Your Best Season Ever Part 2: Building your base
I like to think about training as building a puzzle.
Most people start with the edges (this gives structure).
What are your goals for the season?
Then you could work on the next easiest thing (a bright tree).
What are the easiest-to-spot aspects?
Slowly you fill in the gaps with what’s left.
A bad approach would be to start with a random puzzle piece and work around it.
Similar to how some athletes plan their season.
Adding in random workouts and hoping it will all come together.
Building your base properly gives you the boundaries you will need to race strong next year.
Building your base.
I stole the term multi-faceted base from Steve Magness.
I think it’s the best way to understand the overall goals of base building. It’s not just about long, easy training. We want to create a foundation for the next few blocks of training with all aspects.
You can think of it as working the extremes:
- easy volume
- top speed
- pure strength
Our goal is to take your established healthy training routine and make it a little more specific for the race that you’re taking on.
In my mind base building has 4 focuses:
1. Increase the overall volume to prepare for race
If you’re going to be taking on a 70.3 or longer race then you probably need more volume in your ideal week.
For 70.3 my minimum 1x per week targets are:
- 60 min continuous swim
- 3+ hour ride
- 2+ hour run
I’m not so worried about you nailing specific distances with these sessions. Your goal is to establish some longer volume that will lay the ground work (remember this is base building).
You don’t need to do these on week 1 but you should have them in your week before we switch to refining your training.
2. Dial in technical aspects where needed
When you’re working on easy volume you can also add in some technical training.
This becomes especially important when working in the pool.
A framework to think about improvements there is tautness, alignment and propulsion (this comes from the Tower26 Swim Book).
I would also look to be making any adjustments to your bike fit and position if needed. Give your body time to adapt to a new riding position.
3. Add in speed work
On the other extreme to easy volume is your peak speed.
We want to start to go fast.
This can be done with:
- Strides - 20-30s build-ups at the end of a run
- Sprints - 20-30s all out on the run or bike (could do 25m in the pool)
- Hills - 45-60s hill repeats
With enough rest and in a small dose these should not impact your easy volume but we will start to touch your peak speed.
4. Add strength work
The last aspect of your base should be to prioritize some strength training.
I like to adjust my strength training throughout the year to minimise the impact on my endurance training. In the base-building period, I will go a little heavier with strength training. Because I am not worried about some muscle soreness.
Closer to race day (in other phases) you can adjust your strength training so that you’re not impacting the key tri sessions.
3 aspects to focus on:
- Peak strength
- Plyometrics and jumps
- Hot spot and niggle prevention
That will build out a nice strength program
Building a proper base takes time
Building a proper base can take longer than you think.
You can’t rush the body.
Most of the adaptations we are seeking from easy endurance, technical aspects and strength building happen on the scale of months not weeks. Remember that when you plan out your season.
This whole process could take 6-12 months to build properly.
That’s part of the reason I’m a fan of multi-year seasons.
It allows you the time you need to build things properly.
That’s all for today.
Chandler
PS: I'm thinking of putting together a base-phase strength program. Hit reply to this email and let me know if you would be interested. I will send you the link once it's ready.