Base Running Drills : The Foundation of Your RunningUnless you are a sprinter, base running drills should be the core of your running program. Compare it with a house: Without a strong foundation, the walls will start to crumble sooner or later until, eventually, the house breaks down. Running speed without a strong underlying foundation? Then it will not take long before you are out of breath and eventually, have to slow down or stop. That's why you will read in every running book, on every running website and forum advice like: What is Base Running ?
Base running is running slower than tempo speed. You are not or hardly building up any lactic acid in your running muscles. It's all about running easy, the pace at which you'd be able to have a conversation, or even slower running. It's almost completely aerobic running. Why exactly should I do base running ?Well, with every heart beat your heart pumps blood through your body. This blood contains oxygen, which is necessary for the muscles to function. When you are base running you train your heart, so that it will pump more blood through your body with every beat. So, more exercise = stronger heart = more blood through your body = more oxygen delivered to your muscles And, as science found out, the great thing about base running drills is that they will do many good things for the running muscles as well. Easy, slow enough running helps your muscles to : So, basically : Base running = good for you ! And if you don't want to take my word for it, listen to Lorraine Moller, winner of the bronze medal in the 1992 Olympics marathon in Barcelona! Different Base Running DrillsBase Running Drill #1 : Long Slow Run I, like most runners, do a weekly long slow run on the weekends. Depending on where I am at in my running program this is a run in between 90 minutes and roughly three hours. Speed is markedly lower than easy running. If you go by heart beat, you'd be running in Zone 1, about 50 beats lower than your maximum heart rate. Base Running Drill #2 : Easy Running This is the pace at which you could maintain a conversation. In heart rate monitor training you'd be going at about 40 beast lower than maximum heart rate. Base Running Drill #3 : Recovery Running When your legs are tired from a hard workout the previous day, or earlier that day, it is good to still go out and log some miles. Running a bit has been proven to help against muscle soreness and you add another few miles to your weekly total. Speed is far less important than just going out there and put yourself through a few slow miles. Also note that cross-training is a good way to recover from a hard day of running. Base Running Drill #4 : Steady State Running Funnily enough you don't see many running websites or running books nowadays which mention steady state running. It is a pace in between easy and tempo running. About 35 heart beats slower than your maximum heart rate. Close to half marathon pace / marathon pace for many runners. I strongly believe that as a runner you should try to cover all running speeds in your training. Each speed delivers its' own benefits. Steady state running should be part of your running program. I hope this explanation about base running has made it clear to you why base running is so important and how you do your base running drills. Another important element of your running program should be tempo running. In fact, you can run personal records for years to come based on the base running drills described above and tempo running alone! Yes, really! Of course, there is a place for interval running in a complete overall running program, but the importance of both base and tempo running should not be underestimated! Subscribe to the Best Running Tips Newsletter or my site blog. Go from Base Running Drills Page to Running Training Page Go from Base Running Drills Page to Best Running Tips Homepage Running Training Questions: Ask Your Running Training Questions | Running Training Q&A Summary | Running Workouts: Base Running | Tempo Running | Interval Running | Fartlek / Speed Play | Goal Pace Running | Special Workout: Billat's 4 x 5 | Special Workout: Yasso 800 | Running Workouts | Hill Running Tips and Workouts | Running Programs: Heart Rate Monitor Running Programs | 10K Running Program | Half Marathon Running Program | Running Technique: Running Cadence | Running Strides | Running Technique | Pose Running Technique | Barefoot Running | Other: Running Stretches | Cross Country Running Tips | Cross Training for Runners | How to Improve YOUR Running | Increasing Mileage Safely | Periodization | Five Basic Running Tips | Tips on Running Races | Speed Training | Running Journal / Running Log | Cross Country Running | Running Records Like this page: |
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