Long runs are a weekly staple in most runners’ training plans. This holds as true for those training towards a 5km as it does for marathoners, with Sundays regularly put aside for long training runs.
But instead of sending runners out to simply ‘put miles in the bank’, many coaches also advocate incorporating higher-intensity workouts that challenge the body in more complex and race-specific ways.
Running longer or faster than before opens up the possibility of making big breakthroughs in your training, provided you tailor those challenging runs to your current fitness. Here, we explore just how much can you gain by experimenting with long training running.
For the full article : https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/training/a774616/essential-guide-to-long-runs/