Question:I am looking at Hal Higdons Marathon training and he doesn't use a LSR
over 20M.
Seems too easy.
Do you feel you need to get close to 26m in training?
I havn't done the distance since 96 when I trained for Disney and
used Galloways book. He claims your body needs the experiance.
I am training for Las Vegas aiming for 4 hrs + and need to make up my
mind
Looking for your opinions base on good or bad experiances
Answer:
I've seen one girl, in her early 20s that did a marathon, actually 25.7
miles because the course was changed after it started, in 4:20 and her
longest run was only a 10k. I just wonder how her feet were doing
afterwards, but she still won an award for her age group.
It was the long runs that taught me what shoes to wear and what foot strike
to use, but if you don't have any foot problem with a half marathon, I'd say
your good to go on just a 13.1 miler, if that is the best you can do and all
you really care about is a 4:30 or so.
As for the real limit, I'd agree with others that have run marathons saying
stop at 20 and save the extra for the 'thon.
Longer runs may help you physiologically get ready by letting you
know you can go the distance, but over around 20 miles does more damage to
your body than most bodies can rebuild. Long before you get to 20 miles you
body is already at a steady state.
At around 18-22 miles most people reach the "wall." This is where your
body runs out of the easy sugars and has to start converting fat to use. It
makes it a lot harder. It is a fixed point however and there is little
anyone can do to change it. It is good to know you are likely to hit it
(reduce the effect by building in a lot of weekly miles and getting some
easy energy food during the race) so when you do, you know what is going on.
My long runs are 18 miles. I ran one 23 mile run about three or four
months ago. This year's marathon is in a bout three weeks and I will not be
running over 10 or 12 miles before then. It is time to taper and rebuild my
body for the big one.
Don't worry, if you can make 20 miles and you still feel ok, you can
make 26 on race day. Those last six will be hell, but you can do it. Those
of us who have done it know that and that is why we respect anyone who can
finish a marathon at any speed.
Portuguese female top-marathon runner Rosa Mota has ONCE ran 26k (26k not
26m) in training - and 19k has otherwise been her longest run in training.
Makes you wonder why some insist that you should run a marathon distance
in order to run a marathon.
Naturally I'm quoting because my first marathon is yet to happen ;) - but
issue is important because I'm training for it.
What if you can't? What do you do then?
I went out on a 20-miler yesterday (for a marathon at the end of
October) and hit the wall for the first time in my life. I really just
couldn't continue after about 19 or 19.5 miles, which leaves me feeling
pretty discouraged about my marathon prospects. It's my first marathon
and I had been hoping to do 3:30 (I've strung together 12 8-minute miles
in training no problem).
I had successfully done an 18 miler two weeks ago. If the marathon is
October 29, would you recommend I try another 20 miler next Sunday (3
weeks from the race)? An 18 miler? Give up on the long distances until
race day?
Also, does going out too fast deplete glycogen faster? Does glycogen
deplete over distance or over time?
Everyone's different with their ability to handle the long training
runs, but my two cents is that you should run in training for at
least close to the time you expect to be running the race.
If you're aiming for 4:30, I think you better be getting a couple 4hr+
training runs. Otherwise you will be very, very unhappy during the
last 10K of the race. (Otherwise known as being handed the piano,
as in "I got to the mile 20 water stop, reached for a gatorade and
instead, they handed me a *@#% piano...)
I've done about 25 'thons with four planned this year.
My longest training runs are 24-25 miles about 1:00-1:30 mi/mile
slower than race pace. I take a nap afterward.
I've done a couple on just 20 milers but crashed heavily
in the late miles of the race, had extreme delayed onset muscle
soreness (i.e., going backwards down stairs, etc....), took longer to
recover afterward, and caught bad colds both times.
I try not to repeat my mistakes, so I do the mileage.
