first off, let me start by saying that i would post this in the other thread about insoles for minimalistic plates because i think there is a direct correlation between
high mileage, energy return, impact injuries, and first and foremost muscular breakdown. some of you may disagree with my philosophy of base season, but bare with me, as i have the rootings of personal physiological experience with the effects of base work in MY track career.
all of this is obviously affects every runner differently and at different rates depending on that particular individuals physiological statistics (height, weight, etc..)
but there is huge reasoning for the extended ammount of base work that is done over the winter time aka base period.
i want to start by giving my broad definition of the term \"base period\". i believe that the track/winter base period should be used primarily for improvising the things that runner needs most for the upcoming track season.
HE SHOULD NOT BE DOING MILEAGE.
this is one of the reasons that i have zero tolerance nowadays for aggressive plates and the impact injuries that they cause, ALTHOUGH EVEN IF I HAD A HECKOFA CORE BUILT OVER THE BASE, THAT WOULD ONLY REDUCE IMPACT INJURIES, AND WOULD NOT PROVIDE ANY MORE ENERGY RETURN. obviously the ammount of strength work that you do/did in the off/base season would not change the physical components of a hard plate or how your body reacts to it.
this thread is not about plates, save that argument for the other thread. it is about what is to be done in the base and competition season for you maximum potential when you ARE running in the correct plate, whatever be you philosophy. minimalist, maximalist, some correlation of inbetween.
base mileage is overrated and detrimental to your performance. it causes muscular breakdown and ruins the strength that you need to run tall and smooth. it basically destroys all of the fat from your body, while eliminating all of the muscle. i understand and agree with the slow build up of blood molecules and enhancing aerobic capacity over time, but a 20 minute recovery run will do that with out burning off all of your needed muscle. i also understand about running economy and form; well my friend, that is what high-knees/butt-kicks/and toe raises are for. it has all of the same physiological benefits with out causing near as much muscular depletion due to high mileage. you must realize, we are only racing 1 or 2 miles on the track, that means out race is 4.5 minutes and under 10:00 (for me). the farthest we ever need to run during base phase OR competition phase is 20 minutes. thats quadruple and double the time it takes us to race the distance we are training for.
the base mileage that is sometimes stressed for us to complete is for people who are OUT OF SHAPE. if you are coming off of xc season, you are already in shape and needs to start immediately with speed. this is where you base begins. speed and core strengthening drills are all that is needed to be done in the offseason, along with high-knees and buttkicks for mechanical improvisions whenever possible.
i started my season in january with intervals such as 5x600 and 3x1000. my only problem is that i was doing wayyy to much recovery mileage. since then, i have ran tapperred back to 20 minutes a day and feel FAR more energized. i have been wondering for the last 2 months why i have feel so drained, now i know why. its the high mileage. the 20 minute recovery days have left me feeling just like the good ole\' days when i set my pr in gym class. back then i did what felt right and always had a ton of energy. i didnt run 6 mile recovery runs on a hilly surface because thats what i had read on the internet. im glad i feel like i did back in the good ole\' days when i was a novice runner. i finally have achieved the good ole\' adolescent energy COMBINED with my present day mentallity. i feel great.
i only hope that i can continue to build back my base that was lost from all of that offseason mileage, add some strength, and peak weekly; because i think that burnout is a mental achievment and not physiological.
my goals are to prolong my base/core strength that was lost in the offseason, wear the correct plate for maximum competitiveness (it will take a couple more runs to break in the rubber plate, the rain should help with molding to my pediatric specifications) AND ABOVE ALL, I WANT TO CONTINUE TO REALIZE THAT I AM NOWHERE NEAR MY MENTAL OR PHYSICAL PEAK.
for those of you who are running track next year, dont make the same mileage/muscular breakdown mistakes that i did. get alot of core strength and realize.....
high mileage = no no for track.