Building a solid base for a season

My brief article made it to the RFL newsletter last month - http://runnersforlife.com/page/building-a-solid-base-for-a-season
(Ps: it does have a national circulation, ok)

Allow me to begin with a story told by The Wall in many of his inspiring talks. Rahul Dravid says he likes to liken his formative years to that of a Chinese bamboo. I quote “You can take a Chinese bamboo seed and plant it in the ground, water and nurture that for an entire year. You will not see any sprout. In fact you will not see a sprout for 5 years. But suddenly a tiny shoot will spring from the ground. Over the next 6 weeks the plant can grow as tall as 90 feet. It can grow as fast as 39 inches every 24 hours. You can literally watch the plant grow. What was the plant doing in those 5 years, seemingly dormant? It was growing its roots. For 5 full years, it was preparing itself for rapid massive growth, With its roots structure, the plant could simply support itself for future growth. Some say that the plant grew 90 feet in 6 weeks. I would say it grew 90 feet in 5 years and 6 weeks.”

Wait, I don’t mean you go dormant for the next 5 years, nor that you will take 5 years and 6 weeks to get to see results. But, even if it does take 5 years to build a base to what could be just 6 weeks of sheer brilliant running, then, it’s still worth it, isn’t it.

In reality, base building is not that hard, I find this phase the most enjoyable and most important before taking on stringent goals for the season. If you are a first time runner, give yourself a very gradual ramp up of mileage. You should begin by using the 2-1 or 4-1 run-walk pattern, where you run for 2min and walk for 1 minute. Ensure that you are able to hold a conversation (or run-versation as we call it in BHUKMP) during your running. Give yourself a week or two (of 3-4days of running) before you increase the running breaks or reduce the walking breaks.

For more experienced runners, while you are doing some weekly base mileage, it’s easy to get complacent. But do not compromise on 4-6weeks of easy paced runs. Get your weekly mileage up gradually, without any particular focus on pace. Use this time to focus on your running form, scouting for possible courses in your neighborhood for your tempo runs and intervals. It’s time for you to try out that new gear, shorts and skirts. Go shopping, find deals online to deck up for the season.

Easy runs are a good time to socialize with other runners. I love to explore the trails in the countryside running with the Hash house harriers during this phase. Setting up trails (or haring as it’s called at the Hash) is an excellent time-on-feet training.

Start planning your race calendar for the season and your training plan to get yourself prepared mentally as well.

At the end of the base building, you must be ready to set your goals for the season. Pick a race where you can do a time-trail to determine your current level of fitness and set goals accordingly.

To sustain injury free running for a long long time, building a strong base is a vital first step.

If you are still not motivated enough to make that investment, remember the bumboo, I mean… the Chinese Bamboo.