Technology to Improve your Running: Long - Slow Distance

Runners are using a wide array of technology to track their every step.  In addition to time, portable/wearable technologies are tracking location, heart rate, and plenty of other metrics from your body.  Turning those numbers into actionable feedback is not trivial.  My goal with these articles is to analyze some of my own running to give you some tools so that you can critique your own performances.

My focus today is on the workout most runners (new and old) focus on the most: the long-slow distance (LSD).  The purpose of this run is to build your endurance via a long workout at an easy pace.  This strengthens your cardio and skeletal systems, increases fat burn, and improves your body's energy efficiency (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_slow_distance).

The most helpful metric to establish at the start is your heart-rate training zones.

A few other articles on heart-rate training zones:
https://www.runnersworld.com/beginner/a20812270/should-i-do-heart-rate-training/
https://www.polar.com/blog/heart-rate-monitoring-sweet-spot-exercise-intensity/

To take the basic formula, a 40 year-old runner has a theoretical maximum heart rate (MHR) of 180.  Please note that depending on personal fitness and a variety of other factors, this number can easily vary +/- 12 BPM.  The best way to determine your maximum heart rate is to actually perform a live test.

This article gives a field test you can do to determine your MHR:
https://www.polar.com/blog/calculate-maximum-heart-rate-running/

MHR = 220 - AgeInYears = 180

Zone 1: 90-108 (50-60% MHR)
Zone 2: 108-126 (60-70% MHR)
Zone 3: 126-144 (70-80% MHR)
Zone 4: 144-162 (80-90% MHR)
Zone 5: 162-180 (90-100% MHR)

So, how do you use this information to critique your own training?

For a LSD run, you should be aiming for a heart rate between 65 to 70% of maximum (so starting in Zones 2 and maybe creeping into Zone 3).  These runs are slow and steady, so you should aim for a consistent heart rate/effort.  This is a good time to remember that lots of things will influence your heart rate.  Your fitness, weather, terrain, as well as how hard you are pushing yourself will all impact your heart rate.

Before I started watching my heart rate, it was difficult for me to tell the difference between a run where I was running fast because I was pushing myself too hard vs. actually relaxing into the effort I should have been running at.

This is one of my own LSD runs:
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/4801139085

Knowing my body, I aim for a average HR of about 150 on LSD runs.  I did a really good job of keeping my heart rate down for the first half of this run.  There are a handful of peaks early on (around 0.5, 1.5, and 2.4 miles) which all correspond to hill climbs.

The back-half of the run is a bit more haggard.  Unfortunately, this didn't surprise me to see afterwards.  I failed to actually map this route before I laced up.  The plan had been to run about 6 miles and I ended up closer to 8.  By the time I was 4 miles in, this was becoming apparent.  This stressed me out, lost form to some degree, and probably pushed myself harder than I should have.

What I did well:

• Initial pacing.  HR increased over hills, which was expected, but I let it come back down.
• Pace felt manageable (if a bit too fast)

What can I do better:

• Verify my routes in advance.  
• To mitigate that problem, I could have stopped running early.  As it was, I ended up pushing myself harder to be home in the time frame I had given my family.
• Relax.  I tightened up and ran faster in the back half.
• Overall, I pushed too hard this run.  I shouldn't have that much Zone 4 running.

Something to remember is that every workout has a purpose (otherwise, why bother doing it?).