Base mileage is one of those concepts I recently scoffed at... Until I got injured...
Like anything, when you are young and really driven by something, you embrace it, and you drink the Kool-Aid. Later, you start to figure a few things out, try another approach and discard what you started with. You might actually repeat this process a few times with different ideas.
Then, when you are older, you realize some of those things you threw away, were actually really valid ideas. That's where I am now.
No more quick-fixes. It's back to the time-tested approaches I used to train other people in. It's time to build in the base, AND... the recovery.
So it's on.
Like Donkey Kong.
So what is Base Building?
It's a simple concept really. If you are an endurance athlete, or even someone who is just beginning. Start slow, stay consistent, don't push it, and repeat many times for a period of about 8 to 12 weeks.
That's it. Consistency is king here. No need to progress, just get the time in. Think of it as practice.
Dan John's Easy Strength is one of those books that espouse the ideal that you should lift heavy, but not too heavy, and you stop when you do the work. How vague is that? Well not too vague really. It can apply to running as well.
Dr. Phil Maffetone, has a great book on Endurance Training and Racing. I'm using it at the moment and I shouldn't have left it. 180-minus your age. That's your heart rate upper limit value. It works.
- Low heart rate
- Show up
- Struggle every now and then
These are the keys to success. I've seen it happen and I'm wishing I wasn't so impatient to see results before. Thank-you Achilles injury :)
More on this as the weeks go on.
