Build That Base
Death Valley National Park, April 2019
Just because many things have stopped moving in the current times, doesn’t mean that we should stop moving too. In fact, there’s never been a better time to GET moving! Before COVID-19 came to town, I had started a return to run plan after an injury. I am still on my training plan and working on building my base mileage back up after injury. If you are new to running, are coming back from an injury like me at the moment, or are coming out of a tough training cycle, this is a great time to work on building our running base! My athletes hear me talk about building the base quite often, so this week’s post is dedicated to some info on Base Training.
What does base training consist of?
Base building involves running at easy pace. Easy pace is also known as conversational pace, or a pace you could theoretically sustain for quite awhile. As we run at easy pace, we should be able to hold a conversation, sing a song, say a nursery rhyme. In other words, there should be no huffing and puffing.
I would love to talk to you about building your base, especially if you are new to the sport!
What is the goal of base training?
There are several goals of base training, including building aerobic efficiency and improving endurance. Lots of physiological changes take place during this period of time, as the body adapts and improves ability to take in and utilize oxygen. In other words, the more energy a runner can produce from the aerobic energy systems, the faster the runner can race. So by building one’s aerobic efficiency with a proper base, we are setting ourselves up for future higher performance.
How long does base building take?
Base building is typically a period of 6 to 12 weeks, depending on level of fitness and running experience. For those new to the sport, most base building programs are a minimum of 12 weeks.
A great reference I refer to frequently for writing training plans, is the Daniels’ Running Formula, by Jack Daniels, PhD. For those new to running, or for those who used to run but have not run in quite some time, he recommends a 16 week starting plan.
I’d encourage us to focus on what we CAN do right now, and we CAN build our base.
