It’s 92 days since I broke my foot and today I ran my first long run since then. Only 75 minutes and 500m shy of 10 miles hardly seems a long run, but to my legs it felt long. This is crucial as the Long Steady Run (or LSD) has profound effects on my run fitness. Running long distances at an easy, steady pace develops my efficiency and stamina allowing me to run faster (funnily enough), and it’s a workout I can do every week unlike track intervals.
The last 5km felt like the last 5km of any long run: tired and a little sore, particularly around my left ankle. The broken bone itself felt fine. I see from my watch’s data that my even pacing has survived, running 38:16 out and 38:16 back. Slow but steady, the aim of the run. My average heart rate was only a couple of beats per minute higher coming back than going out, suggesting my aerobic run fitness is actually better than I thought.
It was also great to be back out on the Millennium Coastal Path around the Llanelli coastline. Beautiful views and whatever the weather it’s always a great start to the weekend (other people think it’s great too).
Each week I’ll build up the length of my long run slowly, until eventually I might get back to where I was.
