Why you need to do a long run to reach your full potential.
As a running coach the most common question I field is, “how do I get to get faster.”
My standard replay is, “You need to run more.”
Now, “running more” doesn’t mean you need to run seven days a week, but you will need to increase your volume by:
- Adding runs to your training week
- Adding distance to your existing runs.
Because you are busy, you should add distance to your existing runs. In particular, you’re long. There are too many benefits to ignore.
Here are five reasons you need to increase your long run.
1) Long runs build strong bones to prevent injury
Motor neurons run down your spine and send a signal to your muscle to move. Tendons connect muscle to your bone. When your muscles fire they pull on your tendons. The tendon brings the skeleton along for the ride.
Training your muscles will force your bones to become stronger to stay attached to the tendons. Your bones adapt to the training to ensure they have the strength to withstand the stress.
Over time you will develop a strong more dense bone structure in your lower legs.
A runners enemy is the stress fracture. If you are a runner or know any runners, you are familiar with the term. Stress fractures are small fracture caused by overuse. These fractures happen to runners who do too much too soon. Progressively running longer will help you build strong bones to avoid stress fractures.
How to test your bone density
A DEXA scan is the gold standard to find your bone density. Get a scan done before your add volume to your training and recheck your scan 6-8 months after training.
2) Burn more fuel to use more fuel.
Your fuel source for movement is glucose. We get glucose from good in our diet. We can either use glucose or store it as glycogen or fat. On average you can only store up to 2000 calories of glucose at a given time in our muscles and liver.
A long enough effort will deplete your glycogen stores. To avoid “bonking” you must keep glucose coming in through food or convert fat into energy.
Fat is your secondary fuel source. You may struggle to tap into the fat fuel if you are carbohydrate dependent. When you train by running long, you can create “metabolic flexibility” to use both glycogen and fat as fuel.
Fat burns slower which allow you to go longer without “bonking.” You can train your body to use fat as fuel by taking yourself to depletion during a long effort.
**It is important to fuel yourself during a long run to make sure you know how your body will respond to food on race day. But, you do not need to eat a “gel” every 30-40 mins during all long runs. Let your body tap into those fat stores.***
3) Improved recovery and workout frequency
A long run at a moderate pace, will create an efficient respiratory and cardiovascular system.
In particular, your “stroke volume” will improve. Your stroke volume is the amount of blood pumped into circulation through one beat.
When your fitness improves your heart rate gets lower will during rest and exercise. You can create the same output with less energy from your heart.
Your heart provides your muscles with oxygen through the delivery of red blood cells. Your heart can reach a “max” beat per minute. Then your muscles will not receive the adequate oxygen to maintain it’s work rate. So, you will shut down.
Training your long run will allow your heart to improve your efficiency to do more work with less energy.
4) Additional Quality volume for faster race times.
To optimize running performance, you need to layer in speed and quality sessions. As you get strong from your long runs, you can handle more “quality” work.
This is why high-end 5k-10k runners run 80-120 miles per week. They know longer runs create a foundation better speed sessions.
5) Long Runs make you mentally tough
The days and hours leading up to a long run are taxing. There is a lot that can go wrong and it’s scary venture into uncharted waters.
Leading to a long run you may think:
“I hope I feel okay.”
“What if start to die?”
“I dunno if I can run this long.”
Overtime your perceived duration of a run will improve.
For example, when you start a training cycle, a 7-mile run may seem like a long haul, but after 6-8 weeks of steady improvement, a seven-mile run will be a breeze.
As your volume improves you will not have the daunting feeling of a long run. But, after the run you will feel a great sense of accomplishment and pride.
How to add volume to your long run
Improving your long run takes time. Do not add excessive miles to your next long run. You need to give yourself time to adapt to the training.
Add 1 mile per week for a safe build for your volume.
Then, Every three week drop your long run back down to 75-80% of your previous long run. You will need a physical and mental break.
When is far enough?
In my opinion the 3+ hour mark, you start diminishing returns. Take 12-16 weeks to build your mileage in the long run and then bring it down to a “maintenance” phase, where you will run 75-80% of your long runs. During this phase you can add more quality work in place of the volume.
Your long run can be a game changer for your race performance. Turn your long run into a habit, and you will start to enjoy it. Start this week!
