running 60 mpw or less. I think that 20-33% of total is reasonable if you are in that range. Fwiw, I'm averaging just under 58 mpw this year and my long run has averaged 13 miles, or about 23% of total. The 2nd thing to consider is what event you are training for. So far this year I'v raced nothing longer than HM, but when I start to train for marathon the long run would be closer to 30-33% of total if I were to continue at current weekly average.
                      Age 60 plus best times: 5k 19:00, 10k 38:35, 10m 1:05:30, HM 1:24:09, 30k 2:04:33
                      C-R


                        All I know is that you're better off running consistent, steady, significant mileage that isn't all in your long run. If you run 40 miles Monday through Friday, the long run will take care of itself, at whatever percentage.
                        I must agree mith Magilla Gorilla on this one. If you were sticking to a strick percentage and training for a marathon (say 25%) and you need a 20 miler for the weekend. You would need to be running an 80 mile week. To get to that level for most of us, averaging a 10% increase in mpw would take about 7 straight weeks if you are averaging 40 mpw as a base. Don't get hung up on numbers (being an enginerd this is a hard thing to say) and let your body guide you into the proper distance at that time. Kind of zen like isn't it. Everyone chant with me know - rommmmm, rommmmmmm,.......


                        "He conquers who endures" - Persius
                        "Every workout should have a purpose. Every purpose should link back to achieving a training objective." - Spaniel

                        http://ncstake.blogspot.com/

                          I'll say this from my recent experience... (you can look at my log) at 50% weekly milage 20 miles runs are super hard... even at a slow pace... required concentration to "overcome" the difficulty at 35% of weekly milage they become just a long run. Something I look forward to doing again!
                            I don't think there can be a hard and fast rule. You have to understand most of these "rules" are set by exercise physiologists who monitor elite track athletes who run for an hour (which for them is 10 miles) every morning, THEN have workouts on top of that, and run 2 hours on Saturday. It's a completely different world from an IT guy who's running 35-50 mpw. What if you have two long runs ala Pfitzinger? Some Lydiard Plans have 3. In training for ultramarathon one may want to reduce mileage for recovery but have an extra long run to build time on feet. Often casual ultramarathoners will train under 40 miles per week and run at least a 20 mile long run. This is over 50% long run. During the week, the emphasis shifts from training to recovery. Is this bad? From a peak performance point of view, surely it is suboptimal. But it does work in terms of conditioning them to their goal. I believe that someone should set their goal, and then train as little as necessary to achieve that goal. If that goal is to run the best race possible the runner can, then the runner should be running high mileage and thus have a low % of weekly miles in their long run. If that goal is to make incremental improvements and run a marathon or two with no real time goal while avoiding injury, then perhaps this "rule" should be ignored.
                            "On most days, run easy. On some days, run hard. But not too hard."
                              Just wanted to add that in running there are a lot of silly tricks that may not make sense at face value and seem almost snake-oil like. Things like Low Heart Rate Training and Chi Running are easy to point out but even certain rules like the one in this discussion, pacing, structured training programs, hill training, stretching, plyometrics, etc. It is hard to see a concrete benefit intrinsically, but what do all of these do? Allow the runner to run more miles. Do you really think that keeping your heart rate under an artificial number for all of your runs will magically allow your aerobic system to get better benefit? No, it will allow you to run more miles per week without getting tired. Sorry for the rant.
                              "On most days, run easy. On some days, run hard. But not too hard."
                                I always use quote when I mean modify, this is an accidental post. But since it's here I might as well say something. The most surefire way to improve running is to run as much mileage as possibly possible without getting injured. Anything else is secondary really.
                                "On most days, run easy. On some days, run hard. But not too hard."
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