The Long Run

The purpose of the long run is to make ever-so important physiological changes to the body's aerobic system. With increased aerobic needs, the body is forced to respond by making necessary changes to accommodate for the increased stress placed on the system: capillary density increases, number of mitochondria increases, and cardiac output decreases, allowing the heart to work more efficiently.

Yesterday, I accomplished something that I hadn't in over a year: A long run over 12 miles. Although it doesn't sound dazzling to say it, running 14 miles was a very positive step in my training for Boston. If nothing else, there is something positive mentally about getting in a run that is over 12-13 miles. Though it's the low end, a 14 mile run really starts to get into the true "long run" distance.

Traditionally, I have used a 12-week training cycle for my marathon running. Right now, I am (exactly) 13 weeks away from Boston, and have to say that I am content with where my fitness is currently, and where it can progress to. Although I am not running the exact same workouts or times or mileage as previous years, I am fairly close. My paces are all similar. Perhaps the most important thing, however, is that I am not feeling beat up at all. One difference is that I am only running 5x per week, and haven't even hit 50 miles in a single week yet. This is sort of intentional, sort of accidental, but I'm okay with the way it's working out for me. I am doing my best to listen to my body more, so that I can allow it to make those important physiological changes before I dump more stress onto it.

Who knows. Maybe this is what I've needed to do all along -- let go a little bit of the anal, obsessive training mindset, and give in a little more to the "art" side of training. I guess we will find out in 13 weeks.