Dear Coach: How Do I Stay Focused Without Races?

Things I’m noticing and things to consider as lockdown continues into 5 months. Some athletes are getting very fit. For some, even lifetime best levels are being achieved. However, there are no races to go expend that energy and test that fitness. That might create a feeling of “being cagey” or wanting to test new limits. With new levels of pent up energy, it’s tempting to test that fitness in places you might not normally consider. Be careful! If you are one of these athletes, avoid taking risks that might lead to injury, accidents or even illness. 
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In normal circumstances, when you reach an all-time new level of fitness, you rest, go compete, recover, and start the process again. Without these normal outlets, there is risk, and it’s important to recognize it. 
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After 12 weeks, it’s a good idea to change up focus. For example, if you’ve been working on endurance, perhaps change your focus to a speed block, or if you’ve been working on strength it might be time to drop the weights and focus on miles. Changing up energy systems, maybe even changing up focused blocks. If you’ve been on a run focus block, it might be time to switch to an open water swim block now that summer is here, or a cycling block. These changes are typically built into our year through races, travel, and changes of season. Without those, it can be tempting to keep hammering the same thing for months and months. Eventually, you’ll see it’s time to switch things up to avoid stagnation, injury, and burnout.
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My advice is to plan things in 8-12 weeks blocks for now. Incorporate recovery and some kind of“race/test” set at the end of each block. This will help keep focus throughout the year, help monitor progress, help reduce injury, burnout, or drifting away as the moths go on. It will also help you settle down when you feel the temptation to take a risk you otherwise wouldn’t in training. Have fun, see what you can do, and bring that new level of performance into stronger years to come.

See the Triathlete Magazine version of my article here: Triathlete Magazine