Base Training: Why I love and what I'm changing about it for 2022

For many cyclists, base season is a drag. Long rides, for some people, seem monotonous. Couple that with the cold weather, and many cyclists just wish they could skip forward to spring. For those unfamiliar with the term, “base season” usually refers to the first few months of training when cyclists put in longer hours of endurance (easy) riding with some longer, steadier intervals. 

For me, base season is the best time of the year to ride. Why? Because it is time to explore. It’s a time to just go out and ride without stressing about being perfect in every workout knowing a key race is coming up (more on this later). That is not to say that that time of year is not fun, but I relish the chance to go out on long rides with friends during this period of the year and get lost in conversation and the scenery. There is something pure about base season. It is, on paper, supposed to be just about riding your bike. This makes it a great time to relax mentally and build up the fire in your belly for the race season to come. 

Base season is not only stunning Instagram-ready photos of adventures and smiles however. The cold weather that many riders train in during this period is not always ideal and I do, quite honestly, struggle to get motivated when it is 35 degrees and raining outside–the worst type of weather. However I almost always am glad once I get out the door to start riding. I used to ride the indoor trainer a lot, but found it was neither good physically nor mentally, and took much of the fun out of winter training. 

In recent years, I have taken to trying to ride outside at every possible opportunity. Last year, I believe I rode indoors for a total of 5-6 hours (out of almost 1000 hours of riding). This often entails the inexplicably hard task of getting ready to ride. When you have to wear 15 layers, it can take 30 minutes just to get out the door. Such weather also brings with it the question: “should I wear this, or that?” It’s easy to become like Goldilocks trying to make sure you are dressed perfectly for the weather, but dressing for the myriad of winter conditions one might face is a skill one can only develop with lots of practice and just like racing a bike, you usually only nail it about 10% of the time. Because of this, I have adopted the “better-to-be-too-warm-than-too-cold” strategy. I have found that my body cannot push hard when it is cold. For this reason, I aim to be a bit too warm during intervals. Sometimes, this means my cool down turns into what I call a “freeze down.” Sweat, as it turns out, is great at its job–especially when it is 20 degrees out. On these days, I finish my intervals then race hypothermia home. For some people, this may not be ideal, but for me, it is what works so I can get the structured parts of my training done properly.

On some days later in the winter, when I have some harder efforts, the weather may not be conducive to or safe for such training (such as when it is icy), so I will try to do a split session: intervals on the trainer, and endurance training outside. 

As you may have noticed, base training is structured, yet it is not structured. The very early period, which I am in now in the midst of, is almost entirely easy rides. As the weeks pass, some more structured efforts get added in. These are my favorite intervals: tempo, sweetspot, and some threshold. In addition, I have set gym work three times per week instead of the normal two times the rest of the season. 

This balance between structured and unstructured training is something I struggle with and is something I want to address this season. I am a perfectionist, meaning I want to nail every ride. This is slightly more important during hard intervals (but by no means absolutely necessary), but can be detrimental in base training. If I were really doing my endurance rides correctly, I would ride 100% by feel: no power or heart rate data. While this may seem simpler, it is actually a challenge. This season, I have started to just hide that data on my Hammerhead’s screen for some endurance. This allows me to just focus on riding by feel. I know what endurance rides should feel like after spending so many hours doing them, but sometimes I get caught up more in doing exactly what is on my plan rather than on listening to my body and riding at my natural endurance pace, which would be more beneficial for me in the long run. By changing my emphasis this year, I hope to stress less about being numerically perfect in training and focus more on listening to my body perfectly in training, as well as listening to what my mind wants. If I want to ride with friends and the ride is a bit harder than it is supposed to be, it is worse to stress about that than to just enjoy it. In the grand scheme of the season, one day like that won’t hurt you. Many days like that? Maybe. One day? That’s no problem. 

While base season is already my favorite time of year, I’m hoping that emphasizing riding to feel rather than to numbers is going to help me balance fitness gains with staying fresh heading into next season. There is one type of data that is better than any other: what your body is saying. Sounds easy to follow, but it is not. Beyond the performance improvements this should bring, it also should let me focus even more on the adventure side of the season, keeping me mentally fresher so I can be 100% even in August. I am just getting into training for next season, and I am excited for what is to come on and off the race course! Stay tuned!

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