Hey team, Coach Alexa here. We are progressing a little further into the new year now, and I wanted to talk again about goals, but from a slightly different angle to what I discussed last week.
This time, it is about how to space goals throughout the year.
Mapping Out Your Race Calendar
When I start working with a runner, sometimes they come to me with quite a long list of races. One of the first things I try to do, because I am quite a visual person, is map them out on a calendar.
That way, you can scroll up and down and clearly see the spread of events, races or goals across the year. From there, we can work out how the training actually fits around that.
Sometimes people have already booked or signed up for an impressive number of events, and it becomes an interesting prioritisation exercise. We need to decide which races are primary goals and which ones are better treated as easier training runs.
Making Sure Events Complement Each Other
It is important to think about how your events are spaced out and how they complement each other.
For example, if you have a big ultra as your main goal, it might not be sensible to also aim for a road half marathon personal best in the same four, five or six month period. While there is some overlap in training, there is much less overlap in focus and demands.
As a general rule, the longer the distance or duration of the race, the longer the gap you need between events. You can race a 5K far more often across the year than you can a marathon, or especially an ultra.
Training Is Where Fitness Is Built
Another key point is that we do not get fitter from racing itself. Racing is the icing on the cake. The real work that improves fitness happens in training, which then allows you to perform well on race day.
Because of that, you need to factor in enough time for building a solid base and then moving into more specific training phases. These stages are what allow you to get the best out of yourself when it matters.
Allow Time Between Key Goals
Spacing your goals properly means allowing enough time to train effectively between races, rather than jumping from one event to the next without fully benefiting from the training.
When you plan things well, you give yourself the best chance of consistent progress across the year.
Final Thoughts
If you have any thoughts on this, or want to share your race calendar for the year, pop them in the comments down below. It will be interesting to see what you are working towards.
Happy running.
