This week starts my 16 week training program for the Marine Corps Marathon. While I’m excited to be a part of such an awesome event, the next 16 weeks will push me to work physically harder than I ever have in my life. In-fact, I’ve gotten a taste of the upcoming challenge with some of the pre-training work my coach has scheduled for me over the past couple months (full training schedule here).
Running short distances isn’t a huge chore anymore. Knocking out 2-4 miles on any given day is pretty easy, but my big challenge is during the weekend long runs. The problem is that sometimes I have a difficult time running or jogging the entire distance (could be humidity, time constraints, etc).
My marathoner friends have offered the following advice on how to run long distance:
- Run as much of your long run as you can.
- If you can’t run the entire distance, completing the mileage is what’s important. Finish with either brisk walking or intervals.
There are shortcuts that can make your long runs more manageable:
Hopefully these tips will help you as much as they helped me. I can’t wait for the time in my training when I don’t have to lean on these crutches for getting my long run done. Questions? Comments? @ifyouwillit or leave a comment!