At the beginning of the year, we think about what we want to achieve and what races to complete next season. Some have been clear about it for a long time and therefore have an advantage over those who have not yet set goals.
Without setting goals, it will be harder for us to convince ourselves to train, get up at 5:15 in the morning and jump into the water at 6, or go for a run after work when it is already dark.
I don’t have a complete picture of it yet and that is why the training doesn’t meet my expectations yet, but I believe that I will be clear about it soon. At my age, injuries often affect our capabilities, so it is not so easy to plan something.
But the Road to the Goal, that is what fulfills me. But I know that the goal has to be there, otherwise the training is all bad, “without life”. In the end, it won’t matter whether I achieve my goal or not, but that I will train, race and do what I like and what I really enjoy.
It is said that often the “path” is our goal.
If I hadn’t set my performance goal for the next period, I might not have gone to training today.
Only you have to think about what you want to achieve, not your coach.
Some people may have a problem if they don’t achieve their goal. That’s why they set themselves easier to achieve goals.
Others, like me, need a really big goal. And if we don’t achieve it, it doesn’t matter. What is important is that we have sufficient motivation and desire to work on ourselves.
“I want to improve” – is insufficient! . It must be specific, precise, measurable and with a date when we want to achieve it.
I will write you an example of how it should look.
Swimming: in the first week of May, swim 1500m in a 25m pool in 20:00.
In this way, determine your goals for other disciplines as well as placements in specific competitions and the like in as much detail as possible. It is ideal to also set goals for, for example, 3 and 5 years. You wouldn’t believe what you are capable of achieving in 5 years! Even if it seems impossible to you now.
I believe that without goal planning I would not have achieved even half of what I have achieved.
Consistent strong motivation is a condition for achieving significant improvement.
I like a quote that Paula Radcliff (former world record holder in the marathon 2:15:25) also uses. The free translation is: “If you don’t fly to the moon, you will at least be among the stars.”
This applies to me. Otherwise I wouldn’t have enough motivation to get up at 5:15 to train, do psycho-training on the trainer when the weather is bad outside, or run in the snow at minus 10 degrees.
And that’s exactly what most of us, aspiring triathletes, are facing.
So start thinking and dreaming. Without goals and subsequent motivation, training will be very difficult. And maybe even useless.
“If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up nowhere.”
To set goals, we can create, for example, a table like this and adjust it every year:
Another important fact is that you should be aware of every, even minimal, progress and improvement. This is something that keeps me constantly motivated. It is enough that I go one second faster than last time at the same intensity (heart rate zone) and it is a reason to continue working on myself with the feeling that my dream goal is getting closer.
“Experience the feeling of constant improvement!”
I still feel and know that there is still room for improvement and where I can be better (and not just in sports) and I just hope that I will always find the right motivation and will always be able to set goals so that I don’t just go through my life, but truly live it.