RunningAHEAD - Topic: When does a long run become a short run

Chris_So_Cal

posted: 5/20/2008 at 4:23 PM

Remember back when you where first starting this thing called running. Remember conquering new distances. What I want to know is this... After running a new distance for the first time, how long would it take for the said distance to become comfortable? At least comfortable enough that you could run it several times a week.

Scout7

posted: 5/20/2008 at 4:24 PM

Depends. Depends on your current fitness, your ability to recover, your current daily and weekly mileage, how well you handle increases in volume, pacing.

C-R

posted: 5/20/2008 at 4:39 PM

Quote from Scout7 on 5/20/2008 at 4:24 PM:

Depends. Depends on your current fitness, your ability to recover, your current daily and weekly mileage, how well you handle increases in volume, pacing.

Scout's right. This is a fully relative question. There are people on this fourm that consider my average run to be a mere warm-up. Since we can't see your log, it is difficult to get context on your question/state. So I would suggest if you are breaking new ground on distance give yourself some time to recover before you make it a standard or staple.

"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/

Scout7

posted: 5/20/2008 at 4:41 PM

I think the biggest thing is ability to handle volume. Some people don't handle increased volume well, so they can only add a couple miles a week. Others have no problem adding several.

Chris_So_Cal

posted: 5/20/2008 at 4:44 PM

I am just wondering about your personal experiences. How long would it take for a new distance to become very comfortable for you. Also as a second question what distance was the most difficult for you so far? 5, 10, 15? Also currious as to what weekly mileage was the most difficult to get used to?

Scout7

posted: 5/20/2008 at 4:46 PM

Well, I've never really made it up to the 15 mile mark more than once a week. To me, the hardest was going over 20 miles. So I generally don't do that anymore. 18 can be rough, from a logistical standpoint.

BenBuck6

posted: 5/20/2008 at 4:51 PM

My first hard one to conquer was 4 miles (first time I had to stop and walk on a run)... My last was this past Saturday on my 8 mile run (I had to stop and walk on that one too)... Note: just started running again on May 2nd, so my input is from a beginners point of view.

2008 GOALS GET BELOW 175 (at 175 now) RUN 6:00 MILE (at 6:29) RUN BELOW 25:30 5K RUN BELOW 55:00 10K RUN A MARATHON (DEC. 6TH - MEMPHIS - ST JUDE)

Run To Win

#2867

posted: 5/20/2008 at 4:54 PM

I'll be honest - even though I might mark a 10 or 12 miler as a long run (if that's the workout it's taking the place of,) I don't generally consider something an actual long run that requires any extra recovery until it is in the 22-30 mile range. And unless I am racing those distances, I run them at a slow enough pace for them to be comfortable. If it has been a while since I've done distance, then it takes me a few weeks to a month to work my way back up to a point where I'd tackle those distances again, but I (a) don't let myself get out of shape, and (b) used to run 85-120 miles per week about 8-10 years ago. I would say that how long it takes you personally will depend upon how fast you are running those distances and how much further your long run is than your average weekly mileage. The faster your pace than the easier it is to make it comfortable (by slowing down) and the higher the ratio of your long run : weekly mileage then tougher it will be to make that distance comfortable. So basically, what Scout said.

Run to Win
25 Marathons, 17 Ultras, 16 States (Full List)

Scout7

posted: 5/20/2008 at 4:55 PM

Quote from Run To Win on 5/20/2008 at 4:54 PM:

I'll be honest - even though I might mark a 10 or 12 miler as a long run (if that's the workout it's taking the place of,) I don't generally consider something an actual long run that requires any extra recovery until it is in the 22-30 mile range. And unless I am racing those distances, I run them at a slow enough pace for them to be comfortable.

I think that's a good point. If you're running easy enough, it's MUCH easier to recover.

C-R

posted: 5/20/2008 at 4:56 PM

Single long runs are a challenge if you work and have a family. I can only manage one long run (over 13) per week. I am starting to do doubles to add miles and still have a life. Its all about balance. My hardest mileage was 30 per week. 5 miles per day with one rest day created a time balance issue for me.

