May 12, 2015

It's All About that Base...(Training)

Base training.

It's been one month since the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler and I've run a grand total of three times since then.

Oops.

I'm ok with it though. I'm in shape and I'm still a month out from when I need to start training for Chicago. Since I haven't been running too steadily though, I'm going to spend the next month building up a strong base that will hopefully get me to a strong start  my training cycle.

Base training is a way to get in shape for marathon (or half!) training when you aren't fully prepared to tackle that first week of training. While I'm still working out the details of my training plan, I know that I need to focus on three key things in order to have a successful start to training.


1. Building up weekly mileage.
I'll start my training with somewhere around 20 miles per week, gradually building up to about 50. Given that I ran 6 miles last week, I have some work to do to get to that number. I'll have plenty of time during my training cycle to build up my long run distance so for now, I'll be focusing on building up my weekly mileage...by slowly adding more runs to my weekly training.

2. Focus on core/glute/hip strength.
We all know that core, glute and hip strength are the root causes of most running injuries, including mine. I'll be adding my PT exercises to my training on my off days in order to build that strength and have a strong start to my training.

3. Aim for consistent paces.
While base training isn't about getting faster or trying to nail race pace, since I've started running again, my pacing has been all over the place. There are days when 11:30/mile feels fast and other days were sub-9 feels easy. As of right now, I'm not looking to race Chicago, but that very well may change. I'm going to focus on running consistent paces and finding what feels comfortable so that when it comes time to incorporate speed work, I have an idea of what pace I'm actually pushing.

So, that's what I'm looking at. I'm not tying myself to any strict base training plan because I think that being on a training plan for 6 months straight would drive even my type A self bananas but I will be updating regularly on how things are going. Once June rolls around and the training plan gets taped to the refrigerator, you can expect the full play by play of how training is going each and every week until October!

Wish me luck!
Have you ever base trained for a race?

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