When do you do your longest run before HM?

[Irishprincess]

I’m in a quandary with my current HM plan and it’s all to do with the timing of the longest run and the start of taper.

Do you do your longest run about two weeks before race day or even earlier? Or do you do it the week before? I know it depends on the plan and lots of other factors and the online consensus seems to be to do it about two weeks beforehand but I’m curious about what you have done/are doing currently. We have lots of March races coming up so I thought I’d pick your brains!

In the past I’ve mostly allowed at least two weeks from my longest run to the race but for my last few HMs I’ve followed a Hal Higdon plan and it asks for 2 x 16K runs in the last two weeks leading up to race day which gives a week’s taper. This has worked for me too and is what I’m currently following for my race on 17th March.

However, I’m two weeks behind in this plan (started late and a week sick) and so I’m having to juggle things around. I want to do the 10 mile run before race day but I just need to work out the best time to do it, either two weeks from RD or one week from RD.

I did the 9 mile run on Saturday and that went well with no issues. I should have done another 9 mile run the week before but that was when I was sick so I had to skip that one. As per the plan I should be taking a down week this week and then the 10 mile run. But as I’ve already had an extra week of “rest” then I’m thinking I should skip the down week and go straight to the long run on Sunday which would give me two weeks of taper…………..on the other hand perhaps the down week will be better for me because it’s been over two years since my last HM distance and would give my body a chance of a rest between long runs.

Decisions, decisions….. I really don’t want to mess this up as most of you know I’ve had a long spell on the IC and I’m a bit anxious in case I do something stupid at the final hurdle. But I’d love to hear what works for you. I know at the end of the day I’ll have to listen to my own body but at the minute I have a few different voices going on and on… 🙉 😂

I’ll see what you say and then ask my legs tomorrow morning before the start of a new week 🙂

Thanks everyone!

[AlMorr Half Marathon]

I am a little surprised that you havn't had a reply from anyone 6 hours after you posted regarding your half marathon plan following your injury, as I have only ran 3 HM and those were run locally, not a race or a event, I can only advise you to run slowly after any injuries gradually increasing the pace and distance, I certainly wouldn't want you to do anything stupid Irishprincess on the final hurdle as you put it, if you do the long run this Sunday, then run it slow and steady, I wish you all the best for your HM training

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to AlMorr]

Thanks for your reply Al. I’ve been taking very slowly, just don’t want to fall at the last 🤞

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon]

I have never had the luxury/ problem of making a choice! Last year’s HUHM was disrupted by Covid-19 for 10 days in April. I had done 2 x10 mile runs before the bug struck, so after recovery I did a couple of short runs,then another 10 mile run as my last run, rested for a week and then went for the HM. I was never going to get a PB in those circumstances; it was just about finishing..which happily I did. Not a model for a “proper” HM run. The circumstances around my other two HMs were not typical for different reasons. For what it’s worth, I think that I would fret about a two week break between penultimate long run and the HM. No science behind it; just about how I would feel.

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

Thanks for this BC. The two week break doesn't bother me as I’ve done that before but fate has intervened to give me an answer since I wrote the post.

I have somehow done something bad with my back (probably as a result of some gardening I did yesterday). It’s ok this morning but no running today and definitely no long run at the weekend, so it looks like the 10 miles will be done the week before!

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

Saves a lot of thinking☹️.

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon]

Hi IP, I never really know either. I tend to follow the HUHM Plan to the letter until about week 11 or 12 (of 14) which gets you to around the 10 mile mark or just over, then go off piste. I enjoy aiming for milestones too much, so I find it hard to run, say ‘just’ 18k - I’d rather just wait and do the full HM on race day.

As you may remember, I didn’t train at all for Cardiff last year …… but you know what I’m like! 🤪

You’ll make the right choice for you, I know you will, and I’m so excited that you’re running this race at long last! Keeping all my digits crossed and touching wood of course! 🥰

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

Thanks for this Munks. I take heart from your no-training approach for Cardiff and I actually feel confident that I could do the whole thing with what I’ve done so far. The miles are in the legs.

However, fate has made my decision for me as I hurt my back (again 🤬) doing some gardening yesterday so no run today and definitely no 10 miles this weekend. It looks like it’ll be 10 miles the week before 🤞

Please continue to keep everything crossed for me. There’s still a lot of days between now and the start line! But I’m not doing any gardening until afterwards, that’s for sure.

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

Oh IP. You’re kidding. Please let it ease and enable you to continue. Take it super easy and stay out of that garden until after your race! ❤️

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

I know! You couldn’t make it up. It feels much better now but still.

