Summer Base Training: Why December Miles Deliver Race-Day Smiles

December in South Africa is peak summer holiday season – a time for sun, fun, and a well-deserved break. 

But for athletes eyeing early January events, like the testing Biogen Half Marathon or the brutal, Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme presented by Biogen – SA’s toughest one-day mountain bike challenge – December offers a golden opportunity to build your aerobic engine with base training.

Building a solid fitness base serves as a springboard into more structured training in January, helping you ramp up quicker and make early performance gains to ensure race-day smiles.

Any major endurance event requires a solid foundation built on base miles (or time in the saddle or on the legs).

This low-intensity training phase is where the magic of physical adaptation happens as you develop your aerobic capacity. This response to training dramatically improves your body’s ability to use oxygen efficiently – the primary energy source for long-distance efforts.

That means your December training mantra is volume, not speed. Most of your sessions should be done at an easy, conversational pace. 

And don’t get carried away with the volume. A good rule of thumb is to gradually increase your distance or duration by roughly 10% every week to ensure a smooth, injury-free build. 

The key is not to miss your weekly long run or ride, gradually increasing its duration to build true endurance.

During base training, the simple act of showing up can pay massive dividends. Every short run, ride, or session in December compounds to deliver serious fitness come January. Every kilometre logged, even if it feels slow, is teaching your body to become a better endurance machine. 

The lower-intensity, longer-duration base training works because your body becomes more energy efficient. Over the course of your base training block, your body learns to more readily break down and utilise fat for energy. This is a vital adaptation needed for going the distance in your January race without bonking.

By consistently progressing your duration and intensity, always keeping just below your aerobic threshold, you can reach your base ‘peak’ by the end of December.

But before you sacrifice your well-earned downtime for hours-long training runs or rides, keep in mind that December doesn’t need perfect training. It needs consistent effort and regular movement.

So forget about chasing PBs in the intense summer heat or squeezing in complex interval sessions between family braais and road trips. Your goal during December is to establish a rhythm.

While it’s easy to slip into the holiday cycle of eating more food while being less active, remember that even a 30-minute easy jog, a gentle spin to the local coffee shop, or a session focusing on drills all count. The objective is to do something every day that moves the fitness needle by keeping your body primed and the commitment alive.

Building a solid platform through December means that as soon as the calendar flips to January, you can confidently jump into the high-intensity, race-specific training necessary to fine-tune your condition. Whatever your goal, your body will be highly responsive and ready to make quick gains, ensuring you start the race season with the best chance to be your best in 2026!