Base Running Drills - Essential Training for Every Runner
Base running drills should be the absolute foundation of your running program.
Unless you do 100 - 400 metre sprints, the majority of your running races are aerobic.
This means that you rely on your stamina predominantly.
Of course, speed is important as well.
But a lot of speed without a lot of stamina is not going to get you far. If you are very fast, but can only cover 2k, then being in a 5k or 10k race, you will run out of steam quickly.
This is why every book and website that hands out running advice will stress the importance of building up a running base first. You see it worded in different ways, but it is all the same:
"Building up your base is the first step to running."
"Base comes first, speed comes second."
"If you have time for nothing else, get in your base running."
"When you start running, the first four years will be comprised of building up your base."
etc.
Understanding Base Running
Base running is essentially aerobic running. It should feel leisurely and you should be able to have a conversation with a running mate without gasping for breath. The pace is much slower than tempo speed and you are building up very little lactic acid in your muscles, if any at all.
Importance of Base Running
With every beat of your heart you are sending blood out to all of your organs and limbs. The heart is responsible for delivering oxygen to your muscles and the blood contains that vital oxygen.
Base training is essential because it trains your heart to do this job more efficiently. With proper base training your heart will deliver more blood with each beat which means more oxygen to your muscles.
Simply put:
More Exercise = Stronger Heart = More Blood Delivered = More Oxygen for Muscles
Besides training the heart, scientific studies have found many muscular benefits to performing base running drills, including:
Increase the units effectively processing oxygen.
More efficient fat burning.
Oxygen is processed and received more efficiently.
Lactic acid is easier to work with.
In so many ways, base running is great for your body!
Effective Base Running Drills
Base Running Drill #1: The Long, Slow Run
Just like most serious runners, I go out for a longer run at a slow pace once a week. Sometimes this can be a 90 minute run, but it could be as much as three hours depending upon where I am with my running training.
The speed for these runs will be less intense than for an easy run, something like 50 beats lower than my maximum heart rate. If you go by heart beat, it should put you in zone 1.
Base Running Drill #2: The Easy Run
This is a leisurely speed where you could easily talk to someone running along beside you. It should be about 40 beats less than maximum heart rate.
Base Running Drill #3: The Recovery Run
If you are feeling sore or worn out in the legs from an intense workout, you don't have to take a rest day and ditch running completely. You can still get some miles logged, but you should focus more on just getting a few miles in regardless of speed.
You can actually reduce muscle soreness if you do this rather than taking a day off completely. An alternative to this is cross training.
Base Running Drill #4: The Steady State Run
You won't find steady state running discussed at length in running related books or websites today, but I consider it a pretty important part of the running program.
The pace falls just between an easy run and tempo pace with your heart rate resting about 35 beats lower than maximumcapacity. For many runners, this will fall close to the pace you would run for a half marathon.
I hope I have convinced you that base running is the most important part of your running program.
It is my strong conviction that all runners should try to incorporate runs at all of the speeds described above into their training program.
Every type of running workout offers different benefits when consistently practiced.
Do all of these base running drills consistently and you will improve your running. Period.
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