Falcon Distance Running

Winter/Spring Base Training

Dear Falcon Runner,

I hope you are all looking forward to the spring track season. You have picked an awesome sport and a great event area: endurance events. In all of our distance events, the 800 meters to the 3200 meters, a solid aerobic base of off-season mileage in necessary. If you want to reach your personal potential, putting in the miles before the season starts is the proven way to accomplish this. Hardly ever do you hear people say, “ I am glad that I never reached my potential,” or, “ Man, I hate being fast.” That being said, the greatest aspect of distance running is that to be a pretty good runner, it really doesn’t take much time out of your day. If you can devote 30-60 minutes each day, four or five days per week to running, you will be well on your way to running your best. For some of you girls, this is probably equal to the amount of time you spend each day fixing your hair and makeup for school.

Building an endurance base is not nearly as hard as it may sound. Base training mainly consists of putting in miles at a comfortable pace. The exercise scientists have shown us that these miles don’t even need to be “hard” to get the desired benefits that we are looking for during this stage of training. I have found that the hardest part of this training is simply getting out the door, especially on some of the winter days we have around here. The training itself isn’t intense and is even pretty enjoyable.

All of you have the talent to do really well. If you can combine your natural ability with commitment to the right training, you will see some awesome results. Whether you are an 800 meter runner or a two miler, true success starts with a foundation of aerobic (easy paced) running.

Good luck with your training and I know you will have a great track season.

Coach Coy

What is Base Training?

Base training is the easiest part of training to define. It consists of improving aerobic endurance through daily mileage. There are mainly two types of running that you will need to do during this period. They are: easy runs of 20-70 minutes, and one time each week, a threshold run. In addition to these runs, strides will be added to some of your runs each week.

TRAINING DEFINITIONS

Easy Runs: These are runs lasting in duration of 20-70 minutes or about 2.5-8 miles. General training runs, or easy paced runs are the backbone of a distance runner’s training. These runs help develop your aerobic energy system, which is responsible for most of the work inside our bodies when running an 800, 1600 or 3200 race.

Scientific Reasons Why: These runs allow your muscles to accept more oxygen by increasing capillary density which lets more blood get to the running muscles. These runs also increase the mitochondria count in our muscles so that more energy can take place. Your joints and tendon strength improves=less injuries. These runs also condition your muscles to store more fuels like carbohydrates, which we can use when running. Finally our entire cardiovascular system becomes more efficient at transporting blood to the running muscles.

Threshold Runs: Sometimes called tempo runs, this type of training consists of hard bouts of running that are usually around 20 minutes in duration. These runs shift our lactate threshold to a higher level, which means we can run farther and faster before lactic acid takes over inside our legs and you feel the burn. The pace of these runs is slower than 4k or 5k race pace, but faster than your general training runs. I like to call it a pace somewhere between “in trouble” and “in control.”

Scientific Reasons Why: Fast twitch muscle fibers will become more “endurance” like. Your heart will pump more blood with each stroke, thus lowering the amount of beats per minute. Capillary density will increase so that we will be able to use more oxygen in our running muscles. Finally, blood volume will increase, meaning more red blood cells to carry more oxygen molecules which is going to let us produce more energy.

Strides: Strides are for speed development and teach good running form, especially for late in the race. Since strides will only be 30-150 meters in length and durations lasting less than 30 seconds very little lactic acid builds up, so they are really not a hard workout in themselves, but an addition to an easy run. It’s important to focus on good running mechanics, “knees up, toes up” and a quick stride rate or leg turnover. These will be run at 80-90 % of top speed, but not 100%. A “walk back to start” recovery is a good idea with strides.

Scientific Reasons Why: Since little lactic acid is produced when doing short strides, we can do them year-round without compromising our endurance training. Strides are part of what is called neuromuscular training, which trains the muscles and brain to send electrical impulses quicker and quicker so that your legs will ultimately move faster.

0-5 miles

Ave./Wk

30 miles

Average/Week

Final Marks:

3200: 13:10

1600: 6:15

800: 2:40

Final marks:

3200: 12:00

1600: 5:20

800: 2:25

Which one would you rather be?

Training Plan:

***Remember to keep track of all of your miles to qualify for the Mile Club T-Shirts***

November:

Break from cross country for a couple of weeks then…..Transition back into activity. Don’t just watch re-runs of Saved by the Bell and play XBOX. Take walks, play sports, workout, go for a run a few times each week. The miles you run In November will count for the Mile Club T-Shirts, so keep track of any running you do.

December:

3-5 Easy paced runs per week. Run at a pace at which you could carry on a conversation at. Try to run at least 20-45 minutes per run, but keep all of your runs at an enjoyable pace. Try to find someone you can run with, it will make it all the more enjoyable. Keep track of these miles on your running log forms.

January: To be announced. You will receive additional information at a later date.

YOU GET OUT WHAT YOU PUT IN!

Hicham El Guerrouj after winning the 1500 meters

at the 2004 Olympics.