There are people who say, for example, that two 15 minute workouts will produce the same amount of weight loss as 30 minutes of continuous exercise and that several shorter workouts lower cholesterol just as much as longer sessions.

This thought process might make you think that you have no use for longer runs unless you are training for a marathon. This even might lead you to assume that you can split your long runs in half. For example, running 6 miles in the morning and 6 miles in the evening will reap the same training effect as doing a continuous 12 mile run. My belief is that this assumption is incorrect.

Long runs have great potential to improve your performance whether you run 5k's, 10k's, half marathons or marathons. When you even think about it when you focus on performance benefits you will find that a workout lasting 35 minutes or more is definitely better than two or more shorter sessions that add up to the same amount of time.

During a longer workout you recruit more muscle fibers, fire up fat metabolism and even experience higher heart rates than you would during a shorter effort. Long runs also increase your weekly mileage, which is good because higher mileage boosts your maximal aerobic capacity (max vo2) and it strengthens your leg muscles.

Long runs increase your endurance and your ability to run for longer periods without stopping. In closing, remember a 10 mile run will produce better fitness results than two 5-milers.

Paul Greer is an associate professor in Health and Exercise Science at San Diego City College and coach of the San Diego Track Club--the largest running club in San Diego.

                                            

After his New York City Marathon win, Meb Keflezighi was thrown into the spotlight again. The 34-year-old San Diego resident was the first American male to win the race in 27 years. But only a year ago he was a forgotten figure in distance running. The silver medal winner from the 2004 Olympic marathon finished a disappointing 8th in the 2007 Olympic marathon trials. Worse, he left the race with a stress fracture in his hip that cost him a year of his career. The race was also marked by the tragic death of close friend, Ryan Shay.  SDNR talked to the San Diego High and UCLA grad and asked what life has been like since the NYC win and where he is going from here.   

Did any aspects of your training change in preparation for NYC Marathon?

The training was great. Just to be able to focus on the marathon was new. Before, I perhaps did a 10k or so in early September, but for this one we decided to skip that and focus on the big goal in New York. I was healthy and it was consistent training. Without God’s work in my life I would not be able to walk or turn from one side of the bed to the other. To be able to say ‘I won the New York City Marathon’ is a miracle in itself. God gave me a second chance; it was a tough route back. Everything just clicked together on that day on Nov. 1.

How many miles a week were you doing?

The most I did was 136, which is the most ever for me. I peaked at 136, but I consistently did over 100 miles a week. I’ve hit 130 before, but I had more weeks of hitting that. I did probably four weeks of 130 to 136 miles leading up to New York.

What was the hardest workout you did for your NYC Marathon training?

It’s been good training. I did a 12-mile tempo at altitude in 59 minutes flat (4:55 mile pace). That was early, way before San Jose, but that’s probably the fastest I ever went. Running is not too big of a secret; you just have to be healthy and have consistent training and put everything together.

How much of your training was done in San Diego?

This year, I did a little bit less in San Diego. The summer was all in Mammoth Lakes. We wanted to experiment with staying longer at altitude and coming down last minute from altitude. In that past, I’ve come down 10 days before the marathon, I’ll stay in San Diego four or five days then travel to wherever I’m going. This time we went straight from Mammoth to Reno, which was a little bit of a shorter drive.

                                            

As a coach I highly recommend my athletes to cross-train. Cross training can help prevent injury, aid in rehabilitation after injury and help maintain aerobic fitness during injury. I believe that cross-training can lead to improved racing. Provided are advantages to the following cross-training activities:

Biking will build great strength in the glutes and upper hamstrings. Biking does not produce the same high impact forces as running, but it still challenges the cardiovascular system extensively. Biking helps runners avoid those common injuries that tend to occur with the higher running volumes necessary for great racing performance.

Aqua Jogging will promote extensive cardiovascular benefits without stressing the legs very much at all. Because the movement replicates running very closely, your cardiovascular gains have a much better transfer to running. I also believe aqua jogging is good for your psyche because it closely approximates the running movement.

Swimming has several benefits including reducing the effects of poor posture because it's necessary to stretch out from head to toes in order to glide through the water. Swimming is often a good choice when recovering from an injury.

Paul Greer is an associate professor in Health and Exercise Science at San Diego City College and coach of the San Diego Track Club--the largest running club in San Diego.

                                            

New York City Marathon winner Meb Keflezighi will make a public appearance in his home town on Friday Nov. 6. The San Diego Hall of Champions will hold a press conference for Keflezighi, where he will speak about the historic race.

Keflezighi became the first American to win the race since Alberto Salazar did it in 1982. The win was just the latest in achievements for Keflezighi this year, after having to come back from a stress fracture in his hip that took 18 months to recover from.

The public is invited to attend the event. The San Diego Hall of Champions is located in Balboa Park at 2131 Pan American Plaza, San Diego, California 92101.