Understanding the Benefits of Short and Long Runs
Whether you are training for a specific event, or simply exercising to stay in shape, varying the way you run and the distances you cover during each outing helps keep things interesting, and will deliver rich dividends in terms of improved general fitness (both aerobic and anaerobic), endurance levels and performance. But that’s easy to say – figuring out the ideal combination of short and long runs, and scheduling them in a way that works with all your other commitments, is the tricky bit. But we’re here to help.
Defining ‘Short’ and ‘Long’ Runs
Firstly, let’s establish what we mean by ‘short’ and ‘long’ runs, because the definition of these terms will vary enormously according to who you are. For someone like Damian Hall or Jasmin Paris, a short run is a 30-mile bimble across the Brecon Beacons or a pootle over the Peaks, while a long run might go on for days, whereas for most of us, those adjectives conjure up something very different.
For the sake of this article, we’re going to use ‘long run’ to describe any outing that takes place at a relatively slow pace and lasts for an hour or more, regardless of the distance covered in that time, while ‘short run’ covers fast-paced shenanigans such as interval and tempo work. Both kinds of running come with their own set of long-term benefits.
The Advantages of Long Runs
Completing longer runs, where you maintain a steady cadence and speed for a sustained period of time, are excellent for building muscle strength, refining breathing patterns (enhancing your aerobic capacity and VO2 max score) and improving mental and physical endurance levels.
As you tick off the miles, you are tuning up your cardiovascular system, teaching your body to effectively store and efficiently use glycogen, and strengthening your musculoskeletal system, as the extended exercise (when correctly combined with rest days) leads to the production of more mitochondria and capillaries in your muscle cells.
If you are aiming to take on a lengthy event – a half, a marathon or an ultra – then it’s important to put in some long miles during training, in order to prepare yourself psychologically as much as physically for the challenge of continuing to run for multiple hours. You also need to understand your body’s requirements in terms of hydration and nutrition during such challenges, and work out the best way to satisfy them long before race day.
The Benefits of Short, Fast Runs
Even if you have no burning desire to step up onto a podium or decorate your mantlepiece with silverware, building some speedwork sessions into your weekly training routine can be extremely beneficial for your running fitness and general health. For starters, speed-based sessions are shorter in duration and easier to fit in around work and home life. But beyond that, if you’re looking to improve your running performance, even if that’s just shaving a few seconds off your parkrun PB, you will eventually need to run outside of your comfort zone, and that means picking up the pace.
If this sounds interesting but slightly alarming, it helps to refine exactly what ‘speedwork’ means, because it’s different to full-on sprinting (although some of the techniques, such as increased arm action, are definitely transferable). The term basically covers any kind of running that involves deliberately going faster than you would typically maintain during your long runs, and this can include everything from track repeats, strides and fartleks through to tempo runs on non-technical surfaces.
Doing shorter distances at a faster pace teaches your body to effectively utilise the anaerobic energy stored in your muscles, and trains your system to work more dynamically, ultimately enabling you to run faster for longer. As running coach Elizabeth Corkum explains: ‘It recruits and develops fast-twitch muscle fibre, builds muscle, elevates heart rate and increases calorie burn.’
Tempo runs in particular, where you aim to sit just below your all-out goal race pace and within (but close to) your lactate threshold, are excellent for extending stamina levels and building the mental strength to keep going when your legs are pleading with you to stop.
Balancing Your Training Routine
An oft-quoted balance to aim for when you want to incorporate short and long running sessions into your weekly training routine is the 80/20 method – where 80% of your exercise is performed at the more relaxed long-run pace, with the remaining 20% done at the higher intensity of a fast run. This approach is popular for a reason: it’s highly effective, reduces the risk of injury or burn-out, and has been employed by the likes of Eliud Kipchoge and Paula Radcliffe to prepare for runs on the world stage.
Joining a good running club can really help amateurs manage this split, with larger clubs often offering different sessions on various days of the week, mixing longish distance outings with exercises like splits and interval training, even the occasional beep test to keep everyone on their toes. Experienced run leaders will take you through the requirements of each exercise, but if you are following your own routine, please remember that a good warm-up is especially important before embarking on any speedwork.
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