Do you have good timing?
DOPAMINE! That magical training elixir hits us like a ton of feel-goods. It’s your “reward” system. Here’s the problem. This dopamine rush can get your long-term goals in trouble!
I’ve been asked to coach athletes in a myriad of events. Assault of Mount Mitchell, La Ruta, Leadville, or a stage race come to mind. I’m a big fan of setting goals! These goals should be optimized for the end game. Not in 10 weeks :).
I coached an athlete that wanted to win master's worlds. We decided 10 weeks out to go ahead and engage in a coach/athlete relationship. Boy was I stressed. It was a one-in-a-million shot, and it worked. But, I wouldn’t do it again!
Here are some great tips to prepare you for your event.
1- Critical timing: Start with the date of your event and work BACKWARDS. This protects you from injury and overtraining. Your progression is slower with this methodology too. It sets attainable goals and allows for changes (sickness, life, work, etc).
2- Commitment level: Most of us are prone to OVER committing to a goal and then realizing that the goal becomes unattainable. This really adds value to point one above. Small goals, achievable goals, with increase in volume taken into consideration. I’ve seen it countless times. Athlete’s going so “hot out of the gate” and then get injured and/or burn out.
3- Compromise: The majority of my coaching for elite and amateurs circles around compromise. What are you willing to give up? Give? Think of it like this. If I asked you to take 10 points. (Nod to the idea from Andy Galpin, MD) You can’t break these points into halves or quarters. You have FOUR baskets you have to put points into. (I’m officially adding one more rule to THE 33 rule, which screws that all up, but I’m learning to be a better coach!) Put points in these baskets. They HAVE to add up to 10 total points. This will always fluctuate.
Personal. Relationships. Family. Friends.
Training/Exercise: Wellness, bike rides, runs, walks, yoga, etc.
Professional. Work, building a business, running a company, etc.
RECOVERY. Taking downtime from any and all of it! (Mental and physical)
Where did your points fall? It was hard to get the number to 10 total wasn’t it? My guess is that Recovery is going to be 1 or 2 points. There is NO right number to put in each basket because we have demands out of our control. The takeaway. Make sure that RECOVERY ticks into the 2-4 point range occasionally.
Tailwinds,
Chad
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