How I trained through my running injury
For a little while, I kept running at a slower pace. Then I couldn't run at all.
The cool thing about being a triathlete is that you can train in three sports! So, I swam, I biked and I lifted weights.
I was swimming with a masters team 4 to 5 times a week for an hour and a half hitting 4000 to 5000 yrds a session. My technique didn't get any better but I managed to get used to the distance. I even completed two 5k open water swims with a decent time (for a non-swimmer) of 1hr30min. I also biked a lot. I was cycling for up to six hour rides clocking-in centuries or perhaps a little more than 100 miles, allowing my body to adapt to the volume at a comfortable pace.
It felt like the entire season last year was just a prolonged base period. Not bad at all. I was able to move and maintain and even extend a great aerobic base.
It took me a while to get over the fact I was not training at higher intensities at all.
I think that one of the hardest concepts for an athlete is to understand and implement the base training. It is counterintuitive to run or bike slowly in order to gain performance later in the season or, in my case, the following season. In general, the amount of base miles varies depending on the athlete's background but the amount doesn't matter as much. The pace is the crucial part; a little faster than recovery but slower than lactate-threshold pace or somewhere between 60 and 75 percent of max heart rate. These are comfortable, steady pace miles.
For a runner, these miles may account for about 85% of the training volume.
Physiologically, base miles are important because they boost aerobic conditioning, develop slow-twitch muscle fibers , increase blood volume and glycogen storage, strengthen connective tissue, and enhance the body's ability to burn fat (you can consult any decent exercise physiology book if you are interested more in it).
So, my last year's base miles accounted for a good past season and an even better future one.
The cool thing about being a triathlete is that you can train in three sports! So, I swam, I biked and I lifted weights.
It felt like the entire season last year was just a prolonged base period. Not bad at all. I was able to move and maintain and even extend a great aerobic base.
It took me a while to get over the fact I was not training at higher intensities at all.
I think that one of the hardest concepts for an athlete is to understand and implement the base training. It is counterintuitive to run or bike slowly in order to gain performance later in the season or, in my case, the following season. In general, the amount of base miles varies depending on the athlete's background but the amount doesn't matter as much. The pace is the crucial part; a little faster than recovery but slower than lactate-threshold pace or somewhere between 60 and 75 percent of max heart rate. These are comfortable, steady pace miles.For a runner, these miles may account for about 85% of the training volume.
Physiologically, base miles are important because they boost aerobic conditioning, develop slow-twitch muscle fibers , increase blood volume and glycogen storage, strengthen connective tissue, and enhance the body's ability to burn fat (you can consult any decent exercise physiology book if you are interested more in it).
So, my last year's base miles accounted for a good past season and an even better future one.
Go slow now; Get fast later.
Great article Loukia, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou are always welcome!
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