"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/

Scout7

posted: 5/20/2008 at 4:58 PM

Quote from C-R on 5/20/2008 at 4:56 PM:

Single long runs are a challenge if you work and have a family. I can only manage one long run (over 13) per week. I am starting to do doubles to add miles and still have a life. Its all about balance. My hardest mileage was 30 per week. 5 miles per day with one rest day created a time balance issue for me.

We all run what we can.

mikeymike

posted: 5/20/2008 at 5:04 PM
modified: 5/20/2008 at 5:05 PM

Yeah there are a lot of undefined variables in the question. If you gradually worked up to 10 miles a day then ran 10 a day for 4 months straight you could go out and run 20 no problem even though it would be 10 miles longer than your previous longest run. You could start running 20 milers 2x a week and it would probably be no problem. On the other hand if you were running 25 miles a week with most of it in one long run and worked your way up a 20 miler by adding 1 mile every other week you might never reach a point when that was comfortable.

Runners run

Ennay

A Saucy Wench

posted: 5/20/2008 at 5:31 PM

It is so relative. And "comfortable" is a hard to define term. I find 14-16 comfortable...but not several times a week. But definitely to the point where at any time if someone said "hey I am doing a HM this weekend, wanna come?" I could race it and do pretty well and not be wiped out by it. 8- 9 is my "normal" run now...but pretty new so just at the edge of "everyday comfortable" And of course there still are those occasional days where 3 is not comfortable at all because something is off. 16 to me has always been a breakpoint 16 and below can be pretty comfy, 18 and above is work. We'll see how I feel about that statement in a few months.

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

Lank

posted: 5/20/2008 at 5:44 PM

For some reason I was reminded of this quote from The Jerk. You young whipper-snappers should check it out: I know we've only known each other four weeks and three days, but to me it seems like nine weeks and five days. The first day seemed like a week and the second day seemed like five days. And the third day seemed like a week again and the fourth day seemed like eight days. And the fifth day you went to see your mother and that seemed just like a day, and then you came back and later on the sixth day, in the evening, when we saw each other, that started seeming like two days, so in the evening it seemed like two days spilling over into the next day and that started seeming like four days, so at the end of the sixth day on into the seventh day, it seemed like a total of five days. And the sixth day seemed like a week and a half. I have it written down, but I can show it to you tomorrow if you want to see it.

"Good-looking people have no spine. Their art never lasts. They get the girls, but we're smarter." - Lester Bangs

Anzura

posted: 5/20/2008 at 7:58 PM

Quote from Chris_So_Cal on 5/20/2008 at 4:44 PM:

I am just wondering about your personal experiences. How long would it take for a new distance to become very comfortable for you. Also as a second question what distance was the most difficult for you so far? 5, 10, 15? Also currious as to what weekly mileage was the most difficult to get used to?

I only started running in Oct 07. It took me several months to get any run over 4 miles. I was doing the same run every day until one day I felt so good I kept going to 5 miles. Here's my graph from the beginning to show you how my longs runs have been getting longer.

I was doing good for awhile, then got the flu. Then I had some races and a long bike event one weekend. I'm slowly building up again. Had my first 10 miler a week ago. Too hot this last weekend to do it again, but hopefully I'll be able to do it again this coming weekend. I'll work on 10 miles for a few weeks and then add another mile or two after that. I don't think 10 will be comfortable until I start pushing the 13...kwim? The longer my runs are the easier the other ones become. 5 used to be hard...until I started doing 8, then 5 started getting easy. Your second question...I think 8 was the hardest for me so far. The 10 was nothing like the 8 was. Confused

It all depends on my pace, time of month, sickenss...etc. My shoes are crapping out on me so I'm not sure my long run this coming weekend is going to be all that great. Hope this noob has answered some of your questions Big grin

When does a long run become a short run (Read 1227 times)