Summer Goals… They seem so far away, but the reality is that you can be thinking about your goals for next season right now, so that when July rolls around, you’re as prepared as possible, and honestly, so that you stay motivated as winter hits.
As fall/winter settles in many summer athletes start to shut down their training as events (ahh, remember those!?) are done and next goals feel so far off in the distance.
With the change of season comes a change in focus and some homework. We can reflect on the season, on the races, on our training and habits and also plan forward to what we want to do next year. In this way, the fall can serve as a first chance at New Years Resolutions, and an early chance to start out on the path to our next goals.
So, let’s start by thinking through how this year went, almost trying to reverse engineer the process of setting a goal for 2021 and creating a blueprint that focuses on doing more of what you love, and less of what didn’t work for you this year.
What worked?
It’s time to look at the positives of this season’s training. Ask yourself:
- What did you enjoy?
- Can you do more of that? (And if so, what goal would that support?)
- What did you find worked or where were you successful? Why?
- With this in mind, how should this change your goal for next season? (For example, if you loved your gravel workouts but had planned a time trial-focused 2021, it might be time to consider switching your racing goals to gravel ones!)
Too many adult athletes end up training for things they don’t want to do. The journey to the goal is the point so find some things you are interest in to spend your time in!
What didn’t work this season?
(Other than a global pandemic in the case of 2020…) But seriously, What derailed you? What distracted you? What conflicts/problems or frustrations did you have? Can you avoid these? Mitigate these? or accept these? Common things that can help are planning race/training blocks after you look at your family and work schedules to avoid conflicts that derail your training (e.g. don’t plan a race the week after your family vacation or during you busy month at work).
What do you want to do next year?
Let’s say you are targeting a July goal, something like a national championship, a stage race, or a Gran-Fondo. You can start now. If you know the goal is in July and you have to SHOW UP in July, then you may as well get started now. Recover from this year, get the assessments (e.g. blood work, base line testing) and start laying the foundation. This isn’t fancy, but for many adults (especially those who aren’t ‘lifelong endurance athletes), the laying of an aerobic foundation is a worthwhile and time-consuming process. It’s not intense, its not instagram-worthy … its pretty unremarkable but in 6 months you can have a pretty outrageous change in endurance and layer on whatever specificity you want for a July goal.
If you aren’t performance-oriented you might also use July as a deadline for a body-composition or health goal. The idea that you need a deadline is still valid and likely underused when there isn’t a race date to motivate you and make you show up with whatever fitness you have on race day. If you want to lose 5 pounds, could you make longer term changes for the months between now and summer and rather then setting audacious goals aim to loose way less each month and arrive in July? You might lay the same ‘base’ of aerobic work now, adding in strength training with a focus on ‘boring’ diet changes like drinking water, eating veggies and protein and going to bed on time … for 6 months. Unremarkable today, impressive in 6 months.
Plan it out
Obviously, the next step here is to start making a plan—and that plan can begin as early as today! Think small and think big. What are the key rides or runs you’ll need to make time for? What are the daily habits that you can insert into your life? (If you’re not sure how to start, check out our upcoming book, Becoming A Consummate Athlete, or book a call to talk it out with Peter!)
More Relevant Posts to Check Out:
- There’s not as much time as you think
- 80% is a passing grade
- When should you prepare for the goal that you have set
- Can you prepare for the goal that you have set
