Know Your Training Values

In the whirl wind season that is triathlon, sometimes its easy to get away from your goals.  At the beginning of the season, in those dark days of winter, you may of had 1 or 2 solid goals in mind.  These were to become the foundation of your season.  Then as the  season begins, other races start to attract your attention away from your key races.

This isn’t a problem as long as you keep your expectations in check.  Be realistic, if the goal was to finish top 10 at your two priority goals but your now compromising this with racing too much or to near your goal races – re-evaluate.  Maybe top 10 isn’t as important as it was 6 months ago.  Before making the change to write off your goals.  Take a second, and think 6 months in the future: how would you want to remember your season?  Does achieving your goals give you fulfillment?  If no, then what made you choose them in the first place?

Maybe having a solid goal isn’t your ideal way of planning.  Instead, maybe you would be better off with having a list of values to follow and help you stay on track.  This can help keep training/racing in check while letting you focus on what means most to you.  Choosing from the list below, this can also aid in the choice of races you’d like to do.

Below is a table of values.  Evaluate yourself by putting a number beside what is important (for example 3 is important and1 is not).  What is it that you seek when you race?

Hopefully the above table will give you an idea of where you want to head in the future.  Review these when your brain swirls with excitement about choosing a new prospective event.  If  adventure or something new is rated high then maybe you can give the green light.

Living with the reckless abandon that today is your last is fine in training (or interval training specfically) but not in racing.  Believe it or not; there will be another year to attempt other ventures.  Goals can change.  Priorities can change.  But try to keep your values the same.