Introduction

This base-building phase is crucial for preparing your body for the demands of the more intense 16-week training program. During this time, focus on gradually increasing your mileage, building your aerobic capacity, and strengthening your muscles and joints to reduce the risk of injury. Incorporate a mix of easy runs, long runs, and some speed work to improve your overall fitness level. Remember to listen to your body, rest when needed, and stay consistent with your training to set yourself up for success in the upcoming program.

Training Techniques

• Warm-up: A 10-15 min warmup (jog) at very slow pace gives your muscles, bones, and joints a chance to loosen up, it gradually and gently brings up your heart rate, and makes it easier to get into the rhythm you want to sustain so you can run and finish.
• Cool Down: Cooling down after your workout allows for a gradual recovery of heart rate and blood pressure. Cooling down is most important for endurance runners because it helps regulate blood flow.
• Easy Runs/Conversational Pace Run: These runs are designed to be done at a comfortable pace. Just Run Easy! If you're training with a friend, the two of you should be able to hold a conversation. If you can't do that, you're running too fast. (For those wearing heart rate monitors, your target zone should be between 65 and 75 percent of your maximum pulse rate).
• Speed Intervals: To get faster. Intervals are short, intense efforts followed by equal or slightly longer recovery time. You should perform interval workouts at an effort that’s in the red (think: breathing heavily, unable to hold a conversation, and counting the seconds until you can stop). It should be a controlled, fast effort followed by a truly easy jog or walk.
• Tempo Runs: This is a continuous run with a buildup in the middle to near the 10-K race pace. A Tempo Run of 20 to 40 minutes would begin with 10-20 minutes easy running, build for 20-30 minutes near the middle, then 5-10 minutes easy toward the end. The pace buildup should be gradual, not sudden, with peak speed coming about two-thirds into the workout.
• Fartlek Workouts: Fartlek is the Swedish word for “speed play,” and that is exactly what this type of run is all about. Unlike tempo and interval work, fartlek is unstructured and alternates between moderate to hard efforts with easy efforts throughout. After a warmup, you play with speed by running at faster efforts for short periods of time (to that tree, to the sign) followed by easy-effort running to recover.
• Hill Repeats: Hill repeats involve running uphill, rep after rep, so you’re going to really work your leg muscles during this type of run. If there aren’t any hills in your area, don’t worry, you can still practice these types of workouts on a treadmill. Again, your goals and fitness level will determine the speed at which you tackle hills, but you should learn to maintain your pace through the top of the hill, rather than dying out halfway through sprinting.
• Long Runs: As the name implies, long runs are the longest runs on your weekly schedule, but the actual distance will vary depending on what race you have on your schedule. Your pace for your long run will also vary depending on your fitness level and goals. You should conquer long runs at a conversational pace, meaning you could chat with your running buddy the entire time and breathe naturally.
• Cross-Train: In order to remain a strong runner for a longer time, you need to incorporate cross training into your training plan. What form of cross-training works best? It could be swimming, cycling, walking, or even some combination that could include strength training.
• Rest: Giving your body time to rest is just as important as running. You will be able to run the long runs on the weekend better and limit your risk of injury. Be realistic about your fatigue level particularly in the closing weeks of the program--and don't be afraid to take a day off.
• Stretch & Strength: It's wise to stretch every day, particularly after you finish your run, but spend more time stretching on rest days.
• Sleep: Getting enough sleep about eight hours is just as important as proper nutrition and hydration for preventing injuries, keeping your bones strong, and boosting your mood for years to come.

Training Zones

We utilize the 1-to-10 Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale to measure easy, moderate, and hard levels of effort.