Distance Training: Long and Slow

I got an email from J.L. who had a crazy idea of surprising a friend by running 18 miles to her house for a party. Even crazier is that he had only been running 4-6 miles at a time in his workout runs. No, I told him, it would not be wise to attempt to jump from 6 miles to 18 miles in two weeks. Let alone spending the party treating his blisters and black toenails, whining about chafed private parts, and wondering whether he was having heat stroke.

The tried and true way to train for a long distance walk or run is to walk or run 30-60 minutes every other day, and to have one long distance workout a week, done at a moderate exertion. This is called long slow distance (LSD). Each week you increase the long distance by a mile, or increase it two miles every other week. If you are starting with six miles as your longest day, it should take another 12 weeks before you are really ready to go 18 miles with a lower risk of injury. It takes that time and steady increase in distance to toughen your feet, try out your gear, and build the muscles and blood vessels needed to supply them throughout your long walk or run. Find out more about why you need long slow distance when training for a half marathon, marathon, or crazy long walk to a friend's party.

• Marathon Training Step by Step for Walkers
• Half Marathon Training Schedule
• How Far Can You Walk with No Training?