"I'd rather be seen on my bicycle than on a park run" - Quote from the dark side

Tuesday 3 February 2015

Mantaining a fitness base


Yes, I'm still alive! I even ran 15km the other day!

Life is super busy at the moment but I am running as time allows. That is what brings me to the post title. Maintaining a fitness base.

I have always been a hardcore believer in maintaining a base level of fitness all year round. In the good old days this level for me was to be ready to run a marathon or 50km race whenever I felt like it and then just build up towards the long ultras as required.

I'm a lot older now, but I think it is still possible if I keep the times I complete my runs in realistic. But I am very far from that at the moment. I'll build towards it, but it is a long way off,

I have very limited time at the moment so my runs are short. Not more than 10km during the week and between 10km and 15km on the weekends. This is not great but it does maintain my base fitness well.

I believe running regularly is the most important, even if it is shorter distances. The base you build will be enough to finish much longer races than you can imagine. You might feel it in your legs afterwards, but you will be surprised at how much a good base means.

So go out for that run! Even just a short one. Do it, don't skip it.


9 comments:

KovasP said...

So easy to put it off, but I agree, consistency is the most important thing!

Robin said...

I agree...I think it's a great idea to keep running even the shorter distances.

Black Knight said...

Very wise decisions, I agree.
I hope Anette feels better, best wishes.

ajh said...

I hate to lose the base when I get injured. It's important to maintain what you can.

Jim ... 50after40 said...

I really appreciate this post Johann, I feel like I'm in my best shape when at any time I could run marathon if I had to.

Char said...

You're so spot on with this post. It's so much easier to build up when you have some fitness base rather than none at all.

coach dion said...

Never miss a run (streak over 3 years) and I alway like to be in shape to run a marathon...

Karien P. said...

I'm in a very similar phase right now, Johann - I'm only able to run shorter distances for a lack of time, but I'm so thankful that I can still maintain that fitness base!

Jerry Smallwood said...

Better that I am at the moment but good to see you are committed, well done and keep it up