Plan To Get Better

AS THE SEASONS CHANGE SO DOES AN ENDURANCE ATHLETE’S TRAINING. DAVID LOWES LOOKS AT WHAT SHOULD BE INCORPORATED INTO YOUR TRAINING PLAN AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR

WITH the track season done and dusted for athletes in the UK, it’s time to plan ahead. The adage of “failing to plan, is planning to fail” is very apt and I will look logistically at why and how planning is vital for middle and long distance runners.

Firstly, planning is not just for elite athletes – their plans may have more detail and very specific targets – but most club runners, irrespective of talent, will have some sort of plan. It may revolve around the major club events which in itself takes some careful thought.

Where the difference between elite and club runners can become evident is with the “no stone left unturned” stance used by the top runner and their coach. These athletes and coaches may just have a couple of major objectives over a year. It has to be said in relation to this that peaking is an article in itself, and although the physical preparation is the overriding factor, the mind-set needed to race when it matters is crucial too.

Sit down and plan

Coach and athlete should ideally sit down at the end of the season with an honest and open approach to review what has happened – performances could of course have been good, bad or indifferent or a mix of all! To make any discussion beneficial, the competitive outcomes and training data needs careful thought to make it productive.

The process should include evaluation (what went well and what didn’t), integration (what changes can be made and why, (including more or even less training), implementation (putting those changes into action), and expectation (how those targets will be attained and a “reaching for moon, if not the stars” attitude).