Category: Training

If something goes wrong in your training plan, what do you do? Do you panic or do you roll with it?

How about if something goes wrong in a race?

When you line up for a race, what’s going through your mind?

Are you looking at it as a challenge? An opportunity to see how well you can perform?

Or do you see it as a threat, fearing failure?

Are you planning to try something new this year? If so, have you decided what you’re taking away?

It may seem strange to talk about removing something but, if you’ve already maxed out your training, how can you add something without taking something else away?

It’s the time of the year where we’re planning out our racing seasons for next year and setting our goals. How do you go about setting a good goal, though? You want a goal that will challenge you without feeling overwhelming.

In other fields, you may have heard of SMART goals. I think the SMART goal concept works very well for runners. But how does it apply to runners? Continue reading “SMART goals for the runner”

You CAN run through the winter!

Winter is here! At least in this part of Wisconsin, it seemed to arrive on Halloween this year and hasn’t let up since!

That means it’s time, if not a little late, for your annual reminder: winter running can be safe and, dare I say, even enjoyable with a few precautions.

It’s the most simple question that can be asked to assess the usefulness of a training concept: did it work?

However, is that always the right question to ask? What if it appears that it did work but for the wrong reasons? What if it appears to not have worked but some other variable was the problem?

Many of us have wrapped up our racing seasons some time in the last month or so. Those of us who haven’t likely will be in the next month or so.

So the logical question to ask at this point is – what next? What do we do between now and spring?

While I would strongly encourage that you take advantage of the winter to build a solid base in order to make your spring goals more attainable, that’s not what I would recommend immediately after your last race of the year.

We all have them. Certain times when stress is higher, the schedule is busier, maybe things are so hectic that even your sleep suffers.

Maybe you have a deadline you need to meet at work. Maybe something is going on at home or in your extended family. During the holidays, there are simply so many things going on that we can feel overwhelmed.

When these things happen, what do you do with your running? Do you back off or “just plow through”?

October is my favorite month of the year as a runner. The weather is cool and crisp, the trees are changing color, all seems right in the world.

These past few days have reminded me how much I enjoy October and I’ve made sure to take some time to let it all soak in.

Have you done the same recently?

Last week, I mentioned that I had a difficult summer where I made some mistakes. The difficulties were self-inflicted and I wanted to take a few moments this week to discuss my mistakes, with the hope that some of you can hopefully learn from my mistakes and maybe avoid making similar ones yourselves.