Consider this thought experiment: after taking a year off, you spend a long base phase doing nothing -- absolutely nothing -- except easy distance. But you do tons of it, so that you'll be able to handle the heavy training in the build/peak phase. After all, base is base, right?
Now it's time to start doing some fast 100s. Even if you can handle 20k yards per week, and you've trained your shoulders and your lungs to handle the work, are you going to be able to handle 10 x 100 sprints right off the bat? Have you trained your muscles and your mind adequately to handle the work? This is an honest question.
Maybe "everything is base" isn't literally true. But since we don't usually completely abandon anaerobic work in the base phase, it's close enough to true not to make much practical difference.
Consider this thought experiment: after taking a year off, you spend a long base phase doing nothing -- absolutely nothing -- except easy distance. But you do tons of it, so that you'll be able to handle the heavy training in the build/peak phase. After all, base is base, right?
Now it's time to start doing some fast 100s. Even if you can handle 20k yards per week, and you've trained your shoulders and your lungs to handle the work, are you going to be able to handle 10 x 100 sprints right off the bat? Have you trained your muscles and your mind adequately to handle the work? This is an honest question.
Maybe "everything is base" isn't literally true. But since we don't usually completely abandon anaerobic work in the base phase, it's close enough to true not to make much practical difference.
