It's All About That Base

No, I will not be writing about Meghan Trainor's 2014 hit song. I'm writing about why it's important to develop a strong running base. What's the point? Why can't I just train for a race? Why do I need a strong base before I incorporate speed training, hills, etc into my training plan?

Ultimately, there are several theories regarding training, but I'm here to explain how to train smarter, using a theory from one of running's greats-Arthur Lydiard.

Arthur Lydiard was a runner, as well as, a coach and is considered by many as the "All Time Best Running Coach." His history includes achieving a twelfth place title in the 1950 British Empire Games Marathon as well as coaching several athletes, during his career, to the Olympic podium.

If you have some time, I highly recommend reading more on Arthur Lydiard. But for now, here is an overview on his running beliefs:

Lydiard believed in the below philosophy (broken down into a pyramid):

He believed that you need to start with a good running base before you incorporate other training methods into your plan. As shown in the pyramid, the bottom represents aerobic conditioning, or a running base. He breaks this down into a 3-6 month period.

During this phase of aerobic conditioning, you should be taking these runs easy. And by easy, I mean at a conversation pace, which is 65-70% of your max heart rate.

Your body will go through three major changes during this phase:

1. Your body will increase its oxidative enzyme activity-basically, oxygen will be processed at a quicker rate.

2. Your muscles will become more efficient due to capillaries becoming more active to distribute blood.

3. Your mitochondrial density will increase, resulting in more ATP...more energy! Remember hearing this phrase during science class..."Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell!"?

After completing a base phase, the next phase includes working on distance. Start incorporating long runs into your plan and build upon these to prepare for your next race.

After this phase, it goes to hill, interval, and speed training and then to a taper period before race day!

Building a strong base will help you easily transition into the next phases of the pyramid. You will not only be able to handle the increased stress of the workouts but you will be able to complete them quite well.

I also believe that by going through this base phase, it will give you the confidence to crush the rest of the training plan. Running is not only a physical sport sometimes...it can definitely be a mental game.

Maybe you have already completed an aerobic conditioning phase? If so, remember what those easy, conversation pace runs can still do for you-increased oxidative enzyme activity, increased muscle efficiency, and increased mitochondrial density. Many call such runs, "junk miles" but really, they are quite important for your body.

If you haven't already, start building a base...you won't regret it!

Now, go make those miles matter!

Coach Sarah