I Lost My Running Base
By: Bradley S.
Tags: Running, Motivation, Fitness, Inspiration, Overcoming Obstacles

Running

I Lost My Running Base

How I am getting it back

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

In 2019, I ran seven marathons and had some great PR’s. I had a similar path carved out for 2020, with another seven plus a few ultras planned. But then COVID happened. Everything was canceled, and I lost my way.

Without a race in the foreseeable future, I lost some of my purpose in keeping up with training. The excuses piled up. It was too hot or cold, something just kept coming up, or my energy was down. I lowered my volume and started walking more. My long run turned from 20 miles to six or sometimes not at all.

Before I knew it, I just couldn't run as far and as fast, and I became gassed after a few miles. When I tried getting back to my original conditioning, it was frustrating. I just didn’t have the same endurance anymore. How was I going to run all the races that are rolling into 2021?!?

Photo by Massimo Sartirana on Unsplash

Running is a perishable skill.

If you get injured or take a break after a race, there’s still that muscle memory and psychological edge you have as a base to do it again, but in large part, you may have to go through a lot of training if you take a prolonged break. If you want to keep up with running your current pace or distance, you often need to keep up with a similar average volume. There’s race season and there are peaks and gullies, but overall, there is some average you need to complete to keep your base. There were weeks where I ran 10 miles and others 80 miles, but I felt I could run as long as time permitted or my training advised me to do. Now I was having trouble completing more than 10 miles a week consistently.

Purpose is the key.

Even if I have nothing to train for, I love running. I love getting a good sweat, fresh air, and the way I feel afterward. Without some race goal in mind though, it’s difficult to go that extra mile that led me into high volume in the first place. I feel comfortable doing 10-20 miles a week, but comfort is not great mental fuel for when you want to excel again. As soon as I want to get back to my original volume, it’s like hitting a brick wall. It’s like having superpowers and then losing them!

Find a path.

It's not the end of the world if you can only run some limited miles and still feel good. A lot of people can't even do that, so I don't want to take easier volume as a curse. But I love the marathon format and used to be excited about how far my running would take me as I explored the ultra scene. Without any assurance when the next event will happen, I feel like I needed a new “carrot” on the end of my “stick” to get my legs back in preparation. Even if there’s no race plan to follow, I figured the best way to pump some new vigor into my running was to try a new training method.

Never give up. Just change the course.

I’ve recently started experimenting with wattage training. While wattage training is more popular for cyclists, it’s a new approach to running that has got me fired up. Having less to do with distance and time, it focuses more on sustaining a level of power during different times in training. It’s still the same running but feels new because it’s got my mind thinking a different way about my training. Sometimes the solution to getting past a hump is just to come at it a different way. I have been steadily increasing my volume lately without the same resistance I was experiencing before because I am focusing less on how slow I am or how long I have run.

This is not my first or worst uphill battle. Please check out my article on how I became a runner! — “How I Became a Runner Despite the Odds”