I had another great run this past Saturday as I cranked out 16 miles. I was able to keep the pace slow enough to give my legs a solid workout. The purpose of the long run is build endurance and stamina in the legs; speed is developed during the midweek workouts. You are supposed to do these long runs at about 2 minutes per mile slower than you actually can do them. Let me tell you it is difficult to run that slow, but the benefits are huge. If you run too quickly at a distance like that during training, your body can't recover quickly enough by the next workout two days later. Without the recovery, the workout would have been a waste of time. Another component is that staying on your feet that extra amount of time actually gives the legs and connective tissue a huge endurance test. My total running time was just under 3 hours.
This week is a recovery week and I'm scheduled for only three six mile runs as so I'm fresh for the 18 and 20 milers over the next few weeks. It's gonna be great!
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