I once read in a magazine article about the British fomer-World Champion track pursuitist, Chris Boardman, that he would never complete a training session unless his coach (Peter Keen) could tell him exactly why he was doing it. So long as Keen could explain the benefits and convince Chris why he had to complete a particularly brutal session, Chris would have no hesitation to give 110% of his efforts to achieving that goal. But this doesn't mean that every session you do has to be eye-balls out, moreover the savvy athlete will listen to and adhere to the advice of his/her coach and train accordingly to any intensity to meet the session's objectives. As such we will now discuss the typcial objectives of each squad training session discipline-by-discipline to ensure you fully appreciate why we do things the way that we do!
And here's a little bit of advice about your own long-term goal setting:
Exactly what do you hope to achieve this season or for your next big event? Consider working with the anagram “S.M.A.R.T.E.R” to help you plan out your goals before speaking with the coach:
“S” is for specific – what exactly do you want to achieve? Do you want to simply complete an event or do you have a goal time in mind?;
“M” is for measurable – can you set a marker against which you will try and set your targets? A top-10 finish? A sub-60 mins 40km TT?;
“A” is for adjustable – despite your very best intentions and that of your coaches, things don’t always go according to plan. Is there room for adjustment in your goals if necessary?;
“R” is for realistic - can you realistically expect to achieve your goal(s) given your current level of fitness?;
“T” is for time based – when do you plan to start working towards your goal? How far away is your goal event? Does this fit in with the suggested time frame for your goal event?;
“E” is for exciting– taking on the challenge of an event like the Ironman requires serious commitment and dedication. This doesn’t need to overwhelm your life and we firmly believe that establishing balance in your training / social / family circle is key when planning for an event. One of the best ways of doing this is to keep your program exciting and enjoyable with short-term goals to keep you “on the ball” and motivated;
“R” is for recorded – one of the processes of working with us is to identify your goals, write them down and have a permanent reminder of these goals everyday through our online training diary. This is a superb way of keeping in touch with the coach and allowing for adjustments in your program to be made where necessary. If you don’t record and communicate your progress with us, how can we know what changes to make?
