Aerobic Base Building

During the spaghetti dinner the night before Ironman Florida, one of the speakers was discussing the idea of conserving strength during the race.  Her analogy used a full balloon to represent the amount of energy at the beginning of the race, with the idea to slowly release the air throughout the day until the balloon was finally deflated by the finish line.  For most distance athletes, endurance and the ability to travel longer distances while using the least amount of reserves possible is of the utmost importance.  I'm sure everyone has either experienced it or has heard of the proverbial running wall, it happened to me around mile 20 during my first marathon.

So why is it that some folks can bonk after a few hours while others seem to be able to run comfortably all day.  The answer is controlled pacing with a good aerobic base.  It's as simple as that.  A fair amount of beginner runners don't train and run in the proper zone and aren't using their bodies endurance engine to their advantage.  In doing so, they are performing at a level above where their legs and muscles are designed to function for those longer distances, and they use up the valuable glycogen stores in their muscles.  

Basically our bodies are machines that run off of two types of energy.  This is the basis for what is called cellular respiration.  One type is with oxygen, that is called aerobic, and one without, anaerobic.  Distance runners and cyclists are primarily aerobic activities, where weight lifting, sprinting, and high intensity sports would be anaerobic.  During a normal day, our cells mainly use oxygen and fat for energy.  It's when we are pushed beyond a certain limit our muscles tap into their limited amount of sugar stores for power.  Everyone is different, but there is a certain threshold where an activity such as running goes from being aerobic to anaerobic, and a well trained endurance athlete will almost always keep his level of exertion below that fine line.  An average person has enough fat in their body to run across the state of Texas, but only 3-4 hours of anaerobic activity before they go flat.

The simplest method of making sure to stay below that anaerobic threshold is with a heart rate monitor.  There are 5 levels of exertion and a basic formula to calculate ones max HR and corresponding zones.  220 - age.  The idea is to maintain a running HR in zone #3 and below to avoid going anaerobic.

An example:
Zone #1 60-95bpm
Zone #2 95-115bpm
Zone #3 115-135bpm
Zone #4 135-155bpm
Zone #5 155-175bpm

If a heart rate monitor isn't available, a good rule of thumb is to try and have a conversation while jogging, and do so without shortness of breath or gasping for air.  Most experienced runners don't need to look at their HR watch every few minutes to ensure they are in the proper zone.  After a while it gets pretty easy to judge when ones breathing or HR is elevated further than necessary.

So what is aerobic base building?  I'm sure everyone has heard of long runs, speed workouts, recovery runs, and hill training, but the most vital is base building.  It's spending 100% of a run in that aerobic zone, and continuing it over and over for possibly months.  To me, it is the most important aspect of training a distance runner can work on.  It seems simple, but harder to implement, because it means running slower to eventually go faster.  I know it is difficult to fathom, but limiting how hard one runs can reduce total time and increase endurance more than pushing the limits.

A few years ago when I went back to school for Physical Therapy, I chose to do my final project/presentation for my Anatomy and Physiology class on cellular respiration for long distance runners.  To have some real world data to present, I started to work on my own training and focus on base building for the six weeks leading up the my final.  I had a ten mile loop by my house and on a previous run I had beat myself up so bad trying to maintain a 10 minutes/mile pace.  It kicked my ass and took me days to recover from, but then I started to focus on maintaining my pace in zone #3.  Sure I was a lot slower at first, and even ended up walking some of the hills, but it didn't take long for my times to drop.  By the end of my experiment I was back down to 10 minutes a mile again, and without having to work nearly as hard.

I am not saying aerobic base building is the end all be all of training, but I do feel it is an invaluable tool to make sure each and every run has a focus.  It will also help avoid injury by keeping the body in a less stressful state as well as improve efficiency and endurance, just what every distance runner wants and needs.  

You can follow my workouts on Strava @ Jonathan Cummins
Also, I have published two fiction novels available on Amazon.  The main character is an ultra runner!
Killer is Me
River of Deceit