How long base training

And over time, you got to where you could endure longer and longer runs. And, you sort of liked the mental challenge of pushing yourself. This is exactly what the base phase of training is set up to do. It endures suffering. Base training helping speed training. You hear things like:.

I actually toured with Lydiard on his last tour of the US, so I got a chance to really get to know him and his training system. The base phase is different for each runner. A range was provided on Tuesday and Thursday so the runner could modify based on how he was feeling. Feeling good? Run longer. Not feeling good? Run shorter. These examples include running for athletes who train days per week.

This schedule would provide 4 days of required running, two optional run days and one day off from running. The entire system relies on doing the training you can do now and gradually yet steadily increasing it as your body adapts. As you can guess, I quickly got injured. When I told him my story of reading his book and thinking I had to do miles per week, Lydiard laughed and just shook his head. It simply takes your current training rhythm and gradually builds it either back to your previous training load for runners coming off of a break or to new training levels for athletes who are doing their second, third or fourth base training plan.

For some experienced runners, this is very easy to do. For others, it may take several training cycles to build up to this level. Let me state that again. Using the intermediate sample plan from earlier, the runner might use this weekly schedule during her first base plan:. But then the next time she did her base plan, she would advance the mid-week longer runs as well as the long runs to:. Just remember to build up over time, be patient and use commonsense.

After learning from Lydiard directly, speaking with athletes that trained under him as well as experimentation with my runners, I like to break the base training into two parts: the mileage base that was just highlighted in sample weeks and the workout base. The mileage base is the first part of base training. A couple of examples are a high school runner finishing her cross-country season or an adult runner who just finished his goal marathon.

Both athletes probably took some down time and are now ready to get back to training and the base is the first phase. The focus on this first part the first weeks of the base, the mileage base, is, as you guessed it, just on running mileage. For example, a runner who normally runs 40 miles per week but just took some time off after a big race, should not just jump back into running 40 miles the full training load.

It would be better to spend a few weeks building back to that training load. This keeps injuries at bay and allows the body and mind to rejuvenate before beginning another race-specific training phase.

Here is an example of how the athlete might build back up to 40 miles per week during the mileage base:. I have found the down week a life saver for runners and it has significantly lowered the injury rate in my runners. Another use of the base phase is an athlete who wants to increase her training load.

She can use the base phase as a time to experiment with the higher mileage without the added stress of hard workouts. For example, say our runner completed training cycles with a full training load of 40 miles per week and feels ready to build to a higher level maybe up to a maximum of 60 miles per week. A few weeks of the mileage base will allow her to gradually add volume to each week till she reaches 60 miles. She would then be well advised to gradually re-introduce faster running workout base, see below and closely monitor how her body feels.

Here is an example of how she might build from 40 miles per week to 60 miles per week in the mileage base. Note that because this is a new training load, I recommend a down week every 3 rd week instead of every 4 th just to make sure the body has time to adapt to the new training load.

Again, this is just an example but hopefully, you see the pattern. Start where you are now. Gradually increase and focus on the goals of the base phase. As always, be patient and listen to your body as you do the mileage base.

Heed the warning and slow the ramp of your mileage. Strides work to improve your fast running technique by teaching the legs to turn over quickly. This inhibits the nervous system and interferes with the neuromuscular adaptations that we want.

Not allowing for sufficient recovery after each stride is a common mistake. Take advantage of the longer recovery. It will allow you to put more effort into each stride which really helps develop your speed. As you might imagine, the pace for strides is very fast but please note that this is not all-out sprinting. Run fast but always stay under control and use excellent running form great chance to work on running fast with great form.

To perform, run fast for 10 to 25 seconds then jog easily for 30 seconds to a minute and a half before beginning the next one. Begin with four strides and build up to ten to And perform strides times per week in the workout base. NOTE: These are not heavy breathing workouts.

