When people build up a base do they only do easy running?

greenarrow wrote:

I'm so confused about this I just want a solid answer because I want to build up for track now that I took time off from xc.

Here's your solid answer: it depends.

You can do some harder running during base, but it's possible to screw it up and end up peaking at the beginning of the season. Lacking a coach, as you said you were in your other thread, your best bet is to run mostly easy mileage as I suggested, with a bit of faster running and a bit of speedwork.

Now quit fretting and go for a run.

You could try doing Summer of Malmo (use Google)--just call it Winter of Malmo instead. The principles should be the same.

BTW some people will talk about Lydiard's buildup phase being only easy running. Absolutely false: he advocated a mix, including a day of fartlek every week.

As a predominantly 800m runner, my winter base phase is looking like mostly easy mileage with some basic speed work. I'm planning on weekly long runs, a tempo a week, and one day where I follow up my normal run with some hill sprints. For a long-distance type, the hills might not be necessary. As an above poster said, it depends on your goals and your specialty.

greenarrow wrote:

I'm so confused about this I just want a solid answer because I want to build up for track now that I took time off from xc.

Initially yes. Once you start getting fit, "easy" will end up being fairly fast. Don't force yourself to run slow if you feel good...that's just silly.

Lydiard was also quoted as saying my guys never ran easy.

Much of the runs were at least steady state. Then he had negative split runs which are like progression runs.

I forget which book said it, but he once said that in addition to the training schedules, the athletes could "jog" for a short period of time to aid recovery. To me, I read that as his training schedules were not the actual mileage his runners actually did and that his training schedules weren't easy distance runs.

That said, even a modern base phase has tempo runs, long runs, progression runs, and steady runs. And there is some type of pace work, even if it is minimal. What is avoided is long intervals at mile or 5k pace, especially with short recovery.

In my opinion there should at least be a year-round basic speed, short sprints (on hills also) workout. If you do nothing more than easy running, you will end up being slower and slower, and ultimately injured when you start the faster work. Your high-end aerobic capacity will drop also.

But if you are building your mileage up, you should cut the faster running a bit, that comes naturally if you just listen your body. In the first month(s) of the base phase, you can drop the VO2max-type workouts, and do the workouts between lactate threshold-10k pace. Not forgetting short sprints, strides etc.

I personally once did 3 months of only easy running and the coordination, sprints etc. work, building up to 190k a week, and after that added the other workouts. Managed to pb @ 5k and 800m in the summer, so it didn´t harm too much.

U.N.O. wrote:

Managed to pb @ 5k and 800m in the summer, so it didn´t harm too much.

I forgot the 400m, lowered my pb from 53,7 to 53,01 also. And I had 6 harder training years behind me at that point (26years old). As long as you do the sprints your top speed/anaerobic capacity won´t drop too much. But have to remember that I was only a hobbyjogger (the 800 went 1,58,4, 5k 15,43, latter my pb still).

My base phase training consist of easy runs with strides. On "workout" days, i.e. Tue and Fri, I cut down to tempo pace on the last mile. I skip the strides on LR days but keep the surge.