[Reggit Marathon]

If I remember my last HM plan I followed, was alternating the long run distance between HM and 10 miles in the last few weeks. With the final training HM 2 weeks before the race and 10 miles a week before.

This was a Garmin Coach plan following Amy.

I’ve also used a Greg McMillan plan - that was 2 hours longest run a couple of weeks before the race. At my pace 2hrs is only 10 miles.

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Reggit]

Thanks for this. I’ve never done the whole HM distance before the race but have done either 16K or 18K depending on where I am on the “back-from-injury” scale 🙄

How did you find the time based plan? I’ve looked at those in the past but have so far just stuck to distance.

[Teresa1632 Marathon]

You could take the down week from running as per the plan, but complement with more walking. The long run is about building the engine, so time on your feet is the important bit. You've done all the hard work already with your running. Walking will keep your heart rate nice and low and give you confidence that you have the endurance in your legs without half killing yourself. Then you have the normal deload week as per the plan, and arrive with fresh legs. Well done overcoming the obstacles, and good luck!

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Teresa1632]

Thanks Teresa. I do feel good about what I’ve done so far and feel confident I could go and complete it now. Well, maybe not right now as I’ve hurt my back from doing something in the garden yesterday so no run at all today 🙄

It looks like this will be an easy week and next week will be the biggie.

Thanks for you good wishes 🍀

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon]

You will probably have checked the NRC plan. I managed to get to complete “4 weeks left” by which time I had done 2x16k in weeks 7 and 6 “to go” and 13k with 5 weeks to go ( the second run was increased to 45 minutes on that run). Then covid struck. I was due to run week 4 to go which had a 20k long run and a 45 minute recovery run! The taper started from that point. So (3 to go) had 2 x 60 min runs , (2 to go) had 11 k with a second longer run of 5 k. ….and then the big week. So that was a pretty long taper. Might be worth a look if you haven’t already. I remember thinking that a 20k run so far ahead of the race seemed like a big jump! Maybe Covid saved me from disaster!

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

Every plan is different isn’t it? I think if you want to improve your time then running further than the race distance in training is a given.

I want to get to the start line of this one and just get around, which is what I usually want from my HMs, so a longest run of 16-18K works for me. To me, there would be no point in doing 20K in training. I mean, you may as well just finish it and do the whole thing 😂

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

That is a great point about time improvement though…maybe I need to sneak in HM plus a bit before going for a PB….Thanks 🙂

[Curlygurly2 Half Marathon]

I've followed the NRC plan, as outlined by Beachcomber (above) I've gone all the way through the plan twice, except I never completed the 20K run despite trying 2 or 3 times, a combination of my health and adverse weather scuppered me! I did 16K three weeks ago, and 11K last week, (race is this weekend) so that is going to have to be enough!

For my previous HMs I never really bothered with tapering, but this time round I'm conserving my energy due to my health issues.

If I read you right, you speak about an extra week of "rest", is that when you were sick? If so, it's not really rest is it? Could you compromise and make the long run a bit shorter than the plan calls for?

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Curlygurly2]

That’s a good suggestion CG and one that I would consider except I have now hurt my back from the garden yesterday so it looks like the decision has been made for me! No 10 miles this week and no running at all today!

Your training sounds as if it’s gone really well and that’s more than enough! Enjoy it 🍀

[John_W Marathon]

3 weeks out is pretty standard for a marathon - some do 4, some do 2 ... so for a half, reckon it's pretty normal to do 2 weeks - you won't go far wrong with that.

Re: "I think if you want to improve your time then running further than the race distance in training is a given" - I'd disagree with that - you could certainly improve your HM and M times without going over race distance ... should think that's only for v good club runners and elites.

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to John_W]

Hi John, good to see you in these parts 🙂

The decision has been made for me as I’ve hurt my back in the garden, so the long run will be a week before 🤞

[John_W Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

Oh I get around everywhere these days 😉

Fair enough re: your back. I guess that will also guide how long the run will be. If it wasn't for the back, I'd say no more than 10 miles. Good luck IP!

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to John_W]

Thanks John 🙂

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

I would definitely opt for two weeks taper. Maybe change that second 16k to a 10k? I believe fresh legs are veey valuable bekfre a race - for me at least; you will know you were able to do the 16k and that's the important thing.Whatever you opt for, you are so in tune with yourself, you will be making the right choice for you and then you have to believe in yourself.

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

Thanks for this Linda. The decision has been made for me because I hurt my back in the garden so I didn't run yesterday at all 🙄 It feels much better today so I’ll try a little jogette to test the waters but I will probably do the down week this week.

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

Oh no!!! You're a way too enthusiastic gardener for a runner 😍😍😍

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

I know! They aren’t really compatible at all. I’m not doing any gardening until after Bath.

