Start of Base Training 2009

Tomorrow, November 9th, the MIT Cycling Team is officially starting base training for the 2009 collegiate road season. My goal is to get in 220 hours by mid-February if I hope to go to Nationals. This blog will serve as my training log for the next season.

Base training means doing nearly all of my riding at a low intensity Zone 2 level. This helps (taken from our team training guide):

To improve your cardio-respiratory system (i.e increase the amount of blood and oxygen your heart and lungs can push per beat.)
2. Increase the mitochondrial density of your blood capillaries in your legs.
3. Build slow-twitch muscular strength.
4. Basically, build as much of an aerobic base as you can so you can withstand as many anaerobic days as possible.

I only logged about 120 hours last year, and I did improve a great deal over last year, but I am sure that if I actually do the whole base then I can maybe race Bs or As then possibly go to Collegiate Road Nationals in Kansas next May.

Hope you enjoy it...