A Day after Long Run
runner475
Posts: 1,236 Member
Once again my running group is in Team A and Team B and I'm posting to see what folks here have to say.
I know there are people here of all levels (And I have in the past almost forgotten this) but jus' an FYI - this group runs 30 plus miles per week minimum and has a solid running base.
So Team A after every long run takes a Complete Rest day and the reason they do so is to prepare them for the rest of the week. They think they see a significant difference in their pace after the rest day.
Team B run their pace run a day after long run on their tired legs. They agreed that though they may or maynot be able to call it a "pace run" all the time every time their theory is throwing in a hard run a day after long run is more beneficial in long term.
Team A disagrees to Team B's logic of following the pattern all the time every time.
Any thoughts? And as always thanks for the response.
I know there are people here of all levels (And I have in the past almost forgotten this) but jus' an FYI - this group runs 30 plus miles per week minimum and has a solid running base.
So Team A after every long run takes a Complete Rest day and the reason they do so is to prepare them for the rest of the week. They think they see a significant difference in their pace after the rest day.
Team B run their pace run a day after long run on their tired legs. They agreed that though they may or maynot be able to call it a "pace run" all the time every time their theory is throwing in a hard run a day after long run is more beneficial in long term.
Team A disagrees to Team B's logic of following the pattern all the time every time.
Any thoughts? And as always thanks for the response.
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Replies
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I run a short recovery run the day after a long run. A running friend advised me that's it's good for distance runners to run on tired legs. I do not run at race pace. Just a causal 2-3 miler to losen up the legs. Then I run my usual 6 at training pace the day after my recovery.
I would try both methods and do what works for you and your goals.0 -
I'm a fan of a short recovery run, or a Long Walk the day after a long run. Just sitting still doesn't do me any favors, but I wouldn't do a pace run the day after.0
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My race pace run is 2 days before my long run. Then it's an easy pace run. Then the long run. Running the long run on tired legs is more beneficial in my opinion. I do a recovery run at easy pace the day after my long run. My rest day is after speedwork so 3 days after my LR.0
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Depends on your goals and how you feel. A lot of ultra distance runners will run the day after a long run, generally a slow 5k to 5 miler. It gets you used to running on tired legs, it also helps work out lactic acid that could be built up in the muscles, and reduces soreness. I will usually do things backwards. Saturday I will run a medium length (6-8 miles) and Sunday I do a long run (currently 14 miles). Monday I swim. It helps work out lactic acid, but is not as strenuous on my legs as running. Some people feel really beat up after a long run, and just can't do it. It is mostly a matter of personal preference and how hard you are pushing yourself on your long run days. If I were training for a road race I would probably take the day off, ultras are different physically and psychologically, and I think it's important to train for the factors that are going to effect how I run the events I want to run.0
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I do a short run (1 mile usually, 2 miles max) the day after a long run to shake everything out, keep things from getting too sore, and to make sure nothing's misaligned or feeling wrong. It's always a really slow endeavor, but I feel better coming back at my typical mid-week mileage than when I've taken a day off right away.0
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I love my day-after-the-long-run run. When my life isn't in chaos, I usually do 10 miles on that next day. I never think about pace for that run. Just run for how I feel that day. Sometimes, it turns into one of my better paced runs. Sometimes it's a bit of a sad shuffle. I am very willing to cut it short if something doesn't feel good. But I think that's why I love it. No goals. Just some time (often with a new album I'm interested in!) to meander around my hood. Started the second day run when I was training for an ultra and haven't really given up the habit.
I should edit this to note that my long runs up to now haven't been fast at all, just really really long. We'll see how this holds out when I start picking up the pace in the long run.0 -
I do an easy 4 miles the day before my long run (Fridays). My long run is on Saturdays and I have been progressively been increasing them in a marathon training pattern. What that means is that I will do a run that is longer than I ever done (say 16 miles). The week after for my LR I may take it easy as far as distance (like 10 or 13). Then I may do 16 again the next Saturday. Then back down to 10 or 13. Then that following week bump my milage to 17 or 18. Repeat until i get to 20.
The day after my LR (Sundays) is a rest day for me. Mondays is 8-9 miles at whatever speed I can maintain (lately I added in farlek style bursts in my Monday run). Tue/Wed are similar runs as far as distance (8 or 9 miles) but usually slower pace and no bursts. Basically whatever my legs tell me what i can do for those 3 days. As hard as I can without killing myself. Thursdays is my second rest day. and then back to Friday with my easy 4 miles. ect. You get the idea.0 -
I've done it where I'll do an easy run followed by a long run the next day followed by a rest day and also long run, easy run, rest day. They both work for me. I haven't found one to be better than the other. But it sounds like you're describing a more intense workout the day after a long run. I stick to the philosophy of not doing hard workouts on consecutive days. And I consider anything other than an easy or recovery day to be hard, long run included. While there may be some benefit to be gained by running on tired legs, I don't think you need to run hard in order to see that benefit. I'm with group A. I probably wouldn't run a race pace workout the day after a long run. And if I did, I certainly wouldn't do it every week.0
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Team B run their pace run a day after long run on their tired legs. They agreed that though they may or maynot be able to call it a "pace run" all the time every time their theory is throwing in a hard run a day after long run is more beneficial in long term.