Just back from a gentle 5K and everything is fine so I’m back on the plan. Am going to see the osteopath on Friday and she can loosen everything up and tell me what I did wrong! I think it might have a been a twisting position I was in…

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

Phew!!!

[Freecloud Marathon]

Yeah, things get in the way of these dreaded plans 🤣. I would recommend forgetting about what you have missed and carry on and do the 10 mile 2 weeks before race day, with an emphasis of making the 10 miler as easy as possible.

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Freecloud]

Thanks for this. I would have done this if I hadn’t hurt my back in the garden on Monday so I think it will be sensible to delay the 10 miles. I’m considering a compromise and doing it about 10 days before race day. I just don’t want to aggrevate the back too soon.

[Freecloud Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

I hope your back gets better, I'd agree with everything you said above.

[misswobble Marathon]

I love the two week taper 😍. Two weeks of free-wheeling before the big day. Time to relax as the hard work has been done and the longest run ticked off. It’s the loosening of the corsets and letting it all hang out 😁. Time to prepare the gear and mentally prepare 🙂

I do keep moving though with some jogs and yoga. Walking too. Eat well and sleep much. I try to avoid stubbing my toe and being too strenuous in the garden 😀

Good luck IP. I hope your niggly back sorts itself out 🙂👍🏃‍♀️

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to misswobble]

Haha “loosening of the corsets” love it 😂 I know what you mean though. I love a taper, you can almost feel the body breathing out and relaxing, “thank gawd all that hard work is done”.

I’m just back from a gentle 5K and all is good so I’m now considering doing the 10 miler next week, about 10 days from race day, a nice compromise. But I’m just still taking one run at a time.

[misswobble Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

Sounds good. Ten days to keep yourself ticking over nicely til race day 🙂

I did a ten miler today 🏃‍♀️ It tipped it down 😏🙄

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to misswobble]

We had snow here yesterday so thank goodness it wasn't a run day. But it is glorious today so I’m off…..

[nowster Metric Marathon]

A HM doesn't need anywhere near as much of a taper as a full marathon.

I was able to do a HM monthly as a "long run" as part of my normal routine, once I'd worked up to that distance.

A few days of lighter activity would probably be sufficient.

I love doing longer runs and have been gradually increasing my distances this year. I ran a hilly 10 miles on Monday evening and was fairly stiff a few hours afterwards.

More important for that sort of time on your feet is making sure you have the fuel and fluids needed. Anything over 90 minutes will have you needing both.

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to nowster]

This is the first time in over two years since I’ve been able to get back to these distances, hence the uncertainty at the end. I just don't want to jinx the final few weeks as training has gone really well so far 🤞

At the minute I’m considering doing the 10 miles next week, about 10 days from race day. A nice compromise 🙂

Thanks for your reply and good luck with your distance building 🍀

[nowster Metric Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

I can totally understand your apprehension.

Due to various circumstances my own level of activity has also declined over the last year. I'm trying to get back into it.

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to nowster]

It is fun trying though isn’t it?

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon]

I missed an opportunity today. Mrs BC and I were walking Molly along the walkway when I saw a silver haired female runner approaching. Like a good owner I slipped my fingers under Molly’s collar to keep her out of the way, but the runner stopped to make a fuss of her. She told me that she was training for the 268 mile Pennine Spine Run, but she had other long distance targets too. Mrs BC asked her if she was called Sharon and she confirmed that this was correct. She was really nice and we chatted about running for a bit before she continued on her way. When she had gone, Mrs BC said that she was a famous runner, Sharon Gayter, and that she had followed her exploits through local newspapers. When I got home I went straight for the IPad…and as everyone else probably knows she is an absolute legend; a GB international for 18 years, World no 1 in 2011 for a 750k race, she has raced across deserts and through mountains and is the female World Record holder for John O’Groats to Landsend ….the list of achievements goes on and on.

I could have asked her about HM tapers 🙂; but somehow I don’t think that she needs to do those. She asked if I fancied a Marathon; I said I was too old for a first one at 72..she agreed that I was probably right. All this and she only lives on the other side of our little market town. 🙂 made my day!

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

What a runner! I’ve just googled her. You might run into her again BC and then you can ask her all these questions 🙂

Imagine having her as your running mate!

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

🙂 out of my league. One of the challenges she was doing required a 50 mile run once a month! She just went off with an easy “ eat the ground” economical stride. I have seen her running before with out realising who she was; I can say good morning Sharon now…although she likely won’t recognise me without Molly (like most people 😂). I live in her shadow!

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

I bet she will recognise you.