marathon training- splitting long run

bonjour24

hiya all.

i'm currently doing the cool runnings marathon training, and am up to the 25km long run. problem is that i just won't have the time to fit it in this week. i don't want to skip a week (last week was a scheduled short week), so i was wondering if it will be ok to split it?
i'm intending to run to and from work, which should total the 25kms quite nicely. only thing is that i'll obviously have an 8 hour break in the middle.
as a 1 off, do you think that this will do?

cheers

joni

Floridaboiler

I don't think it will hurt you for a long run once in awhile to break it up, but if you have to do it for all your long runs you won't get the benefit of being out on your feet running for the entire time.

Good Luck!

Dragonfly1996

I have read that this is ok to do occasionally & it's better than missing it completely. However I do agree that it doesn't really help in terms of "time on legs" - just mileage. Good luck with the rest of your training & the marathon!! :flowerforyou:

whoosh1

I agree with the above posters, once in a while it is OK but do not make it a habit.

mikeyrp

Its got to be a lot better than missing it completely!

scottb81

The advantage of a long run of a minimum of two hours or more is that it greatly fatigues the muscles, forcing new muscle cells to be recruited, and it greatly deplets glycogen, causing your body to store more. Breaking the run in half will not get the same effect.

But, if the only choice is missing the run, breaking it in two is better. If you do your other long runs then you should be ok.

beccalucy

I was wondering the exact same thing. Thanks for the answers guys

mlb929

Marathon Nation has a great article on it. You can search their website for it. From everything I've read, its actually a good way to go especially if you are a slower runner.

KiraLech

I think you're okay to split it, as long as you don't make a habit of it. I'm sure you feel the same as me, that sometime half the difficulty of training is finding the time to do it. One thing I'd suggest is REALLY pushing yourself on the run home. Then you can just think of it like doing an "easy run" and a "tempo run" in the same day vs. doing one long run. Good luck and happy running.