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Lead Stories: Friday, July 25, 2008

Nick Symmonds:
Season Opener
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #5)

Posted January 28th, 2008 at 1:41 PM by Nick Symmonds

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Nick Symmonds

TFS Elite Athlete Blog Series NICK SYMMONDS 425x75 Welcome to the official blog of elite American middle-distance runner Nick Symmonds. For more information about Nick please visit: www.nicksymmonds.com

Nick Symmonds elite athlete blog This weekend marked the real beginning of 2008 for me. Traveling across the country to race at the Boston Indoor Games was a decision not easily made. Many factors go into choosing a season opener and Coach Gags [Frank Gagliano] and I vacillated all fall whether or not to open up here. Fortunately, we were on the same page as to what we hoped to gain from my 2008 debut. It might seem strange that so much thought went into a race that is run in January and does not qualify me for anything in particular, but I will try to explain our thought process and what we were looking for in a season opener.
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ASK FLASH:Base Building, Boston Marathon Predictor, and Flash on a Mountain

Posted April 1st, 2007 at 3:32 PM by Joshua Flash Gordon

Section: Running & Training, Columns, Training Tips, Ask Flash

Need advice? Injured? Confused? Overwhelmed? Bored? ASK FLASH!
ASK FLASH is a free advice column to help you with all of your running, fitness and nutrition inquiries. To ASK FLASH — simply fill out the form at the conclusion of the column.

Hope all you folks are enjoying the nice weather that is finally rolling in this time of year! Keep the questions coming…

Q. Most of the time, summer is the time to put in the miles and build a base for the fall races. Previously, all that was advocated was long slow easy aerobic running during the base building stage. Lately, some schedules have been written to include tempos, strides, etc … in the base building stage. What is your opinion?
~Base in Baltimore

A. To answer your question, let’s begin by asking what is the purpose of the base training period? Every period and every run should have a purpose. Yes, fun is an acceptable purpose. The base training period is primarily about preparing yourself mentally and physically for the demands of the more rigorous portions of your training program. Whether you are training for a 5k or a marathon, you can’t declare a fitness resolution and get at it whole hog. So, how exactly should the base training period be performed to prepare for the tempo runs, long runs, fartleks, intervals, hill workouts, strides, and other components that most running programs rely heavily on?
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