Base is the time to lay a strong foundation of Endurance, Force and Speed Skills so that we can layer on the more advanced skills (i.e., Muscular Endurance, Anaerobic Endurance and Power) later. But it can also be a challenging time for training due to inclement weather, holidays, high training volumes and tempting group rides. And for all these reasons, it’s important to maintain balance during Base. The following pointers might be helpful:

• Consistency is important, but no one ride will make your season. It’s okay to miss an occasional planned ride. Work demands, family obligations and inclement weather can cause a missed day. If the workout was a key workout, consider swapping it to another day.
• Leverage cross-training while you can. As you get to late Base, specificity becomes more and more important. Take advantage of the ability to cross-train while you can. This can be key to maintaining consistency during inclement weather, while traveling or to avoid wind trainer burnout.
• An occasional spirited ride won’t break your season…but don’t get sucked into becoming a Christmas Star. Many of us enjoy the social aspect of group rides but this time of year they often become Christmas Star slugfests. While an occasional spirited ride won’t break your season, don’t get sucked into being overly competitive in January. You want to dish out the hurting in season, when it matters.
• One-off big training weeks don’t pay big dividends. It’s tempting to pile on the miles during the holiday period. But one week of super high volume training isn’t going to positively affect your peak and it may even lead to injuries if the increase in volume is too dramatic.