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long run....how slow..? (Read 662 times)

    Ok so I am a newbie...went through a stint last year, worked up to 7-8 miles and then quit. I think I did too much too fast maybe. Anyways, now that I am re-committing, when I slow down for a long run how much slower should I really go? For instance today was my "Long" run of 4 miles. I did go a tad slower but it did not seem all that much easier than my regular paced runs. I felt like I just wanted to get it done. My long runs right now really aren't that "long" per se because I am still such a newbie, but I would love to be able to work myself up to 13.1 at some point. Also, I am a gym rat and feel like I am not getting enough exercise unless I do at least 65 min of cardio. My old workouts consisted of 65 min elliptical followed by 35 min of incline walking. If I continue to add in that 35 min of elliptical after my runs, is that ok? Sorry if these are dumb questions, is just that I want to be able to work myself up to atleast the 7 miles I was at before, plus shed about 10 pounds in the process. Thanks in advance!


    Queen of 3rd Place

      Surprised nobody has answered....now, I'm no expert, just a relative newbie as well, but have painful experiences from doing too-much/too-fast/too soon... There are of course, different opinions about what's slow enough, but here's a couple approaches: 1) The talk test: run slowly enough so that you can very comfortably carry on a conversation.. Low tech can be beautiful 2) Heart rate A: while most people agree that age-based, one-size-fits-all calculations are suspect at best, you can use the 220 - age formula or similar to get your "max heart rate" and train at a percentage of max (I think 65% of max is one figure used as a target for easy runs). You can also determine your max empirically, either on your own or by going to a lab. 3) Heart rate B: there's a group here that encourages low heart rate training, aka Maff training, which very simply uses 180 - age to get your target heart rate. Yes, this is very low, and can be a frustrating way to train. It is also very safe, and does seem to work well for many. Look here under "User Groups" to find the maff group. You can google "training heart rate" or similar and get more info on heart rate training. 4) If you've raced in recent memory, you can have a look at a pace calculator such as the one offered by Mcmillan: http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm Regarding the additional cardio, you'll just have to try it and see how it goes for you, imo. Hope this helps! Arla

      Ex runner


      A Saucy Wench

        I dont run my long run much slower than my easy runs. The question is if your easy runs are slow enough.

        I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

         

        "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7

          thanks guys. I have a polar HRM and when I run my regular "easy" run of 3 miles or so, my HR ranges anywhere from 155-168....that is around 80+ max HR. Oh I am 27 years old if that helps. Anyways, today when I ran a tad slower, it was 154-159...still around 80% or so. I think maybe my easy runs are too fast for me at this point but I feel like I can handle it. Maybe I am just over thinking and should just go with my body and how I feel? I mean I am still new and its not like I am running 10 miles or anything. Maybe this week I will run a tad slower for my regular easy run? Again maybe I am juts rambling and over thinking lol
            Sure it's ok to add some elliptical after your runs, unless your body complains about it in some way. Some people make a special category for "long" runs as opposed to "easy" runs (I don't... some of my easy runs are just longer than other ones.) I suppose my first easy run today (21 miles) would be considered a long run because it's 30% of my weekly mileage total. Whatever. You might try upping your long-run distance by planning in some "walk breaks", e.g run a mile, walk for a couple minutes, run a mile, walk... etc. Once you get the distance up, then decide whether you want to eliminate the walk breaks or just scale them down. Some people might think it's a silly idea, but some "experts" (Jeff Galloway) advocate a run-walk approach for long runs. I know a guy who decided to try a run-walk approach and set a new marathon PR when he used it in a race. You might consider varying your runs a little, ... I just vary the distance from day to day. Kinda like the old "hard / easy" training, except that it's "longer / shorter". If you really stress the body on one day, there's nothing wrong with taking it easy (or taking off) the next day.