Building Your Base Endurance - Part 2
Following on from my previous post on Building Your Base Endurance the following two run sessions are designed to give you some inspiration on how to make your base-run training through the winter both enjoyable and effective. If you can manage to cover an increasing volume of steady mileage during the winter you’ll see vast improvements next year.
The Acceleration Run
Despite not being a pure endurance session, the acceleration run does fit nicely into an endurance base programme. As the name suggests you start at a very easy pace and get faster as the run goes on. Obviously the magnitude of acceleration over a given distance determines the exact benefits you get.
In the base phase of training, a subtle acceleration over a long distance is the most beneficial. Basically it varies the level of stress on the body and also provides a very tough workout mentally, as you have to work your hardest when fatigue is setting in at the end of the run. It also just starts to knock on the door of anaerobic-type training that follows the base phase, aiding this transition later on.
Ideally it will be about 40 – 50% of the distance of your long run at that time. The pace will go from very comfortable aerobic pace to a borderline anaerobic pace in the last few minutes. You also really need to measure your pace, either with a marked route, GPS watch or on a treadmill to ensure quality of the set.
Over the weeks and months the pace should naturally increase at all stages of this run as your body becomes more efficient. Repeating the same course is therefore a good idea so you can monitor improvements from time to time.
The Run Week
Leading on from twice a day running sessions, occasionally it can be a good idea for a triathlete to take a break from a balanced programme of swim, bike and run and focus on one sport for a brief period. This can be mentally appealing as well as providing the type of overload needed for real breakthroughs in performance. In running terms this might mean setting a target for a week of mileage that exceeds anything you’ve ever achieved in the past. This would be perfectly compatible with a plan to increase base endurance in the winter.
Set the target high, but don’t go mad. Ideally the total amount of running should be more than you’ve done in a week but not double. Plan on keeping the intensity relatively low as the volume overload will place more than enough stress on the body.
As with an individual long run, a healthy amount of off-road miles will keep injuries at bay. Ideally retain one swim and one bike session during the week just to keep those muscle groups awake.
Make sure that the ‘run week’ comes after a period of gently increasing mileage. Legs that haven’t been pounding the streets for a long while won’t respond well to being thrown in at the deep end.
Finally make sure that you listen to your body and if injury niggles start to appear, back off.
Happy training!!
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Tags: Triathlon Training - Run
