Aerobic
Base BuildingObjective: Use this workout to build your aerobic
base for running, or just to realize the many health benefits of daily aerobic
exercise. The 30-minute main set is done mostly at a relatively slow and easy
pace, with about a minute of faster running, called a "surge", every
5 minutes. If you are healthy and not performing other workouts (swimming, cycling
or lifting, for example), you should be able to perform an aerobic base-building
workout daily. If you are new to running, you might think there is no such thing
as an "easy" running pace - see the descriptions of easier and harder,
below. Do not take a "no pain, no gain" attitude
for this workout! If you go too hard, or for longer than 30 minutes on the main
set, you will not improve your aerobic base. During a period of social
distancing: Obviously, you should not be running in a group, spewing and
inhaling droplets in near proximity to one another.
| Warm Up | 10-20 minutes - walk for 5-10
minutes, perform dynamic stretching for 5-10 minutes | Main
Set
| 6 x 5 minutes with no rest, with each 5-minute
interval performed as follows: Run easier for about 4 minutes, then pick
up your pace to run harder for about 1 minute Easier means that you
are running or jogging (or for new runners, perhaps just walking briskly) at a
pace that is easy enough so that you can talk (aloud) more-or-less normally, speaking
comfortably in phrases. If you can talk easily in complete sentences, pick it
up a bit! Harder means that you are running or jogging at a pace
where you can no longer talk easily using longer phrases or complete sentences,
but you can still speak one phrase between breaths. If you can only speak
one word at a time, you are going too hard! Do not go longer
than one minute (20% of the interval) at the harder pace, even if that pace seems
doable for a longer time; it should in fact feel that way. When training up the
aerobic base, it's important that the great bulk of the effort - in this case
80% - is at the easier intensity level. Do not extend the
main set beyond 30 minutes.This is not a long, slow, distance (LSD) workout.
Those workouts serve different purposes (building aerobic endurance and mental
toughness), which you may eventually need if you are doing long-course triathlon,
but LSD workouts create additional stresses that can weaken immune system function
and inflammation response, which are two important benefits of aerobic base training. For
newer runners: In the early stages of aerobic base training, you may not be
able to run faster than your easy pace for a minute without spiking your breathing
(and heart rate). If that's the case, cut the harder interval to less than one
minute - maybe 30 or even 15 seconds to begin with. | | Cool
Down | 10-20 minutes - walk for 5-10 minutes, perform dynamic
stretching for 5-10 minutes |
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