
Originally Posted by
Twister
I think if you are training for a half at some point you are going to have to run your "long run" at a decent pace. But, if you are training for a marathon in the mountains then absolutely LSR, means Long Slow Run. You need to get you body used to the "time on feet" and this has to be built up slowly, for your first races at this level you are looking to complete not compete, then the speed can come later.
You need to take a long view of your running else you will risk injuries.
So in your case, I would attempt the following session; go for a ten mile long run and for the first 5 miles go at a stupidly easy pace, just jog it with a big smile on your face. Then as soon as you hit 5 miles up your pace so you are running at a good steady "I feel like I'm running" type of effort all the way back home.
The idea behind this session is then to increase the fast bit by whatever you are comfortable with the next time, say 4 miles mega easy then 6 miles steady.
Try it! I've been experimenting with a version of this during my ultra training and its working well.