Your Endurance Lifestyle. Redesigned.

photo credit: Stuck in Customs

It’s that time of year again when you should sit down and take a look at the calendar to figure out what your season schedule will look like. It’s an important time of year and it’s fun to do because you’re so far away from your event. Setting the right annual schedule of events can be more important that building out how you train, yet most athletes don’t give much thought to the who/what/where/when/how of their racing. Optimal training + Poorly Scheduled Races = Sub-Optimal Season.

So how to go about thinking about your annual schedule?

It’s actually pretty hard to do well. Here’s how most athletes mess it up. Most people plan for their “A” race long ahead. If you’re a triathlete then you had to probably sign up for your race at least eight, maybe even 12 months ahead of time. And in order to fill in your schedule between where you are now and where that event falls on the calendar, the majority of people simply ask their friends what they’re doing.

Called “piggy-backing,” these athletes do whatever races that other people are planning to do. And if they don’t do their friends, then they’ll follow a local tri-pro or an elite age group schedule where someone in the area always does race Y before race X. And along the way there are training events. If you’re on a team, they probably have some camps or big events. Or maybe your friends do something every year.

It’s very easy to fall into the trap of letting other people and external forces to determine your race plan. As you’re shaping up your annual schedule, try and do your best to clear your mental slate and think not about what races you need before that race. Don’t think about what your friends are doing. Sit down, set date on the calendar and then step back. Then begin.

First look at it from the perspective of those people immediately around you. And this is especially important if you have a family. That race is going to put a significant hole into your schedule. Not just at a weekend or the week of that race, but the 12 weeks before that race is a huge commitment. And it’s very easy to skip over that part and begin to fill in other events to make that calendar seem “right” or “full.” And what you’re really doing is setting conditions for a great deal of stress on your personal life and your professional life as well. So as you’re thinking about your annual schedule, I encourage you to think first of what you’re asking other people in your world to commit to from a family and a work perspective.

Second, break your season into two distinct parts. At the end of the day, it’s only what you really do in the last 12, maybe ten weeks that really has any impact on your fitness. Before that time, everything else is just training to get ready to train for your race. It’s very easy to feel like you need to have other events on the calendar, but this just leads to a busy year that really distracts you from your main race goal. Don’t worry about not keeping up with the “Triathlon Joneses” who race every weekend.

The first half of your season should be full of fun events that challenge your fitness and map well to your event. For a 70.3 or Ironman athlete, these events could include a half marathon, spring century rides, or even an open water swim. Once you hit 12 weeks to go, it’s time to start thinking race, and you might want to put an early Half Ironman or other event in those first four weeks (or Olympic) just to get the cobwebs out.

Third, plan only from what you need to be ready…not what you want to do. Focus on what will get you 100% ready for that “A” race. If it’s a hilly or hot course, you’ll want to pick events that put you in similar conditions. If it’s a much longer race than you have ever done before, start taking small bites of that challenge early by picking fun events that test your limits.

Fourth – and finally – once you have filled in what you need to do to be ready and you are balanced with your life, then you can add in some fun events if you haven’t already done so. Most athletes do well with some event / target within the 6-8 week range as a means of staying focused and on track. Avoid serious events as it’s very easy to set high goals for yourself long before it really even matters.

Planning can be fun, but it can be challenging too. Throw out that spreadsheet and follow these simple steps to generate a relevant, effective plan for your season.

How do you plan your season?

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