Beth and Eric have been working hard this week on laying out a fellow triathlete’s 2007 season. After getting the initial phases and periods laid out, Beth shared it with Jeff, Nikki and I. This lead to Beth and I spending some additional time thinking through the plan, the races and the various physiological adaptations that should be addressed through the training. That conversation lead Beth to a place where she put in the finishing touches and fine print. Oh yeah, this all took place after this athlete went through an individual consultation with Beth and Eric.
The entire process took quite a bit of time, some serious thought and a lot of communication. It also got me thinking about the value of creating a plan for your entire season and is it worth it?
Is there a draw back to using a plan?
The one draw back to creating a training plan for your season that I have heard is that it takes away the “fun” in training. “Why,” I usually ask? “Because then training becomes a chore or more like a job. If I feel like running, I want to run. If I feel like going for a ride, I’d like to go ride. What if I want to go for a ride and the plan says that I should be swimming?”
While that is a perfectly legitamite criticism to having a plan, I often wonder if these athletes get to race day feeling confident about their fitness and encouraged by their race strategy. What if they don’t “feel” like racing on race day?
Planning can propel you to your goals.
Many triathletes have some sort of goal when they sign up for a race. It may be finishing the race and feeling strong enough to still celebrate the accomplishment, it may be setting a personal best on a specific course, no matter what the goal, I suggest that the value in creating a plan for the season is that it will make reaching yours goals possible. Training “as the wind blows” usually ends up in “as the wind blows” results.
One other thing to consider is how your “career” in age-group athletics will develop. I have been able to get back to this type of programming for my own planning at the beginning of the 2006 season. Knowing I was going to have some stability in my life (relationships, jobs, financial, etc) I laid out another 3 year program to develop my Ironman racing abilities.
In 2006, I laid out a season that started by reaching towards a goal I had left over from the past (sub 3 hour marathon) and then focused on obtaining the fitness needed to cover the 140.6 distance. 2007 will be focused on increasing my overall endurance and spending more time dedicated to the bike. 2008 will be used to improve my abilities to actually “race” the 140.6 distance.
Is a training plan written in stone?
NO! The training plan, whether it is for a 4 week period, a season or a 3 year period is a guideline. It is generally better to stick to the plan as well as you can because it promotes consistency and specific overloads and progressions – but, we all know that sometimes life isn’t “neat” and “orderly”.
That is where the value of a coach may come in or even a mentor that will help you out, but fluctuations happen all the time. The plan gives you a “path” to get back to.
All paths lead to somewhere, while picking the random path can be fun at times, it often leaves you lost in the woods. Grab a map, pick-up a compus and stick the gps unit in your backpack; use the tools you have to create a plan for your 2007 season. It will allow you to have fun and will get you “out of the woods” too.
Addional links to read:
1. Focused Training Plan - article that looks at focused training cycles.
2. Direction’s: Do a basic week – repeat… - personal blog that include my basic week and 2007 training schedules.
3. The plan, reality, emotion and adaptability - a personal blog post that talks about creating a plan yet remaining adaptable to the situation, along with creating balance between the plan and everyday life. Includes a YouTube interview with Chris McCormack.
gary ditsch
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