A return to basics

It’s easy to skimp on Base training. Long solo rides at the beginning of an annual training plan quickly get boring, but don’t forget their importance, even if you forget to charge the iPod beforehand.


Being impatient and failing to build a sufficient base -- consisting of Long Steady Distance rides followed by force, speed and muscular endurance intervals -- can shorten your season. Even after building it in 8-12 weeks, without going back to Base during the season, you risk seeing your race fitness quickly dissolve.


Like mine did last year during the Florida State Championship Series.


I built a good base in 10 weeks going into the series and completed nine weeks of discipline-specific intensity, otherwise known as Build training. But because the state series had its eight races spread over 13 weeks, I worried about accumulated fatigue and staying fresh. So I cut my volume, doing only a few 2 ½ to 3-hour rides, and focused primarily on intensity. I didn’t realize it then, but I was trying to hold a peak for 3 1/2 months.


Consequently, my base eroded and my series went with it after a decent first three races. At the time – and this is common for athletes who train themselves – I misdiagnosed the problem. Later it dawned on me that I needed a high-volume block of some LSD rides. This would’ve enhanced my endurance, which would’ve boosted fitness when combined with some intensity.


LSD rides help the aerobic engine become a more efficient fat-burner. During races, that helps spare glycogen, which is the primary race-pace fuel that’s available in limited quantity. Run out of glycogen and the body turns to burning fat and you bonk. I bonked in Races 4, 5, 6 and 7. I had brief periods of good power, but nothing I could sustain. Of those forgettable four, I DNF’d twice.


I bring up Base training because for the past week and a half, I’ve been getting in some LSD road miles and a low-keyed 45-mile group road ride to prep for Base. I began these low-intensity workouts grossly out of riding shape.


With just a few LSD miles – 153 to be exact – I noticed a huge difference riding my single-speed off-road at Markham Park on Wednesday. My off-season lap times have been predictably slow there, anywhere from 36-41 minutes a lap, with a very high RPE. And until Wednesday, I couldn’t turn more than two back-to-back laps on either my geared or single-speed bikes. While not concerned with speed right now, I do want some off-road volume. So on Wednesday, I was able to turn three consecutive laps (22 miles) and just as importantly did them at a much lower RPE.


The morale here: Don’t underestimate the need for and importance of Base in your annual training plan. Go long and steady now in order to go faster later.