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I hesitate to say this as I did not get a huge response on my survey regarding
LSD. However, what results I did get confirmed my suspicions: though
virtually everybody uses what they describe as "long, slow distance" in their
training programs, there is very little agreement about exactly what that
means.
The easy facts:
95% of respondents say that they use LSD.
80% use a HRM in some way, and others who don't wish they could or are
planning to in the near future.
There was no correlation between region and any of the other information,
therefore "what region are you in" was not a meaningful question.
There was also no correlation between weight division and any of the other
information, therefore "what weight division are you" was not a meaningful
question.
The not so easy observations:
I am not going to provide statistical percentages about the other questions
that I asked, because I didn't ask the questions in such a way as to get
answers that could meaningfully be put into statistical categories. This was,
by no means a scientific study so. . . here goes. . .
Quite a few of the people who use LSD described a training program that was
the same as the ones described by the people who did not use LSD (i.e. the
only difference between their training programs was their decision to describe
what they did as LSD).
The only agreement I got among the people who use LSD was the reason for doing
so: everybody agreed that the purpose of LSD is to "put a base" on the horse.
However, the protocols used to achieve this varied not only between riders,
but also between horses for the same rider.
What do you mean by slow?
-------------------------
The general concensus was 6- 8 mph.
However, the variation in descriptions I got ranged from "walk, walk, walk" to
"in some instances 15-20 mph depending on the horse." (This is a BIG
variation!!)
Many of you determined slow by means of heart rate (140-160 bpm if you used a
number, or "submaximal" if you didn't) rather than by speed.
Many people said that "slow" depended on the condition of the horse: for a
horse that was already conditioned, "slow" was much faster than for one that
was not in condition. (This sort of contradicts the idea that LSD is for
"putting a base" on the horse, since a horse that is already conditioned,
presumably, already has a base on it.)
How long is long?
-----------------
The variation here was even greater. Anywhere from 5 miles to "a 50 mile
endurance ride" (discounting the person who said "2-4 hrs" for "long" and "at
sometimes 15-20 mph" for "slow." That would equate to 30-80 miles!!).
Most people defined long in terms of hours rather than miles, and most people
considered 2-4 hours to be long.
Other correlations
------------------
There was a definite correlation between "How slow [or fast] is slow?" and
"What is the longest ride you have completed?" and "What are you competition
goals?" People who go faster/longer define slow as faster and long as longer.
Those that ride to "take the whole time" or "finish in the middle of the pack"
defined slow as much slower than those who ride to "top ten" or "finish
first."
This is also true for "How long have you been riding endurance?" but less so
Conclusions (if I may be so bold)
---------------------------------
The only agreement I could get among the respondents is that the purpose of
LSD is "basic training" and the definition is "submaximal effort over long
periods of time" The definition of submaximal varied from horse to horse
depending on the condition/experience of the horse; the definiton of long
periods of time varied from rider to rider depending on the competition goals
of the rider.
These are broad generalizations, but they confirmed my suspicions that we have
a tendency to carry on about the importance of "long, slow distance" and bandy
about the term without really giving it an agreed upon meaning with regards to
an actual training protocol. And it is important that we be aware, when
talking about training programs, to understand that not everybody means the
same thing when they say "LSD, LSD, LSD."
Hope this helps.
kat
Orange County, Calif.
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