Enjoying this part of the year is critical, you should be having fun doing what ever your favorite endurance activity is. Running, cycling, or even some cross training into that other sport you may not always have time for. Mentally this part of the season is about finishing up any last-minute goals and starting to plan for the future.
Planning for the season ahead is really more complicated than some may think. At this point of the season you have to be thinking about what did you like or not like about the past season, what events suited you well (and those that didn’t) and how this will factor into the season ahead. Is there a new team? How do I want to improve? What event is it that I could do best at next year? Setting these goals are of high priority for the season ahead.
The biggest mistake I have found in working with athletes is the statement of “I want win (or do x place) at this event.†There is one glaring mistake in this logic. You can not control what other people are doing. What if John lost his job and decided to just ride all the time instead? (while ridiculous, you get the idea…) Placing emphasis is in performance goals is a very hard thing to unwire.
Instead look at it from a more logical and easier way to understand why you got “x†place at the event from last year. For example: In one of my bike races this past year, I got dropped on a hill during a short criterium. Looking back at the race it is very easy for me to say why did I get dropped, and why did I not get 15th place or better? Breaking this race down shows a much better way of understanding it. It was an hour-long race and the race crossed this hill roughly 38 times. I made it through 35 mins, So I was able to do roughly 17 laps. This particular hill was about :50 sec long. and the average pace was about 22 mph or 450 watts for :50 sec, 38 times. Looking at this means, that if this was my goal race for next year I need to improve my ability to perform the workload from 17 times, to 38 times. This is a trainable goal that is possible to quantify. Here is more or less numeric proof, that if I can obtain this goal, I will have a much better shot at then placing in some “x†place.
Here is another example dealing with cycling, but is very applicable to any endurance sport.
My goal this year is this:
To go to Green Mountain Stage Race, My unicorn race and lay down 4 very good days of racing. This 4 days will have this goal attached with them based of the previous years field.
day 1 = 14 mins @ 420 watts
day 2 = being able to complete a 3.5 hour race at about 2600 kj’s with minimal fatigue in my legs
day 3 = being able to climb two big mountains at 350+ watts for 20-30 mins
day 4 = being able to perform about 35 laps with 35 hill repeats at 500+ watts.
By doing these four things, I know my chances at GMSR are likely very good.
Quantifying your goals into some tangible amount of data is likely to be more motivating as well. You will have to perform “x†by this certain date. And by another date you will have to perform “x†again. This is setting up miniature goals that break down the big “I want to win†into smaller more obtainable daily goals. And this works with any sport be it running, triathlon, swimming, everything. It can all be broken down into some form of pace or ability to repeat a measured performance.
So, here is the challenge: Instead of having a performance goal this year, think of what amount of performance will likely place you well in the race for next year. Right this goal down and hang it somewhere you can see it. Look at it every day, and always remember every workout is helping in some way to reach that ATTAINABLE goal.
Ride Hard
Coach Jordan
Next week: how to break down a goal to start thinking about how to best train
for more information about coaching and how to achieve these goals go to:
www.achievecaoching.net or go to coachjordan.wordpress.com