Because you run the tempo run on Thursday on tired legs, you are effectively running 10 miles at goal pace. Then you run a 16-mile long run on Sunday. You have already covered 26 miles of quality running between Thursday and Sunday. Race day is simply putting those two days together with a short break in between. Runners who switch to Hanson often report the same thing: The last 10k of the marathon still hurts, but it doesn't feel impossible.
If you are tired of feeling destroyed by 20-mile runs and want to approach the marathon as a logical, physiological equation rather than a spiritual ordeal, give the Hanson Marathon Method a shot. Just be prepared to run a lot of miles on Thursdays when you’d rather be on the couch. hanson marathon method
For decades, the marathon training world was dominated by a single, almost sacred principle: The Long Run. Plans like Hal Higdon’s novice schedules and the iconic Runner’s World programs preached that if you could run 20 miles on Saturday, you could survive 26.2 on Sunday. Because you run the tempo run on Thursday