Base and Endurance
Patience is the key word of the day. You will hear me say this word quite often through these training pages. Patience is what I believe, takes to become efficient in any sport. It is a common fact that it takes an athlete 7-10 years to reach his or her full potential in any sport. It is for this reason that I encourage athletes to start slow and increase mileage by no more than 10% per week. The most common way I see many athletes' train is by working on speed first. These athletes do see results quickly however those results fade quickly as well. Instead, think of your training as building a pyramid. Base and Endurance make up the bottom layer followed by Power and Strength, and Speed makes up the top. The longer and bigger your base the higher your pyramid can be and the faster you will become.

Dave Norona, profesional adventure racer

Many athletes believe they are training easy however, the only way to effectively measure your intensity is by a heart rate monitor. A monitor will help slow you down so that you can save your hard efforts for intervals later in the season and more importantly races. I had many questions regarding building a base last year. Many athletes who started in January wanted to start interval training in March because they had spent two months going easy. Although they had spent a good portion building a base I think March is too early to start intervals. Again, this is the impatience many athletes have because they measure results too often with times. Building a base should continue until May no matter when you started. Think of it this way. The more time you spend going easy, the more efficient you become and the faster you will become at all levels. Below is an example:

Runner A: Starts off Running 45 minutes 4 times a week at a hard effort. At first Runner A struggles to feel good and is tired much of the time. However over the month Runner A starts to feel better and better. This encourages him to go harder and longer. Sometimes feeling flat but sometimes feeling awesome. By March Runner A is doing intervals and leading his local running group. All things look great however by May Runner A is suffering from a sore foot. Now the doctor says to take time off. Runner A is now bummed at all his hard work that is now going down the drain. Two weeks off and he feels he must make up the lost time. He comes back to fast and suffers a nagging foot injury for the rest of the summer. Sound familiar?

Runner B: Starts Running in January with 20 minutes three times a week. This person runs 6 minutes per kilometer, which is roughly 3 1/3rd kilometers per run. Each run is done at an easy heart rate of 135 beats per minute. By March this person is running 5 minutes per kilometer at the same heart rate and doing it for 45 minutes.* If this person keeps training this way their times will always improve. This means that if they hold back until May to supplement hill workouts then they will have had a better base and faster times at a low heart rate which will lead to faster times at higher heart rate. They will have also put in more time building efficiency and will spend less time injured than runner.

I have seen the Runner A philosophy all too often. This is why I try to teach athletes to be patient and look at the big picture. It is important during your training that you don't compare yourself to others. They may have started before you or they may not be following the same plan as you. You can only control what you do and if you are seeing constant improvements whether big or small then keep at it. Below I have devised two methods for you to find out your maximum heart rate and your training zones.

Choose a hill of three minutes or more in duration. Do a 15 minute warm-up then start up the hill. The first minute should be moderate. The second minute should be race pace and the final minute should be all out. At the end of three minutes check your monitor for your maximum heart rate. It is important to use a monitor for an accurate reading.rnThe second way to figure out your maximum is by subtracting your age from 220. Then minus 5 if you have been sick more than 2 times this past year. This will give you your approximate maximum heart rate. I train in three heart rate levels. Level 1-Fat Burning or Healthy Heart 60-70% of maximum, Level 2-Anaerobic Threshold Zone 80-90% of maximum and Red Line or Race Pace.

Example: Dave Noronar Maximum Heart Rate: Running 198 beats/min
Endurance Base 130-150 beats/min
Anaerobic Threshold 80-90% 160-170 beats/min
Race Pace All Out

There is no doubt that you will find it a challenge to go this slow. However if you stick to this plan you will find your times increase at the same heart rate. I take 2-3 months of easy training without doing any speed work at all. It is during this period where my body learns how to be efficient. It is hard at first because I have to walk or ride very slow on the up hills. However, three weeks later I am pumped to run faster up the same hills at the same heart rate. This really shows that my body is getting more efficient and faster at the same heart rate. I test myself once every two weeks by going to the track and running in my fat burning zone for three miles. My times should always improve even if it is only by a few seconds. The moment I am slower, I take some days off because it means I am tired or I may be over training. It is a great test and I do it throughout my season. The track is best because the variables are usually the same.

Remember the bigger your foundation is the higher your pyramid can go.
Two Base Building Workouts are:

Running Three Times a Week: Start 1 hour 30 minutes/week-to-4 hours10min/week
Monday- 30 minutes Flat Road or Trail. Increase by 10 minutes every second week. In three months you will be up to 1 hour 20 minutes.
Wednesday- 20 minutes On road or flat trails. This run never increases.
Saturday- 40 minutes Increase by 10% per week for three months at which time you are up to a 2 1/2 hour run

Running Four Times a Week: Start 1 hour 40 minutes/week-to-4 hours/week
Monday - 20 minutes. Increasing 10 minutes every second week. In three months 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Tuesday - 20 minutes. Never increases.
Thursday - 30 minutes Never increases
Saturday - 30 minutes adding 10% per week. In 3 months 2 hours

Multi-Sport athlete David Norona has seen a lot of the world...and eaten its dust, gotten its dirt under his fingernails and its water in his lungs. In the past 13 years the 34 year-old from North Vancouver has cycled, run, kayaked, in-line skated, and cross-country skied throughout Greenland, Alaska, China, Africa, Europe, New Zealand and North and South America.

Visit his website: www.Davenorona.com
© 2005 Dave Norona, Used with permission