This week I want to feature the Fast-Finish Long Run. I've written about not doing easy long runs before, and this is one that can be a staple of your training no matter what distance you're training for.
A Fast-Finish Long Run is exactly what it sounds like: a long run where you run the last portion of it fast. It could be as simple as closing out the final 15-20 minutes of a run (no matter the distance) at an up-tempo, aerobic threshold-type effort; or it could be as tough as the marathon-specific session of 10 miles easy straight into 10 miles at marathon pace. The Fast-Finish fits anywhere within that spectrum.
The point of a long run is to build up aerobic endurance, but sometimes we end up just slogging around at a slow pace, not really stimulating any aerobic gains while just beating ourselves up. Adding on an up-tempo finish at the end can stimulate that aerobic stamina without being too destructive. (Sometimes, running faster can be less stressful on the body than running slow.)
Even if you just tack on the final 15-20 minutes faster at the end of your run, you give yourself just that little extra stimulus to improve.
The Fast-Finish should be a regular session for all the marathoners out there. I mean, you could conceivably do something like this for every long run you do. Start off just doing the final 15-20 minutes up-tempo, and then gradually extend that distance the more you do the workout, until eventually (maybe even after 2-3 marathon training cycles) you're running the entire second half of your long run at marathon pace.
You can play with pace and effort the same way. When you first add a Fast-Finish into your regimen, don't worry about the pace; just run at a slightly harder effort. As your marathon goal race approaches, then you can make the fast finish more goal-pace-specific.
You don't have to constantly progress a workout like this; it makes for a great stimulus during a recovery-type long run the day after a race or during a recovery week. Going back to the original and finishing with 15-20 minutes slightly faster will be a great stimulus for maintaining aerobic endurance without taxing your body too much. It's only 20 minutes, after all; no problem.
And this isn't only for marathoners; I'd especially recommend this to high school and college runners training for cross country or track. The long run is a staple weekly session, but too often it's too slow and too far removed from a race that demands speed and stamina (anything from the 800m to the 10k). Obviously the speed you're going to get on the track, while you're going to get the stamina from the tempo runs and long runs. Unfortunately, running slow for a long time doesn't develop stamina very efficiently. The solution: finish off your long run with a portion of running at the feel-good, high-end aerobic, steady-steady state effort. You'll leave the run feeling like you got work done but didn't beat yourself up, all while developing the stamina that will translate more readily to the mid- and long-distance races on the track and xc.
Next week, give this one a try. And don't be surprised if it becomes a regular session in your weekly schedule.
A Fast-Finish Long Run is exactly what it sounds like: a long run where you run the last portion of it fast. It could be as simple as closing out the final 15-20 minutes of a run (no matter the distance) at an up-tempo, aerobic threshold-type effort; or it could be as tough as the marathon-specific session of 10 miles easy straight into 10 miles at marathon pace. The Fast-Finish fits anywhere within that spectrum.
The point of a long run is to build up aerobic endurance, but sometimes we end up just slogging around at a slow pace, not really stimulating any aerobic gains while just beating ourselves up. Adding on an up-tempo finish at the end can stimulate that aerobic stamina without being too destructive. (Sometimes, running faster can be less stressful on the body than running slow.)
Even if you just tack on the final 15-20 minutes faster at the end of your run, you give yourself just that little extra stimulus to improve.
The Fast-Finish should be a regular session for all the marathoners out there. I mean, you could conceivably do something like this for every long run you do. Start off just doing the final 15-20 minutes up-tempo, and then gradually extend that distance the more you do the workout, until eventually (maybe even after 2-3 marathon training cycles) you're running the entire second half of your long run at marathon pace.
You can play with pace and effort the same way. When you first add a Fast-Finish into your regimen, don't worry about the pace; just run at a slightly harder effort. As your marathon goal race approaches, then you can make the fast finish more goal-pace-specific.
You don't have to constantly progress a workout like this; it makes for a great stimulus during a recovery-type long run the day after a race or during a recovery week. Going back to the original and finishing with 15-20 minutes slightly faster will be a great stimulus for maintaining aerobic endurance without taxing your body too much. It's only 20 minutes, after all; no problem.
And this isn't only for marathoners; I'd especially recommend this to high school and college runners training for cross country or track. The long run is a staple weekly session, but too often it's too slow and too far removed from a race that demands speed and stamina (anything from the 800m to the 10k). Obviously the speed you're going to get on the track, while you're going to get the stamina from the tempo runs and long runs. Unfortunately, running slow for a long time doesn't develop stamina very efficiently. The solution: finish off your long run with a portion of running at the feel-good, high-end aerobic, steady-steady state effort. You'll leave the run feeling like you got work done but didn't beat yourself up, all while developing the stamina that will translate more readily to the mid- and long-distance races on the track and xc.
Next week, give this one a try. And don't be surprised if it becomes a regular session in your weekly schedule.
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