Long Run Workouts To Build Your Aerobic Base
Updated: Nov 5
What are long run workouts?
Long run workouts are just your typical long run but with a session added into them, this can be in the form of a tempo effort or maybe even some faster bursts of speed. Whether you are training for a marathon, a 10k, 5k, or even shorter, these long run sessions will help you to develop your aerobic capacity.
Sunday long runs can be tedious, repetitive, and boring, yet they are the most important run of your week during your base phase and are vital for you to keep up throughout the year. Long runs become even more important during your aerobic base and you can build your aerobic base better by incorporating some long run workouts.
The benefits of the long run include:
Increased Vo2 max
Increased red blood cell count
Improved utilisation of oxygen
Increased how much oxygen cells can carry
Improved mental strength
Increase strength
Teaches body to use fat as a fuel
How do long run sessions provide additional benefits?
Long run workouts help you get more benefits from your long runs and spice them up a bit to make them more interesting for you.
Long run workouts require you to not do a session/workout the day before or the day after the long run in order to recover properly.
These long run workouts develop you aerobically a lot faster and give you many more added benefits. These types of long runs are used by some of the world's best such as Kenenisa Bekele to be able to get huge benefits from a long run and then only have to run 2 other sessions per week- allowing more time for recovery!
Added benefits:
Can get a tempo and a long run in 1 session
More recovery days per week = Better adaptations
Increases lactate threshold
Makes long runs more interesting
Increase the body's ability to store glycogen even better than normal long runs
Increases aerobic capacity faster
Gets you mentally ready for race day (learn to run fast when tired)
Teach the body to get rid of lactate acid when fatigued and when running at a fast pace
You may also like: Aerobic Base Training For Running: The Ultimate Guide.
Example Long Run Workouts:
For all these long run workouts, be sure to do at least a couple miles warm-up before getting into any of the faster running.
Check out this blog from WorldAthletics: Lessons from the long run – with Kipyegon, Kipchoge and Sang.
Marathon Pace Long Run
This is perfect for your aerobic base and learning how to hold a marathon pace when you feel tired (this is one of the best things you can do in marathon training).
A typical long run should usually be run at a pace anywhere from 30-60 seconds slower than the marathon pace, so adding in some marathon pace work in your long run workout will make it a far harder workout. Therefore, it is smart to sandwich this run between 2 easy days.
Example marathon pace sessions:
20 min warm-up, 4x 15 mins marathon pace (3 min easy pace to recover), 20 min warm down
20 min warm-up, 60 mins marathon pace, 20 mins warm down
(These sessions can be adjusted to fit the length of your long run)
You may also like this blog from McmillanRunning: 5 Proven Marathon Long Runs.
The Tempo Long Run
This is a workout similar to the marathon pace long run workout but is more suited to runners who specify in shorter distances. Tempo pace is slightly faster than marathon pace, so it works better for shorter long runs to put a shorter amount of fast running in.
Make sure that you do not overdo it with your tempo pace. 10% too slow is better than 1% too fast. Better safe than sorry.
Example Tempo Long Runs
15 min warm-up, 2x 10 min tempo, 15 min warm-down
15 min warm-up, 20 min tempo, 15 min warm-down
You may also like: What Is A Tempo Run? An Experts Guide To Nailing Your Tempo Runs.
Arthur Lydiard Long Run
This is a long run that was first introduced to us by revolutionary coach Arthur Lydiard and for this long run, you will most likely want to adapt the length of the total run and the reps.
This in my opinion is the perfect long run to develop yourself aerobically at the highest level possible. Through this long run, your body will learn to get rid of lactate acid whilst fatigued and moving at a fast pace.
Lydiard even had 800m runners completing this full circuit.
This 22-mile run consists of :
3 miles warm-up
3 miles at tempo effort uphill
1 mile slow downhill
7 miles at a tempo pace (whilst glycogen stores are depleting)
8 miles easy to the finish (including half a mile uphill at about the 20-mile point- the athletes hit this hard)
Obviously, we don't all do 22-mile long runs. So, to adapt this long run to suit you, shorten the efforts so they fit in your long run. Be it a total of 10, 12, or 15 miles, this long run workout can be adapted to suit you.
Check out this blog from ChampionsEverywhere: Secrets of Arthur Lydiard’s Waiatarua long run.
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