All About The Base - Back to the Run

Since last fall's Achilles debacle, my running has taken a back seat.  This week I've finally been able to put feet on the ground and work on that all important running base.

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.

PTP Strength Training - Getting Stronger While Building Running Capacity

The deadlift is my favorite lift.  It's also one that I really suck at.  Numerous attempts at video analysis, peers checking form, and trying every kind of deadlift routine I could google, beg, borrow and steal, left me with a lot of information, but none that crystallized quite like Pavel's PTP program.

It's ridiculously simple, and has zero bedazzlement.  If you're looking for muscle confusion, this is not your program.

The idea is that you work on two movements, a press and a pull, and you keep the number of sets and reps low.  Reover, Repeat.

This first cycle I set at 5 lbs of increase every workout with a 2.5lb deload every 4th workout.  It worked, but I think it might have been slightly aggressive as I was dealing with Achilles issues as well as a head cold that lasted for a couple weeks.

This next cycle will be set at 2.5lbs of increase and will keep the same deload pattern.  Hopefully this will be the right level to focus on building ligament, tendon and running strength.

For the press (not pictured in the video clip) I'll be switching to kettlebells for pressing and will work toward pressing the big bell.

The great thing about PTP is that it builds strength without the bulk.  As a runner, this appeals to me as I know lugging around extra weight is slightly detrimental to finishing some of these longer races.   It's not that I'm overly concerned with getting heavier, it's that I want to make sure that if I do, it's weight that has purpose, not necessarily aesthetics.  Although looking better never hurt anyone...

Elder Advice

Today was a fun Strong Sunday.  As a dad, getting to move weight and challenge oneself in a way that isn't just a 5k challenge or office weight loss contest is gratifying.

What was surprising was that an elderly man (late 50's to 60's) felt compelled to tell 3 guys moving weight in a driveway that they were essentially going to snap city with how we were lifting.

I wasn't rude, I asked as much as I could about his background, but English was his second language, and all he could get across was "spine.  not good for overhead back".

We continued lifting and he went on his own tour of the garage.  Then he left.

"What just happened?  Did we get visited by an aging Borat?"  asked by one of the guys lifting.

"Nah..." I said, "Just a guy trying to keep his neighborhood safe".

It is interesting though, perspectives on what will hurt you later on down the road.  Tattoos, lifting, and sunscreen all appear to be in the top three for what is most important in retrospect as you near the end of the road for life.

Let's get a couple things straight:  lifting is something that we're not doing enough of.  Most of us work in an office environment where lifting anything over 10lbs if unheard of.

We were designed to MOVE WEIGHT.  It's intrinsic to our biological programming to run, pull, push, hinge and squat.  We were not designed to SIT.

Get out, move and make yourself tired and sore.  It won't hurt you.  Well, at least not for now, and you'll feel better, your brain will work better and you won't be inclined to tell youngsters that they're going to snap city for doing shoulder presses...