Long Slow Day (LSD)

I am sure many of you would have heard the term LSD or Long Slow Day by now as a runner.  LSD is a very important training tool for every runner who wants to improve their overall running.  It teaches your body to burn fats and conserve glycogen for the long runs like a half marathon, marathon and beyond.  It also trains the endurance of your body, and allows you to run further with less likelihood of suffering cramps.

One of the important factors about the LSD is the easy pace at which the runner runs at during training.  However, easy pace is very relative, and easy pace for you may be hard for someone else who isn't a faster runner than you.  So everyone has a different 'easy' pace and to get the fullest benefits from your LSD runs, you need to be running at your own LSD pace.  The easiest way to find that pace is that you are still able to engage in a conversation during your run, that is roughly your LSD pace.  A professional coach can also calculate the exact pace for you, and can also monitor your progress to tweak your pace as you improve.

So how far should you run to consider it an LSD? Generally, it depends what race you are training for.  10k runners do not need to do LSD, but half marathoners and marathoners do.  One of the most important thing about doing LSD is the slow and gradual build up of distance throughout the weeks to avoid injury.  Normally, the LSD is done on weekends as most of us have work on weekdays and have more time during the weekends. 

For those whose maximum distance is 10k and wishes to train to run a half marathon, build up your weekly LSD distance 15% per week up to a maximum of 32km, then scale down to 21k and slowly build it up again.  The maximum LSD distance for someone training for a marathon is also the same, ie 32km. 

And always remember, when you are doing longer than 1 hour LSD, always prepare enough water, and energy gel for longer than 2 hours LSD.