Base Training

April 14, 2019

The concept of a base or an introductory training phase is simple…run easy and build volume, but the application is slightly more nuanced. The concept of a large base phase was a keystone of Lydiard-style training prevalent in the late 1950s and 1960s. Most coaches would agree that the pace of running during this phase is not strenuous (although Lydiard encouraged faster-paced efforts to increase aerobic threshold), and always aerobic (which uses oxygen to fuel muscle contractions versus anaerobic which relies on non-oxygen fueled reactions), and that the volume of training should gradually increase during the training cycle. Down, or lesser-volume, weeks should be used to buffer the gradual trend of an increase in volume, aid in recovery, and promote an adaption to a new training load. For a runner who is training for a race longer than a 10K, this phase of the training cycle is the longest of the training progression because of the slower adaptations to training made by the cardiothoracic systems (relative to speed and muscle development). Since relatively slow-paced runs take longer, they require the repeated inhalation of oxygen, the repetitive pumping of the heart, and the uninterrupted flow of blood from the lungs to the heart and from the heart to the muscles. All of these actions aid in capillary development and improved blood flow. Increased capillary development aids both in delivering more blood to muscles and in the removal of waste products from muscles and other tissue that could impede the proper functioning of the muscles. A training program that ignores or diminishes the importance of the base training component ignores the tenets of exercise science. Without an extensive reliance on easy aerobic running, any performance-enhancement training program is destined for long-term failure. A common question is how long the base period should last. This seemingly simple question does not have a simple answer, but the best reply is that the base period needs to last as long as the athlete needs to develop good running fitness and musculoskeletal strength based on his or her subjective interpretation of how easy the daily runs feel, but not so long that the athlete becomes bored or unmotivated. A good guideline for experienced runners who are training for races longer than 10K is six to eight weeks. Experienced runners training for 10K races or shorter distances need four to six weeks. For beginning runners, the base period takes longer, even making up the bulk of their first four to six months of running. (Excerpt from Running Anatomy 2nd edition, Human Kinetics 2018).