Executing the Perfect LSD for the Injury Prone Runner

Based on yesterdays effort one is inclined to believe that something finally clicked and after five years of running I've come to understand how a proper LSD should be run. Why did it take so friggin' long?! (And more importantly, will it ever be repeated?)

For years I've heard and read about the genius behind and necessity for the LSD (Long Slow Distance), but never actually internalized the essence of those three words. All three are up to ones interpretation, and mine typically was fine with the "L" and the "D", but the "S" was always a problem. No matter what I did I always felt "Slow", so what was the problem? Why was I bouncing from one injury to another? I was following mileage buildup plans, following the 10% rule, making sure to not heal strike, paying close attention to my cadence, blah blah blah. Still, my ego would not allow me to actually do an LSD the way it was meant to be done.

I had a mental block, clearly.

But, yesterday something clicked. I decided to check my ego at the door and focus only on my heart rate as THE most important metric for the long run of the week. Dozens of times I went out with this same intention, mind you, and I never succeeded to this extent. Sure, there were runs in the past where I ran on heart rate alone, but these were typically of the mid-week, lower mileage variety and, therefore, not as important to the ego.

My goal was to stay under 150bpm NO MATTER WHAT THE PACE!!! (That was key, and I used something I read in the Galloway training method to keep me on track: "Resist the temptation to speed up to just get the run over with once it starts to get tough.")

Here are the splits, of which I am proud NOT because of the pace (which is craptastically slow), but because of the Average Heart rate for each one, and the Max Heart Rate as well. Every time I noticed my HR creeping above 150bpm I forced myself to slow down and bring it back into my target zone. Even when I was being passed by other runners, I was not goaded into a fake race for pride. Amazing! Perhaps I'm actually maturing? Anyway, onto the splits:

I took 30s walk breaks every 9m30s to reinforce that as well. And even on the uphill portion at the end of the run I did not let my pace dictate my run, as I have done every other time. Although embarrassed by the speed, I am convinced that this is the way. The first 12km were a joke: so easy I thought I could do this all day. But, to my surprise, it DID get tough! So I DID get a workout, and now, the Monday morning after, I don't feel like my legs are shredded, as I did after a 15km run I did earlier this month in which I ran too fast and didn't care about my heart rate. Missed the point then. Learned the reasons behind the LSD now.

Lastly, what is up with my HR monitor in those first two kilometres! According to the max readings I should have been dead. Clearly, something is wonky in the machinery and, for once, it's not my ankle that's the culprit.