Long Run Pace, Page 3 of 3

OK, so who the hell is Dr. Maglischo?

If you have ever done any competitive swimming, then you have probably heard of him. He is the author of the Swimming Faster (1982), Swimming Even Faster (1993), and most recently, Swimming Fastest (2003). This book is Daniels' Running Formula, Lore of Running, and Explosive Running, all combined into one massive book, only for swimmers.

At the start of the chapter on "Endurance Training" Maglischo notes that "there has been a movement away from judging the worth of training by the physical challenge it presents to judging the training by the effect on the physiological mechanism of the human body." Amen! So maybe we don't need to go out and hammer that 22 miler to impact the "physiological mechanism". Are any of the seven benefits listed earlier dependent on running long runs at a fast pace? The answer is no: running a long run at a relaxed pace will provide these benefits with less risk than running your long run at a fast pace.

Maglischo points out that "the principles of overload and progression must be applied to slow and moderate endurance training to produce maximum improvements of aerobic capacity." This means that as long as these long runs are challenging to us, there is no need to make them fast.

We can not, however, forget the principle of specificity. If you run all your long runs at a slow pace, then you your body will be in for a shock when marathon day rolls around and you try running at a pace to which your body isn't accustomed. So race pace runs are important. Only so much can be done at these faster paces before injuries are courted. The trick for any athlete is to find the balance between long easy runs and faster marathon paced runs.

OK, enough BS, how fast should my long runs be? Everybody needs to make this decision for themselves, but here are the principles that guide me.

• Early in the training cycle and when there are no important races on the horizon, run long runs at an easy relaxed pace. Look to Daniels for guidance here.
• Once a solid base is established, and for some this can take years, start to pick up the pace of some longer runs. Make sure that the long slow runs remain part of the mix. You will need to experiment to see how fast and how frequent these faster long runs can be for you. Some will be able to handle more than others. As always, monitor your body for signs of injury or overtraining.

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