No, I am not a "druggie".  The title of this blog could not be further from the truth in that respect.

Now that I am running regularly, I am fondly re-living past experiences that were forever etched in my mind.  One of them is the concept of "LSD" that I learned in high school.

The "LSD" that I mention does not stand for the drug's technical name, Lysergic acid diethylamide.  It much more innocently refers to the concept of "Long, Slow Distance", as in running workouts.

Compared to having a mean track coach with a stopwatch hanging from his neck making you do quarter or half mile intervals for hours, going out for a Long, Slow Distance run is favored by high school runners.  Probably runners of all ages for that matter.  Sending his team out on a long, slow distance run is probably preferred by mean track coaches, too, so they get a chance to have a few smokes and call their bookie.

But enough about the wonderful people that positively influenced my young adult life.

One huge benefit of long, slow distance workouts is getting into a comfortable rhythm, and eventually feeling the endorphins kick in.  This achieves the "runner's high" you may have heard about.  

When properly trained, long runs become a part of your day, like brushing your teeth.  Every day.  Missing a day just doesn't feel right somehow.

I haven't felt this way for almost 30 years and I'm really liking it.  And no mean track coaches to deal with, either.