Training for runners

Many of BaseCamp’s patients are runners who have set a goal for a specific race or distance. In order to achieve their goal, they search online or ask their runner friends for guidance in how they should train. This leads them to set up a running schedule. At BaseCamp, we provide training for runners, as well as assistance in setting up this running schedule. But is this really necessary? We’re diving a little deeper to help you decide.

What is a Running Schedule?

As you can see above, a running schedule typically outlines how to structure your training throughout the course of several weeks or months. It typically takes into account your current ability, as well as your desired goal. The purpose of a running schedule is to remove the guesswork from your training. This will help you to be confident that you’ll meet your goal by the date of the race. A great running schedule allows you to progress at a pace that is both safe and sustainable.

Why Is A Running Schedule Important?

It’s no secret that runners get injured, and often. The vast majority of running issues come down to three factors: poor strength, poor mobility, or poor training. While our running gait analysis helps to identify possible issues in the first two, our running outline helps to ensure the third doesn’t happen to you.

When creating a plan to help you get to your race, its necessary to understand how your body responds to training. Each time you run, you break down your body’s muscles, tendons, and bones. With appropriate rest, your body responds to this by making all of these tissues stronger. This will allow you to run faster and further than before.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of runners have a poor understanding of how long their body needs to recover from training stress. As a result, their body can’t keep up with their training, and injury occurs. It takes skill and understanding of the human body to successfully create a running program. And while there are thousands of templates available on the web, remember that none of them understand your body’s current ability.

What Components Are Needed?

When designing your training program, it is important to consider your current strength, mobility, and fitness levels. Both strength and mobility are overwhelmingly overlooked in the majority of available running programs. Sure, some programs offer “Yoga for Runners”, or prescribe a few stretches to perform. But running puts a high levels of impact on your body. If your shoes can only last 300 miles, just think about the amount of stress that running puts on your muscles, tendons, and bones.

For this reason, a great running schedule will include days to address strength and mobility. Additionally, it should contain more than just mileage. Another common mistake in the running community is to focus too heavily on distance, and not pace. As you’ll notice in the above example, there is no differentiation of difficulty other than “tempo”, “easy”, and “hill repeat”. These terms are vague and difficult to comprehend for most runners. This is why at BaseCamp we ensure that every run has a designated pace and difficulty level, in clear terms.

Do I Really Need It?

Many beginning runners enjoy the freedom that running provides. Going for a run is as easy as going out the front door, or to a local park. And the vast majority of runners are able to make it to their first race without catastrophe.

Over time though, having a running schedule becomes more and more necessary. Without one, it is likely that you will plateau in distance or pace, or even end up getting injured. For this reason, we strongly recommend getting a running schedule from a trained professional who has experience training runners of all levels. At BaseCamp, we’ve helped a number of runners achieve their goal, from their first 5K all the way up to 250 mile races. Even if your goal is to simply run 2-3 times per week for fitness, our expertise is to help you avoid injury and improve performance.

If you’d like to work with us to achieve your running goals, then set up an evaluation at our office - we’d love to help you achieve them!