This training cycle is starting well. I'm about five weeks into it, and feeling good. Looking at the training plan I wrote about earlier, I'm pretty much on-plan. My mileage has averaged a little over 50 miles/week - though SportTracks shows a sliding seven-day total that shows some peaks over 60 (and corresponding dips). I've run some local road races on weekends, and I've used those events to get some higher quality running in. I need to be careful not to push too hard because I really can't afford an injury now.
Here is some solid advice from Scott Jurek on "The Long Run: Building the Base". I'm looking forward to including more higher intensity work in the coming weeks - running faster is key to improving running efficiency and economy (and running faster still).
And though this video link isn't especially relevant to base building, I want to share a link to an interesting analysis of a very strong 10K runner's form - Chris Solinsky Stride Analysis - from the Somax Sports website. You should take the critique with a grain of salt (I heard Ryan Hall was asked what perfect form looked like ... he answered saying we'll only see perfect form in heaven), but it helps to remind me to think about form basics every time I go running.
