Base Run Index

I have looked into my training log from 2005 and found I was running 40-44 mi/wk before the Bolder Boulder 10K that I took 4th place in my age group. I ran a 17.5 mi long run and the next weekend I ran 18. The next week I came down with a bad chest cold. I ultimately ran 6 mi base just before the race. So now I am basing my training plan around the base distance. This week I started 4.5 mi and intend to continue it for 4 weeks or after the Frederick 5K Mar 17. Then I will kick it up to 5 mi for the Earth Day 5K 4 weeks later. I plan on going to 5.5 mi for the next 4 weeks before the Bolder Boulder 10K. 5 mi is a good distance because the long run is 15 mi, a very convenient distance for me and it gives a weekly mileage of 45 mi. Base x 9 = weekly mileage. 45 mi was the training level where researchers in Boston found no heart irregularities in runner's completing the Boston Marathon. I may just stick with 5 mi after Earth Day.

First 800 Intervals of 2007

I ran 4x800 intervals this morning and I sucked. My average heart rate was 133. I can forget about going to 40 mi per week until I can get that average up to 145. I just went through the motions today seeing as how it was my first 800 repeats in 9-12 months. Now I'm worried I'm going to slack off on Thursday's 2 mi threshold run. That should have an average heart rate of 137. The poor showing today means I'm going to have to stay at 4 mi for at least another week, but probably another 3 weeks until the Frederick 5K on Mar 17. I now plan on going to 4.5 mi/day afterwards.

Increasing Mileage

I have to increase my weekly miles from 36 to 40 for the next step up in stress. On the surface it's about a 12% increase. But it's not that simple. You see, I was doing hill repeats 2 mi from my house. My base run was 3 and 3.5 mi. To get to 40 mi per week I have to have a base run of 4.5 mi, a 150% increase in my daily run. I base my interval, threshold and long runs on the base run. The number of .5 mi intervals is (BR-2)/.5 because I take 1.5 mi to warm up and a .5 mi cool down. The threshold run is BR-2 at 135-145 b/min heart rate. Long is 3 x BR. Next week I run a base 4.0 mi, 4x.5 mi intervals, 2 mi threshold, and 12 mi long for a total of 36 mi.

USATF Cross Country Championships

I ran the 2007 USATF Cross Country Championship with a time of 41:11 for 8K. This was on Flatirons Golf Course in Boulder CO. It was too tough for the limited amount of race training I had and I slowed down somewhere between miles 3 and 4. But it was a glorious day and I had fun. I'll take the next week off from hard training. I'll start training again on Monday Feb 19.

USATF XC this Saturday

The USATF XC Championship is this Saturday at Flatirons Golf Course. I only have 3 weeks of 65% level training in so I do not expect to do well. Plus 5 mi on frozen grass could be very tough. So once again, my objective is to have fun and not get hurt. It's going to be 4 x 2Km laps. There is a slight chance of snow and temperatures are expected to be a few degrees above freezing. But this XC race is getting me ready to do some serious running. I just found a 4 mi race Mar 24 and I can train at about 83% for all of March. Then I go to 92% for 3 weeks before the Earth Day 5K. Then it's 4 weeks of 100% for the Bolder Boulder 10K.