In the LifeSpace Fitness Community, Greg Ausley writes:
Hey LifeSpace Runners! Many of us are either getting started or are already in the middle of our training programs for the summer and fall races which means weekends are for long runs. Since I am personally involved in both a half-marathon and full marathon right now, I can share a few tips I used personally. 1. Plan your long run day and time in advance. By Friday, you should know whether you are running Saturday morning or Sunday morning or some other time. Many trainers say that you should practice your runs in the morning, but for me, I pick the most motivating time. And in San Diego, that for me is about 11am. It is better to pick a time you will run than to force the run at a particular time that doesn’t suit you.
2. Prepare your nutrition, technology and hydration. It is important to get all the trial and error out of the way during training runs so you aren’t learning during the race. For example, knowing which nutrition bar you want to carry with you is important. Some bars make people feel a bit sick, which is something you don’t want to learn on race day. Also, as your training runs start to exceed one hour and as the summer heat starts to build, you want to make sure that there is either plenty of water available on your route or that you are carrying a bottle. I recommend this handheld running bottle. Also, if you plan to run with a GPS watch or your iPod, practice with it during your long runs. You don’t want to be dealing with playlists or watch settings near race time
3. Plan your route. When I have to run over 10 miles, I will either plan out my run in advance using Map My Run or run my familiar 5 mile route two times. It really depends on what you are looking for. I prefer some interesting scenery on my long runs to help keep them interesting. Picking routes that are scenic but not too congested with cars or tourists is a good idea.
4. Stretch properly. I recommend either doing the initial sequence of the Pilates DVD that LifeSpace recommends or some combination of yoga and running specific stretches. I have included links to these below. Without overstretching, make sure to get your body ready for the run. I believe in strengthening the core muscles to protect the back as well as some basic movements to warm up ankles, calves, hamstrings, thighs and hips. But for most of us, we can run the first mile at a slower pace and use it to warm up the body. You don’t have to overstretch muscles before a long run at a moderate pace.
5. Remember the purpose of the long run. Keep in mind that the reason we are doing long runs is to get the body used to running for several hours. Your long runs are not at race pace so back off and make sure you do it comfortably. There is no point in getting injured during a training run and missing 2 or 3 weeks because you pushed too hard.
And please remember that in addition to the official purpose for the long run, it is supposed to be fun and rewarding both physically and mentally. So take your time, don’t stress over the details and just go out and have some fun running on a sunny weekend afternoon. Enjoy!