Conditions for (Personal) Success: #1 Your Schedule

I talk to a lot of athletes who are looking for that edge, that particular short cut or hint that will enable them to take their race day performance to the next level. Athletes talking about phosphate loading, caffiene protocol, race wheel selection, etc. To borrow a famous phrase, it's not about the food, the bike, the gear, etc....it's about you. Get yourself in order and you will see some amazing results. Here is the first of three installments (#2 Your Recovery, and
#3 Your Execution coming soon)...

Your Schedule
Training plans don't have to use cutting edge technology or rocket science to be good--or to be just what you need. There are always going to be changes in training protocol, but it's always best to modify from a place where you are strong and successful than to simply change course with each passing fad. So what's strong and successful, you ask??? How convenient...

#1 Your Plan is Do-Able: There are a lot of great training plans out there, but not all of them are for you. Think of it as buying a pair of shoes for your next race: There are a lot of different models, lasts, stays, uppers, posts, etc., but at the end of the day it's the shoe that feels right that wins (or at least it should be!!!). This is similar to training plans...Lance might have a great plan, but if it means training 35 hours a week and you only have 10, well, you can see where this is going. A successful training plan will (A) take your life into account, making room for friends and fun; it will (B) take your gear into account (no sense in having you X-Country Ski if you don't have the equipment); it will (C) take your schedule into account (no point in have a 5 hour ride on the plan if you only have 3.5 to ride). Make sure that you -- or your coach -- successfully address these three criteria before continuing.

#2 Your Plan is Repeat-able: For all the brouhaha over binge training and mega miles, there is a little known training cult known as consistency. Consistency trumps big weekends every time. Your body responds to repeated stress and time for recovery. But that stress must also be consistent and developed over time. Training 5 hours one week, 16 the next and then taking the third week off is not going to give you the results you want. As you build a plan, start conservatively by building in workouts which you know you can accomplish. Once you have created a routine around your workouts, it's much easier to start adding things on...piece by piece.

#3 Your Plan is Track-able: Okay, so the title for this one is pretty weak...but the concept is not. In order for you to be truly successful at your athletic pursuits, you need to have a past. AKA: How can you know where you are going if you don't konw where you've been? Keeping a training log is a huge step forward for an athlete....you will see what is too much/too little....you will see which workouts have a true impact on your fitness and which ones you should have skipped. This is the cheapest ($2.50 for a notebook) yet most important part of your training profile. Take the time to note what you do each week (or better yet, each day) and then periodically review your progress...you'll be amazed at what you can learn from yourself!

More soon...