From TNSW – Goal Setting Tips
With the postponement and cancellation of all events in the next coming months, it would be easy to get disheartened and even stop training altogether. On the contrary, this time off racing could be seen as a blessing in disguise, allowing athletes the gift of time at home to set new goals, work on weaknesses and plan for the season ahead.
TNSW got in touch with HPT Coach and Cronulla Triathlon Club member Peter Clifford, who has some great tips for goal setting during this time of uncertainty.
Peter recently put up a quick post on Instagram with a bit of an insight into how he heads into this next 3 month training block as a coach. Following are a few key take home tips for those athletes not quite sure on how to tackle it.
Start with the end in mind – Get to work on your Master Plan.
- Start with a blank piece of paper and a pen and write down everything you want out of yourself. Think of yourself as an architect designing a dream house. Leave no stone unturned.
- Identify the goals/outcomes of the block, and work backwards from there. For example, for my athletes one word comes to mind: “bulletproof”. So from that, I’ll outline what makes us bulletproof and train those things relentlessly over the next 3 months so we can hit the following block with a solid foundation.
- Here’s a few thoughts. Strength, flexibility, bike equipment knowledge, learn to cook, be a student of nutrition, get better at tracking all your training, do benchmark testing, gain mental skills, study how to learn off others.
- Once you have designed the house put some thought into how you can learn these things and practice getting better at them using online resources, books and coaches.
- With this framework, you can get to work.
Any worthwhile project has a detailed set of plans and a way of achieving them. Once you have a clear plan the path seems to be a lot clearer and easier to take on.
Thanks to Peter Clifford for sharing with TNSW.