In this little video, I’d like to add something to Alexa’s last video, which I think was really important. I almost had some similar thoughts to share, and Alexa covered some of those for me. I just want to add a couple of quick things.
Matching Goals to Training Time
One really important point that Alexa made was making sure that the events we choose, and the goals we set for those events, match the time we have available to train.
That is really important because I often see people who come to me for coaching struggling to hit their goal times in racing. The time they are committing to their training just is not enough. There is a mismatch there.
In those situations, we might have to adjust their goals or adjust some of the things in their lives so that they can do more training. That alignment is absolutely crucial.
How Do We Know If Goals Are Realistic?
The bit I would like to add is how we actually do that. How do we know if our goals are realistic?
The honest answer is that we do not exactly know. Becky often laughs and says she is going to buy me a crystal ball for Christmas, because so many people ask in September what time they are going to run for their marathon.
As coaches, though, we do have a better idea than most. We work with a lot of runners, and we can look at a runner’s historical data and help piece a few things together to put them somewhere in the ballpark.
Avoid Locking in a Goal Time Too Early
When we are training for an event, one thing we do not really do is pick a goal time too far out. We might have that initial ballpark, and then we refine it as we go.
That flexibility is really important.
The Value of a Long-Term Training Planner
One really wise thing to do is use a long-term planner.
I am going to add an image in the first comment showing my long-term planner for this year. I started it a couple of months ago, and it goes all the way through to an event in September.
What this allows runners to do, even if they do not have a specific race goal, is plan around specific goals or wants at different points in their training. Using some sort of long-term planner is extremely valuable.
I use a spreadsheet for myself and for the runners I work with. I do not always show everything to runners straight away because it can be overwhelming. Instead, I reveal it within their training as we go along.
Periodisation and Planning Ahead
To drive fitness, we need some form of periodisation, and that comes from longer-term planning.
In a long-term planner, I like to add the things we know first. That includes events, holidays, busy periods at work, times when we have more time to train, and times when we have less time to train.
From there, we start to piece things together.
For example, if someone has an autumn marathon, they probably know they will do a 12 to 16 week marathon-specific block with a two-week taper. They can work backwards from that.
They might also be doing a spring 10k, which gives them time to work towards that race, have a little recovery period, then a transition phase before marathon training begins.
Understanding Time Demands Around Key Phases
This approach allows us to identify periods where training will be more time consuming. A marathon is 26.2 miles, but we only run that on one day.
The real time demand comes from the 12 to 16 weeks before the taper, when training volume and focus increase significantly.
As Alexa said, it is essential to make sure our goals align with the time we have available to train.
Laying this out in a long-term planner helps us avoid conflicts, such as a work trip landing in the middle of a marathon peak block. When we can see that in advance, we can make sensible adjustments.
When to Speak to a Coach
One thing that is particularly important for runners who do not work with a coach, and who plan their own training, is considering a consultation at this time of year.
A single session with a coach can help plan out the long term. That includes event choice, event placement, and an honest discussion about how much time the runner has to train.
The key question is whether that time commitment is realistic for the goals they want to achieve, and whether it lines up with how they enjoy training.
Final Thoughts
I hope that was really useful. If you have any comments or questions, please pop them down below.
For now, happy running.
