# more base or start build



## geneseo (Nov 2, 2005)

I started training for the upcoming year the first weekend of October. I got started way too late last year and some unforseen issues pretty much kept my season from getting off the ground.

So I started early and have been building back up slowly. But I've been riding base and throwing in a couple of hardish efforts for the past 4 months. Last 2 base cycles I ended with 15 hour weeks with back-to-back 4-5 hour rides. I've seen wattage improve over these duration by ~50 watts for the average ride (ie, my first long ride I was able to average around 200 watts. The last was at 255). No idea what threshold is right now. I just stay within my HR zones and push as much wattage as I can.

My target events are in early May through mid-June (A race is June 16) at which time I'll take a break and start re-building for CX.

The VC in training peaks has me doing base until late March. So I am wondering if:

1. I do another 1 or 2 base cycles
2. I mix some base and build together
3. I start to focus on build in Feb/March

I've been using the VC as more of a guide for total hours and rest periods as opposed to literally following it. 

Is there a point where physiologically, doing more base isn't going to increase or improve increased fitness at a later point during the year?


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

Damn I wish I could do a 4-5 hour ride @ 255.


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## Ghost234 (Jun 1, 2010)

You should always pay attention to your base. Cycling is an endurance sport. That said, at a certain point you should reduce the pure volume and put a bit more focus on intensity. 

Usually for the first 4-6 weeks of my plan I will focus on base building. After that I usually will stick to a maximum of 2-3 days. If I was racing much longer distances (most of my races are 80-120km) I would likely put more emphasis on base.


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## Undecided (Apr 2, 2007)

One guy's take on this: Do a threshold test. If it's where you "expect," do another base cycle. If it's lower than you "expect," put some focus into threshold work within something still a lot like your base training, but don't get into the shorter efforts yet with your prime season still so far off. For me, I've found that if I've done a few cycles heavy on the 4 or 5 hour steady efforts at maximum sustainable effort, that puts me in position to get my threshold into good order with one cycle of doing something like 3x/week doing things like 2x20, 2x30, 1x60, etc. (with the threshold efforts typically inside a medium ride that is otherwise at ~90% of the maximum sustained effort in the longer ride) and 1x/week the same sort of longer ride you've been doing (or maybe dial it back a touch if you need to).

And if it's at all relevant, start doing one of those threshold-focused rides on your TT bike.


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## geneseo (Nov 2, 2005)

thanks for the input. given that my base riding has been working well, i think i'll run another cycle and see if I can gain any more improvements. i'm quite sure my threshold has gone up just doing base. i'll add a couple sessions with some intensity, but really start to focus on it more in March. it's still a long season ahead.


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## plx (Mar 28, 2011)

how did it went?


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## geneseo (Nov 2, 2005)

Great! Thanks for asking.

I ended up taking 3 weeks off the bike in late February / early March and did cross training. Got back on the bike in mid-march and did a block of threshold followed by blocks of threshold and anaerobic intervals. Got my 20 minute threshold up to 340 and managed four top tens in cat 3 road races in Colorado. I did stop racing at the end of May to spend the summer with the family but have retained a fair amount of fitness.

All in all I'm very happy with how it all turned out.

The big lesson was that a big base makes a huge difference and that if needed, time off the bike doesn't hurt so long as you stay active.


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