Midnight Madness

I wrote this in the wee hours of the morning after waking up, hopefully you follow what I'm trying to say! 

Last night I woke up mid thought, thinking about information for a test I had been studying for all weekend. Naturally when I couldn't fall back asleep my thoughts drifted to more important topics. What I needed to do to accomplish my goals for the season, and how to do it. What went well last season, and how can I improve on that, or re-implement the strategies that worked? I think these are extremely important parts of the early season, going back to your notes or results and continuing proven methods. Granted they will have to change a little bit (pace, rest, nutrition, etc.) but the basic aspects of the plan obviously worked. Why change it until its stopped working? I think I've said this before but, it's not very often that trying to make a good thing better works out in my favor. 

This brings me to a really important point for people trying to make the most out of their season. Start a training log! Write race reports! I know when I start to look back to the success parts of the last year, and the not so successful parts, the only way I'll know is by reading my log.  What kind of swim workouts was I doing when I hit that really fast swim split? What kind of nutrition did I do at that race again? Some people think they can just go off of memory for these things but I promise you, most people get he coulda woulda shoulda blues after races. How many times after a race have you said oh I could have gone faster here here or here, whether it was hours days or a week afterwords. Maybe because our brains want us to forget the pain, or we can only take in so much during a high intensity event like a race. The reality is, hindsight is 20/20, but whether you could have gone faster is irrelevant, what you do in the moment is what's important  That's why you make an objective memory, a race report, a training log. To help you remember, track, and realize what works and what doesn't. Going back and looking at your race splits, while similar, doesn't count! Feel data is important, the little details are important!  Pre-race routine, dinner, items you wish you had in transition, pre-race sleep patterns etc. things you might not remember after an intense day at the office. 

If you're not tracking your training, obviously I recommend it. Training peaks is a great tool that I use. The old tried and true college ruled notebook is good if that floats your boat. There are other more formatted log options as well. Find one that works for you, that you're able to get into a routine and consistently use. The more information, the better. Some info that I think is essential is: feel data - do you feel like you're getting better in the water, how does your stride feel while you run, smoother? If you have an off day how was your sleep - have a bad day? How was your sleep the nights prior, this can help you realize how to manage it prior to race day to avoid off race days. Life stress on off days is a similar thing to note, that can sometimes throw you off your game. Don't take it to heart, it's not that you're getting less fit, stressful weeks are stressful weeks. Most times  un-avoidable, though we sometimes forget we do have lives outside of triathlon! Soreness- note any lingering soreness and its possible causes, this has helped me target specific pre-hab recovery techniques and stretches for common aches and pains. Diet- did you have a busy day and miss a meal, did you have to eat McDonald's because you were low on time? This stuff can sometimes make a difference and keep you from dewlling on a bad workout. 

Race recaps are another hugely important tool in my eyes. I've always written something out after a race, whether its to let my coach know or to organize my thoughts, I think it's definitely helpful. As I was thinking about how to make the improvements that I want to make this season, and develop reasonable goals. I find myself wanting to read my race reports to see where I can make improvements. That will definitely be on the to do list as I ramp up my training and realize where I need to put my focus. 

Another thing. they can help you with motivation. I'm not sure about you but when a world champion lays out a piece of advice I try to take it and use it as best I can. When I read this write up from coach Liz after her interview with Craig Alexander (you may have heard of him) it cemented my thoughts on how important training logs are. They are our source of motivation and efficacy. Where else would we logically derive our confidence from, if not from our training? Hopefully you're not trying to pull from outside sources like the wind won't be as bad today or, the field isn't as stacked. Although if you are, keeping logs might help you bring some of that confidence out from the inside instead, in my experience that's the strongest place to race from.