Faster or Farther
| February 3, 2012 | Posted by Carrie under Fitness Friday, Running |
Or is it Further? I was trying to go for the alliteration… (oh wait, they’re both F’s) whatever.
Anyway – my running buddy and I were talking the other day about what’s next. That’s assuming my ankle problem isn’t such a big deal (and with 5 days rest so far it’s a million times better – things are looking up). She’s totally into the longer distance thing. She loves the mileage numbers and wants to keep adding miles to her schedule. She consistently does a 2:1 run/walk and so far has yet to have any sort of problem other than some sore feet.
Personally, I don’t thoroughly enjoy running for 2+ hours to train. Two hours is fine, when it’s taking us 2:40 to do a 12 miler, I’m kind of done. I think the length of time that I’m pounding on my joints is plenty.
I want to get faster. I’m not talking anything earth shattering, I’d just love for my regular runs to be comfortably in the 10:00 range. I want to break 30:00 for a 5K. I don’t want to run for 3 hours (unless it’s a marathon someday – shhh, don’t tell my husband – I did say “someday”).
I came across an interesting article the other day. It was really talking about running longer than 26.2 miles in preparation for a marathon. But, what I found interesting is the discussion about all the damage to your body after running 26.2 miles. That’s not saying that people shouldn’t do it, it’s just saying that you need to allow your body to repair itself after running a marathon.
The other more notable point is:
“Most coaches and exercise scientists now know that your body doesn’t see a significant increase in training benefits after running for 3 hours. The majority of physiological stimulus during long runs occurs between the 90 minute and 2:30 mark. This means that after running for 3 hours, aerobic benefits (capillary building, mitochondrial development, myoglobin levels) begin to actually stagnate or decline instead of improving. Therefore, doing a marathon as a long run builds about as much fitness as your normal 20-22 mile run.”
I was talking with someone the other day about running and she told me that she feels like she has a threshold of 6 miles. She is happy and enjoys her runs up to that distance. She feels like when she goes over that distance, things start to hurt and she develops injuries.
So, which would you choose? Faster or farther? Any advice for my friend on why super slow distance may not be a good thing? I don’t know why I feel like its not a good thing… Do you have a time threshold on your training?
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I love the last quote. Sometimes when I feel the worst or most tired, I have the best workouts.
Me too. I think that’s why I put my workout plan into my schedule for the day – that way I’ll get it done even if I’m not feeling good. I know I’ll feel better after.
I am not sure what I prefer. I think most of the time its the faster aspect but somedays I just am okay with whatever.
Courtney recently posted..February Goals..oh how sickness changes things!
Yea, I think it’s hard to differentiate between speed on training and speed in races.
I love this post Carrie! I’ve been mulling over much of the same. My current training plan has a speed day in there every now and then to help increase my speed some. I thrive on being on “a plan”. I actually extended a half marathon training plan by a few weeks just so I could start it a little sooner for my next half in April. Then I began to wonder whether that was such a good idea. I ended up deciding that 2012 will be a year where I focus on further building my base and hopefully pick up a little bit of speed. Solid 10′s is what I’m going for in April. 2013 .. I’m thinking a full marathon. I’ve already begun “stressing” over which one to do. How do you choose the perfect FULL marathon? Good luck with whatever you choose!
Cook.Clean.RUN.Dream recently posted..Winter Running
I think I’m going to be stuck one day when I do pick a full marathon. There may only be one, how to choose?
I’ve always does distance, but I’ve not really been speedy. I’ve never really done speedwork before, so I feel as though I cheated myself out of proper training. Perhaps had I always included some speedwork, I could do my distance more efficiently and consequently a little faster. Thus, I’d have less stress on my body. See….I’m demanding. I want both!
Nette On Her Way recently posted..Fabulous Fitness Friday
I know, I want both too. It’s never too late to start some tempo runs or mile repeats. You should give yourself a challenge.
I agree– the marathon distance needs to be respected! I would like to do 1-2 more but then see myself sticking to the shorter distances for the long term. I think you’re right that for most of us, those distances do more harm than good. It’s a fun challenge and I’d like another chance to beat my time, but I do not see myself running dozens of marathons like some people. So despite all my marathon planning right now, I’d say faster.
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The mental balance between the two is a battle in and of itself.
Half marathon is my favorite distance. Marathons are great, but they are so depleting. I think optimally I’ll do one a year and the rest focus on shorter/faster runs.
Kathy recently posted..Friday Five
That sounds like a great plan.
Stopping by from Fitness fridays ,I wish I could get my balance right,great quotes
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Great to see you Claire.
Faster not farther for me. I do believe that running really long (whether it’s a lot of miles fast or less miles slow) is wearing on your body when you do it a lot. If you want to increase speed I believe that strength training and running intervals is the way to go. Good luck finding something that works for you both!
Nicole Arbelo recently posted..Wednesday Whine
Strength training and balance are key.
I would love to be faster! I think that some people just are good at running shorter distances and some are clearly better at longer. I think you can always improve, but you do not want to put your body through heck to do it! You need to stay healthy and do what works for you! I admit, over a couple hours starts to get a little boring, that’s for sure!
I had a lot of success with intervals, like your friend. I find that it doesn’t tire you out as much, but you can still have a good time and distance!
Kyria recently posted..Coyote Hills Race Recap
I’m enjoying the intervals too. When we finish long runs, I’m wiped out but it’s different than when it’s a run without the intervals.
To some extent, I think it is what you train for and what you prefer. 6 miles used to be my standard distance unless I was training for something, but now it’s 8. And my pace has gotten faster too. But I still have about a 75 min limit before I need to prepare more and do more to recover.
There probably is some damage done by really long runs, even with walk/run intervals. Like you said, you are putting stress on your joints.
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I bet you’re covering those 8 miles in a time closer to what the 6 miles used to be? My standard distance is around 3-4, but I really think I’m just gearing up for some much needed rest. Maybe that will give me a perspective shift.
For now my focus is on distance with all the half marathons (and hopefully my first full marathon) this year but this summer I will be focusing on getting faster before fall races start up.
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I see lots of comments about people gearing up for their first full marathons… so exciting. I’m really looking more and more at that myself. It’s a balance between having time to train versus getting older and accomplishing it with older bones…. what to do?
I don’t think one is better than the other. Slow and long is what plenty of ultra runners do with no injury. I think it’s a personal thing. 15 miles is about where I start disliking my training runs. Anything under 1.5 hours is no big deal. The window between 10 and 15 miles can be enjoyable or not depending on my mood that day.
If she likes to go long and slow, great for her. If that’s not your thing, that’s ok too. We all have different goals and different things that work for our bodies. The trick is to find what works best for us individually.
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I do feel like 1.5 hours is no big deal. Over 2.5 hours is what I start to dread. Not sure what that translates to in miles. I think that’s the 10 to 15 mile range, too.
I totally want to run faster. No question.
And I like the capping out at 22 miles in marathon training. I agree with the diminishing returns with going longer.
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Not having done a marathon, I’m not familiar with a training plan, but capping at 22 seems reasonable. The rest is just mental (well, much of the whole thing is too).
I go back and forth with this debate. I LOVE the endurance runs but right now I’m more on the faster side.
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Have you done an Ultra? I’m not remembering… I’d be curious to learn how people train for a 50 miler.
It’s probably rather healthy for your body to go back and forth between the two goals. Different strengths.
I like the half distance, but I also feel the at long training runnings just wipe me out. I hae decided for the half I am not running over 10 miles….I just don’t have it in me. Some day I will get faster, but I know I have to put the work in for that and right now I don’t have that in me.
I think it’s important that you know what your body and mind can do. That will get you far.