Building your Base

You might have heard elite runners talking about building a base in the winter training months and have wondered what they were talking about.

Base training serves as the foundation for what is to come later in the year. Much like building a foundation for a house, base training serves to provide the runner with a strong foundation to not only help train harder in the spring and summer months, but also will helps to make the runner stronger for the long slog through the summer.

Base training typically can include long slow runs and weight training. The base gets built up over the course of weeks, in terms of miles, no more than 10 percent increase each week until a maximum miles is reached. Periodic rest weeks can and should be taken to avoid becoming stale and the training can become boring. In fact, many good runners will also through in some light speed and streghtening work such as hill sprints to break up the training.

Base training is important for everyone, but is especially important for those who plan to run in half or full marathon. You will need to build your base before thinking about tackling the high mile weeks that will come later.

If you have any questions on training and building your base, please let me know through this blog and I will be happy to respond.

Cross Training For Runners

Reminder, this Saturday May 30, 2009 starting at 7:45, Speedy Sneakers will host an informative talk titled "Cross Training For Runners."

Mindy Gargasz and Erica Mullins, two Orthopedic Physical Therapists will give the talk and gear it specifically to women runners and walkers.

If you have any questions, you can contact us through our website, at www.speedysneakers.com

Injury Prevention

As older walkers and runners, injury prevention becomes of paramount importance. Why? Since we do not heal as well as our younger counterparts, coming back from an injury takes longer causing us to have to make the slow progression to full recovery just that bit longer. This can be a frustrating process that calls for patience.

So what do you need to keep in mind to try an avoid injuries? Since we are all different, and the situations we place ourselves in can cause an injury in one of us, while the other remains injury free.

I think the best thing to keep in mind is a few commonly known tips.

1. Always warm-up well before a workout.
2. Always cool down thoroughly after a workout.
3. Keep a good balance between hard, moderate and easy workouts.
4. Rotate worn equipment. If your shoes have done the miles, change them out. A good rule of thumb is to have two pairs and rotate them each day.
5. Take a rest once in a while; it will do the body a lot of good.