Calculate your LSD (Long Slow Distance)
There are several different tables out there, you may have heard of a few of them like Jack Daniels’ or the McMillan or Runner’s World online pace calculators, and they are all based in part on science and in part on the collective coaching and running experience of the coaches who put these resources together. These tables are useful for determining proper training pace and appropriate race goals. We can also use these tables to tune what times you should be running during track workouts in order to improve your fitness. Here’s an example:
Name 10k time LSD 400m 800m 1km 1200m 1 mile MP
Q. Cassidy 51:49 10:12 1:45 3:40 4:44 5:41 7:54 9:17
Saturday Quenton ran a 51:49 10k. Plugging his time into these tables we can find out that at his current fitness level he should be running about a 9:12/mile pace for his Saturday long runs (LSD). If he went to track and the workout was repeats of 1 km, he would shoot for a time of around 4:44 for each one. And, if he were to run a marathon tomorrow, we might reasonably project that he could do so at a 9:17 pace.
Even though these tables can be useful as a guide, they come with a couple of caveats… The larger the difference between the test race and the goal race, the poorer the prediction. You can see this in Quenton’s projected marathon pace (MP) based on his 10k performance. In fact, as you probably noticed, it’s even a bit slower than the LSD pace he should be running on Saturday. If he had run a ½ marathon instead of a 10k, the projected times would be different and Quenton would have a slightly better idea of what time he might be capable of running in the marathon. Another is that these times are NOT set in stone. As the season progresses and your fitness improves, these times will change. This table is only meant as a guide. If at any time you feel like the times projected from your race are too fast or too slow, please don’t hesitate to talk to a coach and we will help you make the appropriate adjustments.
| 10K Time | 400m | 800m | 1000m | 1200m | 1 mile | Long Slow Distance Training Pace | Tempo Pace | Current Projected Marathon Pace |
| 40:50-42:30 | 1:30 – 1:35 | 3:15 – 3:20 | 4:05 – 4:15 | 4:55 – 5:10 | 7:00 -7:10 | 8:00 – 8:30 | 7:00 – 7:15 | 8:00 – 8:15 |
| 44:10-46:40 | 1:40 – 1:45 | 3:25 – 3:35 | 4:25 – 4:40 | 5:16 – 5:40 | 7:20 – 7:45 | 8:30 – 9:00 | 7:45 – 8:00 | 8:37 – 9:00 |
| 46:40-48:20 | 1:45 – 1:50 | 3:40 – 3:45 | 4:40 – 4:50 | 5:35 – 5:50 | 7:50 – 8:10 | 9:00 – 9:30 | 8:10 -8:30 | 9:10 – 9:30 |
| 48:20-50:50 | 1:50 – 1:55 | 3:50 – 4:00 | 4:50 – 5:05 | 5:55 – 6:10 | 8:05 – 8:30 | 9:30 – 10:00 | 8:30 – 9:00 | 9:40 – 10:10 |
| 50:50-53:20 | 1:55 – 2:00 | 4:00 – 4:10 | 5:05 – 5:20 | 6:10 – 6:25 | 8:30 – 9:00 | 10:00 – 10:30 | 9:00 – 9:20 | 10:07 – 10:39 |
| 53:20-55:00 | 2:00 – 2:05 | 4:10 – 4:20 | 5:20 – 5:30 | 6:20 – 6:40 | 9:00 – 9:10 | 10:30 – 11:00 | 9:30 – 9:50 | 9:20 – 9:45 |
| 55:00-58:20 | 2:05 – 2:10 | 4:20 – 4:30 | 5:30 – 5:50 | 6:40 – 7:00 | 9:20 – 9:45 | 11:00 – 11:30 | 10:00 – 10:15 | 9:50 – 10:15 |
| 58:20-1:00:00 | 2:15 – 2:20 | 4:35 – 4:45 | 5:45 – 6:00 | 7:00 – 7:15 | 9:15 – 9:40 | 11:30 – 12:00 | 10:30 – 10:45 | 10:14 -ish |
| 1:00:00-1:07:30 | 2:15 – 2:30 | 4:45 – 5:15 | 6:00 – 6:45 | 7:20 – 8:10 | 10:00 – 11:20 | 12:00 – 13:00 | 11:00 – 12:30 | 12:15 – 14:00 |