Yesterday was my longest run so far in my training for the Atlanta Marathon. Once again, I was reminded that properly planning is half the battle, so here are some tips.
YOUR ROUTE**
The best tool I’ve found for this is Google Maps. There you can create a custom path and then drag various points around until it’s exactly the distance and the path you want. Perhaps I’ll write a separate post on how this works later.
NOTE: You cannot see hills on Google Maps, so you should choose roads that you are somewhat familiar with. Yesterday I accidentally made a route that included every steep slope in Atlanta. I basically ran up a 10 mile mountain. My pace was a record low, and I’m pretty sure I got passed once by an earth worm.
YOUR PACE
You should run slower on your long runs. Here’s my formula for calculating a proper long run pace:
- take your normal mile pace (mine is 10 min) and write it on a piece of paper
- add 1.5 minutes
- multiply that number by how many miles you plan on running
- divide that by your normal mile pace
- crumple up the piece of paper
- throw it away
- run as slow as you can
YOUR FUEL
I find that having something small in my pocket to snack on every five miles keeps me from crashing. Granola bars, fruit snacks, and sport beans are all great options. They contain the proper nutrients, but more importantly they fit in your pocket. In my opinion, crashing is better than wearing a pouch.
You guys got any planning tips for long runs? Enlighten us.
**I stand corrected. Google maps is only one of and possibly the worst of a handful of sites that can help you plan your route. Also try mapmyrun.com or dailyrun.com. Thanks Peter.
are you memorizing this route for your runs once you create them?
GREAT QUESTION – I actually email the turn by turn directions to myself, and then I refer to this on my iPhone while I run.
If you’re running with your iphone, you should check out runkeeper. You can create multiple maps and select from them when you start your run. Then there’s a map view screen with the route and your current location as well as screens for speed/pace/distance/etc. Pretty handy.
If you’re the type to use Body Glide or some similar product….apply more than you think you’ll need. This requirement increases exponentially with distance. If this is your first long run, don’t be surprised if you discover new places you might want to apply it in the future.
For online mapping definitely check out http://www.dailymile.com and http://www.mapmyrun.com both take Google Maps to the next level for route planning including elevation profiles.
Peter!!!!
walkjogrun.net does a decent job too
Not having used either of those, I swear by http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/ which also allows me to export as a GPX and send to the Garmin. While it’s not an exact route when on the watch, it works pretty well.
I never thought I needed body glide until I ran a 8.4 miler a week ago. I walked funny for the next two days. I ate a Twix bar before running too. Probably not the best pre-race fuel, but worked better than nothing. I’ve not carried any water with me, but if I get to double digit miles I’ll start planning on some water stops or hide a bottle along the route somewhere.
Tripp, do you do the run/walk like Tyler does? Do you factor that into your 10/mile pace?
I do run/walk, and I do factor this in.
I definitely agree with Peter regarding http://www.MapMyRun.com. Definitely way better than Google maps for this.
Hydration. Somewhere along your route, put a bottle of water, or carry water with you on a long run.
Hills. Hill work is important. I looked at the ATL course yesterday. Trust me, run this route a few times. You’ll be happy you did in the long run. Somewhere around the 20 mile mark, there’s a 200+ft incline. You’ll be tired, sore, and ready to finish. Practicing what you’re going to do on a hill, while feeling all of these now, is going to help you immensely on race day.
Pace. Run angry. Run high on caffeine, as long as your heart rate can support it. My best long run (by a wide margin), I had to drive around for 20 minutes trying to find a place to park, as the city had closed most of the roads (and partially the trail) around where I run. So, in that 20 minutes, I became filled with road rage, and a Monster Zero Carb. And turned in a 10.2mi at 7:30/mi.
Yes to mapmyrun.com – though I will say from experience training with hills, even if your projected race does not have them, is a really good thing.
Long runs are good for practicing everything you want to do on race day. I normally exactly what I plan on eating on race day, carry what I plan on carrying etc – no sense training without a water belt if you plan on using one on race day. As to using the low tech fuel sources they might work now, but they are not usable fuel for your body on race day. Digestion more or less grinds to a halt as blood is rerouted away from your internal organs – so you need easy digestible sugars (GU, Gatorade etc). Working with your fuel of choice will help you figure out what your body will accept and when – I know that I need to have a 1/3 of a GU every mile with a sip of water as a whole GU in my stomach during a race makes me want to chuck it. You should never try something new on race day if you have a choice – learned that the hard way with Shot Bloks – found I couldn’t run and chew them without gasping or chocking.
My long run training tips:
1) Hydrate every 15-20 minutes. Take sips, and don’t chug.
2) Embrace the hills in your long runs. You’ll seriously be glad you trained on them when race time comes.
3) Bang your gels/beans/whatever every 35-45 minutes.
4) Expect feet swelling, and don’t tie your laces too tight.
5) Learn how to tie a knot that won’t slip in your laces.
6) Focus on your pace, and resist the urge to speed up. You’ll defeat the purpose of the long run (which is to train your body to conserve energy) if you go too fast.
7) Wave to everyone. That makes them aware of you, helps distract you and elevates your mood.
8) Don’t forget sunscreen! Long.runs take time to complete.
9) No butt capes. Please…
10) Plan your route so a restroom is never too far away.
11) If you pass other runners, make sure to reserve your most respect-filled “hi” for them. We’re a family, after all.
Incredible tips Brian. Thanks!
Using my Android phone, I love to use Endomondo which gives me a map and mile splits. Also, I stream Pandora simultaneously. For an 18 mile run, I had enough battery life to complete the run, although the battery indicator was in the yellow.
I will add http://www.runningahead.com to this list of route planners, which leverages Google Maps to do running routes, and it does show you an elevation profile
awesome! thanks.