Pain and gain

Hover-over is not working for me so I can't see your training logs (sigh), but from what you posted, the relationship between "no pain no gain" and what happened in your last run is not the issue.

If 11mi is currently your longest run, and this means you are a (relatively) new runner ... I gotta ask what kind of run training you're doing (a plan? whatever you feel like? etc.) and why.

I'm not saying a long run should be easy to complete, but in your circumstances, the entire thing should be done at more or less conversational pace (you could hold a conversation), you should have finished feeling like you could do a couple more miles at the same pace/effort, and it could leave you feeling pleasantly tired but not more.

Canned plans are not for everyone. Some people need to build up much more slowly; some need to run more frequently but less per run; some people need to run a lot slower for a lot longer (both in time as well as over time, like weeks/months/years).

It's not about pain tolerance. It's about having had adequate preparation to execute an 11-mile long training run in the manner I described, towards serving whatever long-term plans and goals you have.

Of course performing to your potential is going to require you to endure a certain level of suffering.  But as far as making "gains," that's not necessarily done by enduring pain, it's by consistent and smart training.  Running performance is not limited primarily by suffering tolerance, it's primarily limited by our running fitness. 

I thought it was funny how they cited the "phenomenon of the end spurt."  They kind of lost me after that.

As something of an aside on the Higdon plans, the weeks you reference are going from a lower mileage week back to the higher long day runs.  Preceding each of the lower mileage runs (12 and 14) are runs of longer distances.  His plan does not have you jump from a longest run of 14 to a run of 22.  Distances for the long run about halfway through go: 17, 18, 13, 19, 12, 20 (longest in the Novice 2 program), then on down to the race day.

So, yes, there are jumps, but not a 50% jump in one week from a longest to a "wicked longest" run. 

10% rule is a good one to follow, but needs to be in context of a smart and consistent training plan (as stated repeatedly above).  Do the "smart and consistent" training thing, and you'll be able to push waaaaay up in distances over time.

For running, you may see some gains over the course of several months of consistent training, but more likely to see significant gains over the course of years.

Take a look at the runners around you that seem to run effortless and recover well.  They don't necessarily need to be "fast," but those runners who can knock out runs day after day without looking like they've been through a death march.  They didn't just start running yesterday.  Most of them have likely been running for many years...some decades.

What happens in weeks 4,5,6 & 7?

This^^^^^^^.  Hal Higdon's plans are very popular and have been used successfully by many runners. I used the novice plan for my first marathon. One consideration however is the long run as a percent of your weekly mileage. HH's novice plan has you running 4 x week with the long run comprising 50% of your total weekly mileage. That "may" be too much for you and part of the reason why you are struggling. 

This thread is worth a read.....http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=414314&page=1

There is a disparity between week 9 and 10, but when you compare week 8 (13.1) and 10 (15), the disparity isn't as bad.

You also need to remember that this is the Novice 1 plan, and it clearly states in the first paragraph of the guide that this plan is simply designed to get you to the starting line.  This really isn't a plan designed to help you run your best marathon, but more like a "crash course" for someone simply looking to start and finish.  If you're currently having trouble with some of the 7-8 mile runs then you need to slow down, or incorporate some walk breaks (also mentioned in his guide).

It's necessary to take a step back and look at a bit bigger picture for this. I see weeks 4-10 going 9, 10, 7, 12, 13.1, 10, and 15. Looking at this build up all together looks much different than isolating the apparent 10 to 15 jump. There are 4 runs of 10 miles or better leading into it. Not one. You don't lose what you gained in the previous weeks by going back down to 10 the one time.

I'm not necessarily for the plans, but as someone stated, it does seem to be for just getting through a marathon with the both the weekly volume total and the relation to the long run size. It hops up and down like that from week to week because the long run is such a big percentage of the weekly total. It pushes over the consistent build guidelines at times, and then falls back down to allow for more recovery between the really big efforts. From what I know of ultra plans (limited), this could possibly be viewed as a scaled down version of one.

Higdon's advanced plans (or intermediate, I think) incorporate more like 6 runs a week.  One track day, one tempo run, one pace run, one long run and two easy breezy runs.  The more advanced, the more track/temp/speed, and the more days.

I've used the HM plan a couple times - first the upper intermediate and then the advanced.  Tailored just a bit to allow biking and swimming, but was a run focus over the winter.  I liked the build, even if it was a bit over 10% here or there (though never by much when looking at the whole plan).  With the 6 runs a week, the long runs weren't outside of the total volume:long run ratio with which I'm comfortable.

It's a good base from which to do consistent, smart training.  In the end, if you keep coming back to that last sentence, any plan can serve as a base.

Once my HIM is done in August, I'm going back on a run focus to run a marathon (with the better half) in late October.  I'll use the Higdon "Wicked Advanced Awesome Runner" plan as a rough guide again and am looking forward to it.  

Good luck!

Matt