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Running 135' and 150' +

MattAaronsonMattAaronson
in Coaching Forum 🧢

Coaches, I am following the IM Advanced plan, week #14 towards IMWI. Not surprisingly, the long runs are starting to get really long! Specifically, weeks 14/15 call for 135' runs and week 16 is 150' run and week 17 is the lesser of 180' or 18mi. These are pretty major runs. At my typical training paces a 135' run would be ~19 mi and 150' would be ~21 mi. In my marathon builds I would run that far weekly and follow with 6mi the next day but not with ~8+ hours of biking 2 days later. Should I cap these runs at a particular mileage or should I run the full time? If the former, what should I cap at? If the former, what should I do about the 18mi cap on the other run...maybe cap at 22mi?? Advice appreciated here.

Comments

  • Coach PatrickCoach Patrick
    Matt, I have to keep reminding myself you are a first time IM athlete. image In that vein, we have to remember that you won't be running the IM marathon at your open marathon pace, but probably 30" slower per mile...and that would be an INCREDIBLE run on race day.

    With the ^above^ in mind, I don't really want you to go out and nuke yourself at 6:40 pace for 22 miles...I don't see the upside here, especially given the overall fatigue you are managing (aka I don't want good runs but bad bikes, etc.).

    So I say you do the math on 30" per mile slower, and plan on running THAT pace for the bulk of your run (noting your AHR) and then pushing the last 2-3 miles depending on how you feel. The long runs are more about pacing and nutritional excellence (hydration / calories) than pacing.

    Guessing that will be like 7:15s (easy for me!) that's 8.3 miles every 58 minutes, or 16.6 for 2 hours...so I think a 2:15 run for all three efforts -- all 18 milers -- would be perfect.

    Looking forward to seeing them all on Strava!!!
  • MattAaronsonMattAaronson
    Many thanks Coach P. After this weekend in Madison I am starting to appreciate the value of running at a slower pace and really triangulating HR, RPE and pace. I'm eager to practice that on the upcoming long runs. Cheers!
  • Coach PatrickCoach Patrick
    You looked really strong out there (from Strava!). Your fitness puts you in the top 1% of the field, no doubt. Your biggest limiter is experience (IM specific) but the Team fills so much of that for you. These last few weeks are all about fine-tuning your position, fueling/hydration and pacing strategies. Can't wait to see your race!
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