They are simply short accelerations that prepare the body for faster running. Stride Workout: 8 to 10 times 15 seconds starting at 5K and progressing down to Mile race effort with 1-minute recovery jog between. Sound familiar? The base is to help you get ready for faster workouts. I mentioned earlier about how base training putting in the mileage and long runs improves your aerobic efficiency but there is one workout that I use in the 2 nd phase of base training the workout base to really challenge this system.

A steady state run is a continuous run at between your and race pace — somewhere between half-marathon and mile race pace for most of us. In those events your limiting factors are your power at lactate threshold, your power at VO2 max, and how long you can maintain those intensity levels. All three can be improved with a lower volume hours a week and higher intensity program that includes a mixture of minute lactate threshold intervals and minute maximum-intensity intervals, along with some endurance and recovery rides, of course.

The science is well established that short, high-intensity intervals can increase mitochondrial density and sustainable power output in a fraction of the time it takes to do so with a high volume of low-intensity exercise. For instance, Helgerud showed that high-intensity efforts are more effective for improving power at VO2 max than moderate-intensity training Helgerud, Researchers like Burgomaster, Gibala, and other have shown that these same short, high-intensity intervals improve oxidation of fat and carbohydrate by mitochondria to a similar degree as traditional, lower-intensity endurance training, but in a fraction of the training time.

Practically what this means is that by working at the highest end of the intensity spectrum you can improve performance at all intensity levels below that, making it a very effective use of your limited training time.

Similarly, lactate threshold workouts improve power at threshold and improve power for endurance intensities, too.

This way there is a recovery or rest day before each interval day, which helps improve workout quality. Another way to plan your long-ish ride is by kilojoules. I recommend aiming for at least kilojoules at an endurance pace for this ride. Short blocks of long, back-to-back days on the bike are an important complement to that interval training.

Endurance blocks lasting anywhere from four days to two weeks are great for applying an effective stimulus to the aerobic system. A long weekend of four solid 4-plus-hour rides gets the job done and is easier to arrange with work and family than 8 weeks of higher-than-normal training volume. A weeklong training camp is a great option, too. My interval training will enable me to ride those ish miles at a higher average power output, which will bump up the training stimulus I get from the week, and lead to stronger intervals after a short recovery period.

While it is important to support your training with adequate energy intake, there may be some merit to seeing how you respond to manipulating carbohydrate CHO availability. You want high CHO availability for interval workouts, but you can get away with and may benefit from starting longer, moderate-intensity rides with low CHO availability. If you want to give it a try, do your Saturday interval workout later in the day with high CHO availability, then start your Sunday endurance ride with low CHO availability.

The most important takeaway is that pushing traditional base training as necessary is a disservice to the massive proportion of the cycling community that cannot fit the additional hours into their lifestyles. Burgomaster, Kirsten A. Hughes, George J. Heigenhauser, Suzanne N. But is the pursuit of long, slow winter miles out in the elements something all cyclists should be doing? Or is it best left to the pros of the WorldTour who can dedicate 20 hours a week to training?

We spoke to two cycling coaches to discover whether base training for cyclists is a myth or must-do. Base training describes the long, steady rides intended to build your aerobic fitness. Base training also provides the foundation on which to build your form through the rest of the season. The clue is in the name — if you consider your fitness as a pyramid, base training provides a solid endurance base, while your top-end form, typically developed through short, sharp interval training sessions, is represented by the peak of the pyramid.

Completing a phase of low-intensity endurance training prepares the body for more intense work to come, adds Matt Bottrill of Matt Bottrill Performance Coaching , allowing you to sustainably build towards a higher peak of form.

Base training rides should involve riding steady in zone two. If you train with a power meter, zone two is 56 to 75 per cent of your Functional Threshold Power ; if you train with a heart rate monitor , zone two is 65 to 75 per cent of your maximum heart rate.

Base training has three main benefits: to improve your aerobic efficiency, to improve your ability to use fat as a fuel source, and to provide a solid foundation of fitness on which to build your form. Put simply, this will enable you to ride faster before becoming fatigued. Base training has other benefits beyond your effort-to-output ratio. When riding at a low-to-moderate intensity, the body is using its aerobic energy system, with fat as the primary fuel source.