Base training:
Introduction:A popular training method is to break up the year into a number of training periods (periodisation). In most of these type of programmes, the first period will be called the base training period. When you base train, you attempt to build a base of aerobic fitness that can be later supplemented by speed work. Imagine it like putting lemon juice on a piece of fish. On its own, lemon juice is horrible, no-one drinks it on its own. Fish on the other hand can be pretty tasty on its own. However, when you put the lemon juice on the fish, the combination makes the meal taste far better. In this analogy, the fish is the base training period and the lemon is the speed work. If you try and do speedwork before you've done the requisite base training, your performance will be dismal. Likewise, if you only do base training, but no speedwork, your performance will be ok, but not as good as if you supplement it with speedwork. If you get the combination right, you're almost certainly guaranteed a PB.
What is base training?When many people think of base training, they immediately have an image of Arthur Lydiard. Lydiard popularised a system of training that involved a base training period of no less than three months, which consisted of running at least 100mpw. However, many of Lydiard's original ideas have been skewed. For instance, LSD, which formed the main part of his philosophy, is often explained as Long Slow Distance. In truth, Lydiard's philosophy can be better explained as Long Steady Distance. His athletes would run for long distances, however, they would not be running at a slow pace. Instead, they would run at steady state, a speed, which was just right - not too fast and not too slow. If you are breathing heavily while you are running, then you are going too fast and likewise, if you finish not feeling tired at all, then you are going too slow. The faster you run during training, the faster your body will adapt to the training, which results in faster race times sooner. However, if you run too fast, you put yourself at risk of injury, which is why a balance must be found. You will always benefit from running, no matter how slow, but an injury can end your racing season and even your career.
What does a weekly schedule look like?Many people think that to train the lydiard way, you have to run 100mpw, but this is not true. Lydiard himself has admitted that 100mpw is simply a round number. The more LSD mileage you do, the better your race times will be (but too much mileage for your level of fitness can result in overuse injuries, so again, balance is important), but you can still race well after doing a Base Training period composed of 60 mpw weeks. The crucial elements of Lydiard's system are one LSD run every day; striders; a tempo run every week; and a long run every week. I've already mentioned what LSD involves, but the other three terms might be unfamiliar to you.
What are striders?Lydiard placed a strong emphasis on basic speed, which he defined as how fast an athlete could run 200m. He claimed to have brought down one of his athlete's marathon PB by 12 minutes, simply by working on his sprinting speed. He accomplished this in a number of ways, of which striders have the most importance in the base training phase. Basically, a strider involves gradually accelerating to close to full speed and then holding that pace for perhaps 5 seconds. These efforts aren't long enough to really stress your anaerobic system, so they won't undermine your aerobic fitness. They will, however, maintain and even improve your basic speed. This is really important for racing, in particular for your finishing kick and for surges. In addition, doing striders can make you a more efficient runner, because it forces you to improve your form. It is easy to run with an inefficient form when you're running slowly, but when you're running at close to maximum speed, you need to eke out every performance enhancement you can.
What are tempo runs?A tempo run is a workout designed to improve your Lactate Threshold (LT). Basically, you warm up for a couple of kms and then run just below your LT for around 20 minutes. The exact pace is difficult to quantify. If you're going by effort, the pace should not feel difficult to hold until towards the end of the workout and at the end, you should still have enough energy to perform a cooldown run immediately afterwards. A heart rate monitor can provide a more exact means of determining how fast to go. If you run at between 85-95% of your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR), you'll be pretty close to hitting your LT. Another method is to go by race times: McMillan's running calculator provides a good way to find out how fast you should be running in training and what your equivalent performance in another distance would be. Running faster than LT pace serves no benefit - it will not increase your LT any faster than running at the correct pace, and it increases your risk of injury.
What are long runs?The long run is perhaps the most important workout of the week. Running for long periods of time has many benefits. For instance, it encourages the spread of capillaries across your body, which serve a vital purpose in transporting oxygen to your muscles and hence allow you to run fast. Your long run should be between 25-33% of your total weekly mileage. For example, if you're running 50mpw, your long run would be between 12.5 and 16.5 miles. Running towards the higher end of the range brings more benefits, but also increases the injury risk, so if in doubt, go for 25%.
A way to make the long run even more effective is to turn it into a progression run. What you do is break your long run into 4 parts of equal distance. For the first part, you run at a slower pace than you normally would. For the second part, you ramp up the speed slightly. By the fourth part, you're going a lot faster than what you did at the start, but it will not be a very fast pace because you will be tired from all the distance you have behind you. It is a very good workout because it forces you to keep pushing while you're tired, which is basically the essence of negative splitting. If you can learn to negatively split your long runs, then there's no reason why you can't do so in races too. So by making your long run a progression run, you make the run more interesting; get the benefits associated with a long run; and improve your race tactics.
How long should the base training period last?
More than 3 months is an optimal length for the base training phase, however, this is tricky at a high school level because there are up to 3 different seasons every year. The longer you do it for, the more benefits there are, but it can get a bit boring to only do base training for months or even years at a time.
Sample schedule:Here's an example of how you could fit all the workouts into one week. I deliberately left the distances off so that you can customise it for your own situation.
Monday: Rest day: Recovery run (a bit slower and shorter than your LSD runs) or Cross train (ride a bike, go for a swim, etc.)
Tuesday: Easy run w/ striders
Wednesday: Warmup, Tempo run, Cool down
Thursday: Rest day: Recovery run or Cross train
Friday: Easy run w/ striders
Saturday: Easy run w/ striders
Sunday: Long run
More tips:1. Write a schedule so you know what you're doing every week. It's a great motivator when you know you have to run a certain amount every day. However, the schedule is not your god. If you're feeling ****, then feel free to change it. Don't change it if you're feeling good though - you'll end up racing your workouts or doing too much too soon, which is not good.
2. Take a cutback week once per month. Reduce your mileage by 50% and take it easy. This is your chance to let all the cuts, bruises and micro muscle tears to heal. It might be frustrating to do so because you feel like you're not progressing as fast as you could, but taking a rest week allows you to rest and recuperate. Rest IS your god in running.
3. See if you can round up a few of your mates to run with you a couple of times a week. If they won't do that, try getting them to ride their bike along side you. Being able to talk to someone helps to dull the pain and makes training fun. Just make sure they're willing to run at your pace, not slower or faster.
4. Like Jeff said, don't increase your mileage/time by more than 10% per week. This falls under the "too much too soon" basket and leads to injury if you flout it.
More information:Here are some links about Lydiard:
* URL=http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=96495]A discussion about Lydiard's philosophy as well as Jack Daniels'[/URL]
*
An article about training the Lydiard way[/URL" target="_blank">
* A lecture from the man himself[/URL" target="_blank">
* The Lydiard foundation[/URL" target="_blank">
http://This message has been edited by bruncle (edited Jul-07-2007).
