Base Phase Training - to double or not to double? and other thoughts...

Don't double. It's overrated.

Every once in a while, sure, but for the most part you want to only be doing 7-9 runs a week. WITH STRIDERS!

dfasfasf wrote:

Don't double. It's overrated.

Every once in a while, sure, but for the most part you want to only be doing 7-9 runs a week. WITH STRIDERS!

Huuuuwhat?!?

Don't listen to this guy. Doubling got me from a 26:00 8k to a 24:15 8k in one year.

DOUBLE.

You're more likely to get injured doing singles, but that doesn't mean you will. Are singles better than doubles? This is very debatable, but you do get benefits from both approaches..the main idea is to put in the mileage. One thing you will most likely gain with singles is mental strength. Don't underestimate the value of a strong will.

For those who say doubles get your legs looser, you can do the same with singles by taking the first few miles at an easy pace and slowly picking it up as your legs warm up.

good luck!

Winter approaching... wrote:

with winter approaching and my fall season over, time for me to gear up for spring with a base phase of training. I think im going to do something similar to this:

M - 5 am, 7 pm

T - 11

W - 5 am, 7 pm

Th - 10-12 with tempo

F - 5 am, 7 pm

S - 8

Su - 18

This gives me 85 for the week. every 4th week i'll cut back to 70 (simply cut out 5 miler morning runs) and skip the tempo for a recovery week.

How does this look? Would you structure it differently? Is there another thread that has sample base phase schedules?

Ditch the long run. Run doubles most days. Don't plan out exactly what you're going to do. Mornings should be 4-8ish depending on how you feel. Afternoons should be longer.

Go by feel, not by a set schedule.

great info so far.. i'm definitely going to include striders as well.

Surprise! wrote:

Ditch the long run. Run doubles most days. Don't plan out exactly what you're going to do. Mornings should be 4-8ish depending on how you feel. Afternoons should be longer.

Go by feel, not by a set schedule.

Malmo, is that you? If not, that is exactly what he would say.

I kind of agree with him, whether its malmo or not. This schedule is not do or die written in stone, just something i'll follow as a guideline.

I like the long runs, enjoy marathon training... why no long runs?

I would suggest more intensity. One tempo a week isn't enough.

The best middle distance runners include weightlifting, 3-5 tempos a week and hills for their base phase. At least throw in some strides.

What are you training for?

OldXCguy wrote:

Malmo, is that you? If not, that is exactly what he would say.

There are more people with common sense than just me.

What type of races are you going to run in spring and when are they?

Only double if you want to get faster. I don't agree with everything Malmo says, but I think he's right on the money with this one. If you plan on doing longer races in the spring time, (HM or marathon), then keep that long run in there. Otherwise...it's probably less important.

I always run pretty slow in the mornings (30s-min slower than afternoon easy runs) but I really don't think that matters. I think morning runs are a good time for simple form drills and lunges if it's nice outside. Good luck!

malmo wrote:

OldXCguy wrote:

Malmo, is that you? If not, that is exactly what he would say.

There are more people with common sense than just me.

When I first started competing I was the guy who had a year planned out in advance. I sweated all the small details. Then I went to running camp and Grete Waitz told us to run doubles. She said, "6 miles in the morning for me is a warm-up." This was astonishing to me because I had no idea how much people ran. 6 miles was a good distance run for me at the time. Her 9 NYC marathon victories seemed more impressive than my 15th place at a duel-meet, so I started running doubles.

Doing the mileage payed dividends when I PR'd in the 1600m around the hallways of a school indoors by 15 seconds. Granted that might not be the most accurate of race routes, but when I got on a real track I shaved another 15 seconds off.

There were setbacks along the way and not everything was rosey. However, I never would've come close to my PR's without doubles.

Winter approaching... wrote:

I like the long runs, enjoy marathon training... why no long runs?

Ok, if you like them do them. Just don't do them at the expense of total volume.

I'm training for 10k's on the track late march and early april. and probably a 10 miler in early May to cap the season off.

more tempos! more doubles! more hills! more sprints!

what does everyone else's upcoming winter base phase (if applicable) look like??

bump

also, at what HR (% of max) do you do your base phase at? mix it up?

I rather double on my hard days and making my easy days REAL easy. With a hard-easy approach like that your schedule will look like this:

M - 7

T - 11 am, 5 pm

W - 7

Th - 10-12 with tempo, 5 pm

F - 7

S - 8 am, 5 pm

Su - 18

As your harder days gets harder and your easy days gets easier your body will be stressed more but at the same time allowed to rest more.

More stress + More recovery = Better performance

I may consider that.. thanks.

I'm also trying to make the transition from primary run in the evening to primary run in the morning. What helps? I usually dread morning runs....