Bigger Base, Higher Peak
When you watch something being built from scratch – a kid making a house out of lego blocks, a carpenter building a bookshelf or a skyscraper being constructed. Everything has to be built up from the base and that base needs to be strong, if not it will all come crumbling down very quickly. The same is said for running, without a solid base you can expect limited results, as your body may not be capable of handling the physical training you are putting it through.
Establishing a good training base is “the most crucial” component in taking steps towards achieving peak personal performance in running. The intensity and volume of training that you do at the start will determine how well you will be able to tolerate and benefit from the harder/faster training that you closer to your goal event.
Some benefits of time spent base training.
Basic fitness
Progressively conditioning your body to be able to handle more training.
• Reduces risk of injury
• Promotes better tolerance to training (increase in training volume)
• Improves recovery rate
Fuel efficiency
Improves your body’s ability to utilize fat for fuel by training at a lower intensity.
• Reduces body fat to make you leaner
• Promotes better carbohydrate conservation during exercise
• Improves recovery rate
Lactate clearance
Improving your body’s ability to clear and buffer lactic acid accumulation.
• Reduces onset of acidosis (impedes muscle function)
• Promotes better clearance at low and moderate intensity exercise
• Improves recovery rate
Technique
Developing good running form (posture, gait, cadence and breathing)
• Reduces risk of injury
• Promotes better running efficiency by reducing wastage of energy
• Improves overall running experience
The late Arthur Lydiard was fabled for his 100 miles per week base training volume for a minimum of 6 months. This was regarded as ridiculous at the time, but now studies are proving this training principle to be extremely effective. If you make it a point to invest time to work on base training, you can expect a lot more from yourself in time to come.