Goal-setting for busy amateurs - triathlon & running

oliverbridge7
Nov 5
3 min read

Goal setting correctly can not only help you achieve goals better but having a clear understanding of yourself, your energy and how you feel at differnet times can really make a difference to your enjoyment of your sport.

How to run faster? How to run better? Triathlon and running advice for training and racing from things I have learned over 15 years of trial and error, lots of reading, talking and getting to a place I never thought possible when I started.

Here are four tips for the busy amateur triathlete or runner trying to balance life and achieving their sporting dreams, including a goal template recommendation.

#1: Zone of Interest

This a simple way to visualise and make what you are aiming for clear to ensure your interest and motivation remains high throughout your training..

I have illustrated this with Speed + Distance as the axis because the most common goal is time but the Zone of Interest applies to anything - make something too hard so that it's unrealistic and it isn't interesting. Too easy and you'll lack the motivation to try. Ex. If Eliud Kipchoge in his peak 2hr attempt fitness had gone for 1:55 or aimed for 2:05 then neither would drive him.

So for putting a goal as a time in endurance (vs. a position - which I do recommend, that is point #2!) then you're looking at the distance vs. speed across here and plotting where you are.

The other way it can help is realising a long-term goal vs. an immediate goal so you can put that dream achievement in the zone that is too hard but in the immediate you can have one more achieveable and then plot your ability increase to get there.

-- "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a ttime!"

#2: Don't make Time everything

With races and events, you never know who will also turn up on the day, or what the weather and race conditions might be. Therefore I like to look at how many people will be competing at the event and give myself a goal position overall and then within any categories. For examples: Top 50, Top 1000, Top 10 female, Top 5 20-24

#3: A peak doesn't exist without lows - label races

This is true for anyone but particular for endurance based sport. This is because endurance takes time to build at certain times and also for any sort of middle distance running upwards and triathlon particularly then the races take it out of you so much that your engine will not be primed again quickly.

There is another thing that comes into this more for amateurs. Over the course of a season or year that might have many life events & obligations or races, with your sport challenges acknowledge the ones you care about the most and try to build your peak condition for those.

What I do is label my races A, B, C races. I am still personally a fan of trying your best in every race but in B or C races my goals and therefore expectations for those races are lower.