Training is not a linear journey
Training is not a linear process, so why is the athlete mindset around training linear? Read on to find out how Coach Alan explains that green is not always good in a training plan.
Recently there have been many articles written on goal setting. It is the time of year when goals are really set down firmly by athletes. Races have been entered or are soon to be entered, some training has been completed and a review of last year completed. Alongside this some early analysis on training state has taken place by the athlete, or coach and athlete. New Years resolutions may also jump into the equation as some people get the seasonal nudge towards the potential of next year. The athlete has sat down and written out their SMART goals and off they go.
With this often comes a sudden lift in enthusiasm and often comes injury and illness. Alas the athletes journey from ‘A’ where they are now to ‘B’ where they have set their goals is derailed and the game is over.
Is there such a thing as the perfect pathway?
Over the last month this has happened to a small number of athletes I work with ranging from unexpected events, small colds, to challenging work loads and even broken bones. For me as a coach these events have given reason for reflection. Doing so has highlighted a mindset of athletes at times as pass/fail when it comes to their view of their training plans and specifically Training Peaks.
Training Peaks has a traffic light system to visually display adherence to a period of training. Green signals session completed as planned within a 20% window, 80 - 120% of the session completed. Yellow reflects 50 - 79% of the session completed or 121 - 150% of the session. A session will go red if less than 50% or more than 150% of the session is completed. All athletes quickly learn this and understand that green = good!
But does it? Does green always equal the right thing being done? Absolutely not! Training is not a linear journey!
Sometimes, within this suddenly motivated period athletes and indeed throughout the year, things don’t go to plan. When things happen the plan is at time not as good as it could be or is clearly inappropriate. It may therefore require a tweak or significant change. However sometimes the athlete can have had their head down in ‘green’ mode, this is where the coach comes in to stand back from the training and see the bigger picture. One session missed due to just feeling a bit ‘meh’ and tired, in combination with low mood state after a few challenging days can be the critical difference between one session missed and a week of illness. Crucially however, tomorrow’s hard intervals on the bike becomes an hours easy ride with some focus on holding a good aero position in 10minute blocks. This may make some sessions go ‘red’ but in the real world the athlete has nailed their training by responding appropriately to a change in state. No plan is perfect so it is critical that we respond rather than ignore. Training plans are not tick lists they are guidelines. Our online athletes benefit substantially by being able to interact with their coach and respond as a team to these changes. The same should be considered by any athlete following a plan or self coaching.
These ebbs and flows to training are crucial. No coach can be there all the time 24/7 for athletes so it is important for all athletes to tune into and listen to their bodies signals and feedback both mentally and physically. Listening and learning will allow an athlete to surf these turbulent seas of training and make it to their goal event. It may even enable the athlete to make better decisions on race day itself having learnt a lot along the meandering journey.
So if you have gone ‘off plan’ recently remember this is normal, things happen and there are absolutely zero athletes out there who 100% follow a plan of training perfectly. Perfection with that tick list is simply not a realistic expectation. Furthermore 100% perfection may actually reflect a lack of reflection and adaptation to the plan that improves upon when it was originally written.
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The result is an honest, dynamic, yet simple new way of constructing an athlete’s training to allow them to reach their potential.
If you’re planning your next season, just starting out in the sport or are looking for extra guidance at the very top end of the field, we are here to help, and our coaches would be delighted to hear from you. You can contact us via the website, and one of the team will be in touch.