What "pace" is the pace run at? 5K pace? Marathon pace?
How long are the long runs? 20 miles? 12?0 -
I usually almost always make my long run into a fast finish/progression run, so it really takes a toll on my body. No way would I run a pace run of any pace faster than recovery after that... I don't take a complete day off usually because I'm
Trying to hit 60-70 MPW.. But if I was running 30 MPW... I would def NOT run the day before or the day after my LR... Just my 2 cents...0 -
We're probably into depends on the objectives territory.
For me, at the moment, running on tired legs is a benefit as it's helping me build capacity. I'm generally doing a recovery run, long ride, long run, then recovery run routine. The fourth day of that cycle is hard work and it's at a slow pace, but it seems to be paying dividends in terms of endurance.
It's not leaving me time for both a tempo and an interval session every week, so there is a degree of compromise there. If my focus was on increasing speed then I don't think this routine would be right for me.0 -
I prefer to do a run at MP/HMP the day before a long run so that I'm not going all-out on the long run. And the day after the long run, I'll go an extra slow few miles just to make sure my joints and muscles don't rust together 0
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I have taken rest day or ran a short recovery run after a long run. I can never run a hard run after long run.
7 out 10 times I take a rest day.0 -
While I can make speedy paces and consistently hit goal paces in speedwork, I know I am an endurance monster at heart and that it takes me a long time to recover from speed. I am trying something out now where I do a recovery run the day after a track workout, then long run the day after then rest. I am really liking it. I feel more challenged in the long run and I am noticing improvement in my track workout recovery from the recovery run the day after. I plan to add a double in with some of my long runs this time around and keep the full rest after.0
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Team B run their pace run a day after long run on their tired legs. They agreed that though they may or maynot be able to call it a "pace run" all the time every time their theory is throwing in a hard run a day after long run is more beneficial in long term.
What "pace" is the pace run at? 5K pace? Marathon pace?
How long are the long runs? 20 miles? 12?
Most are training for either 1/2 and/or Full.
I don't know what their long runs are right now (very interesting I should have asked) but if this helps in figuring it out - most have their races in September and early October.0 -
I either have an easy run or rest day the day after long run, never anything fast. The long run is considered a workout and therefore calls for recovery of some kind the following day (for this old dude, anyway).
I think that, during the height of marathon training, running 90+ miles per week, it doesn't much matter when the rest day happens. It feels good no matter what day of the week it is. 0 -
I used to take rest days but I'm run-streaking right now so my strategy after a long run day is to cut the mileage and pace dramatically the following day and/or run a 1 mile run slowly. I try to alternate hard:easy run days as much as possible but sometimes forget and pay the price with a tough run day.0
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I subscribe to the easy/hard/easy/hard rotation of days with speed work, tempo/pace work, and long runs all being hard days and rest days and easy runs being easy days.
For my first marathon training cycle, I followed a plan that would have rest days both the day before and after the long run. Which means lots of miles were also crammed into the other 4 days. Not my fav way to run. I felt pretty beat up and tired that entire cycle.
For my second marathon training cycle and the current (third) one, I moved to the Hansons approach and I'm running 6 days a week (3 hard, 3 easy plus a rest day), so it looks like this:
M - easy miles (usually 5ish)
T - speedwork
W - rest
Th - tempo/pace work
F - easy miles
S - easy miles
Sun - long run
I *love* it and feels right for me. I imagine this is one of those things where everyone has a preference that works for them. Takes some trial and error to figure it out for you.0 -
When training for longer distances, I prefer to run at pace day, long run day, followed by recovery run day. Running the long run on the tired legs has proven most beneficial for my training. Earlier in the training weeks, I also like to do an extra speed day with the rest of the run days being recovery days throwing in a rest day once every couple of weeks.0
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When training for longer distances, I prefer to run at pace day, long run day, followed by recovery run day. Running the long run on the tired legs has proven most beneficial for my training. Earlier in the training weeks, I also like to do an extra speed day with the rest of the run days being recovery days throwing in a rest day once every couple of weeks.
This.
I always have a recovery run day after a long run. In the coming weeks I will be stacking long runs back-to-back (which is great for building stronger endurance for long distance, in my case training for an ultra).
My main problem is taking an actual rest day the day before (as my 1st love is cycling and I usually like to get out for a long ride, but it's played havoc recently on my longer runs the day after).0 -
I have two long runs in a row (Sat and Sun), altho Sunday is generally shorter. both similarly paces, similar terrain (I'm a trail runner) but the second one is harder b/c of fatigue. I run again on Monday, easy for like an hour on the road, super slow. My speed and hill work days are in the middle of the week and I only don't run on Friday (barring weird race scheduling).
back to back long runs are pretty standard in ultramarathon training, altho I can't see why they wouldn't be useful in shorter distances.0 -
back to back long runs are pretty standard in ultramarathon training, altho I can't see why they wouldn't be useful in shorter distances.
Yeah, during the peak of marathon training I'll do 10 on Saturday and then 18 to 22 on Sunday. Some weekends, even squeezing in a second 4 mile run on Saturday afternoon.0
