LSD Running

I'd recommend to take a look at some of the HIM plans out there and see how they build through the training periods. You can sort of structure your training around the way the plan you choose is set up.

Because you are 9 months out, then I would just work on slowly increasing your mileage following that sort of pattern. The more you run, the easier the time/distance that you are currently working with will be, and you will naturally feel like you can increase the mileage. The "10% rule" is more of a guideline than anything else, it is not written in stone.

When I did my marathon training, for the three months leading up to the actual "program" that I used, I folowed the daily patterns of the plan without actually structuring it so rigidly with set mileage and/or time to run each day. When I finally started the 18 weeks I felt I had a good solid base to work from and the first few weeks of the plan were "easy" to do.

Just wondering if you could provide some more background:

What is run background (base, longest run, estimated LT, etc)?

How do you feel at the end of your 60' run?

Shane

base right now is very little-basically i'm building base now (did tris over the summer but injured in august and was off till november).

LT is 180.

i feel totally fine at the end of a LSD run. my legs are typically "achy" (like the way you feel when you stand on your legs all day) as opposed to "sore". but i am not winded or anything. typically feel fairly fresh the next day

longest run this fall is what i am at now-60 minutes. longest run last summer was about 2 hours, maybe 2:10

Based on that it sounds like you built a significant base last season and should be good to start building your long runs - however, I would be very cognizant of the injury especially if it has bothered you at all since you have gotten back to training.

Unless you are going to start on a 1/2IM plan right now, you might want to find one that works for you and work on building your base to the point that the first week or two looks easy - that way you should be pretty comfortable throughout the plan.

Work on gradually adding time/distance to your long runs.  Ignore the actual pace and focus on your HR...stay in Z1/Z2.  The pace will increase as a product of a stronger base and more efficient aerobic conditioning.  I wouldn't be so strict as to increase 10% per week...just add a bit of time on a fairly regular basis and once in a while (every 3-4 weeks) drop back a bit for a mini recovery period.  It would be great if you could focus on nothing but base work for the next 3 months.  If you skimp on base work now you can't make up for it this summer.  While it may be tough to hold back for several months I guarantee it will pay off later.