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Training Cycles
The importance of planning your training and competition, including racing goals, cannot be overemphasized. This means considering the twelve-month year as a cycle, with one or two base periods, and one or two competitive “seasons.” In North America, for example, the weather dictates much of this pattern as competitive events occur mostly from spring to fall. For example, winter is generally a time to build an aerobic base, leading up to spring races. Summer is a stressful time with hot temperatures, making it a good period for recovery from competition and easier training again—and a time to build a bit more aerobic function. This leads to more competition in the fall, ending the season in December when your long aerobic base period starts again.
Question: On one wet, Sunday afternoon, I was plodding along in the heavy rain, all by myself, pleased with myself for going outside in the soup and running for forty-five minutes, when common sense might have said, “Stay indoors.” Then, another runner appeared out of the mist and blazed right past. My initial instinct was to pick up the pace and not let him get ahead. Then I realized, “What’s the point?” So I remained at my current (slow, aerobic) pace and watched him run off. Which leads me to the following questions: Is there a competitive gene in the brain? And why are some people so much more competitive than others? Can one be taught or trained to think or feel this way as an endurance athlete? Or is it something innate that we carry from birth? In fact, I have a training buddy who will not let anyone—strangers or friends—pass him on a bike training ride; he will practically kill himself to ensure that he always finishes first.
Answer: I think there are two forms of competition. One is healthy competition, which is based on a logical approach; first there’s a great training routine, where we don’t compete with anyone but ourselves in getting most fit. Next is the race, where we also compete with ourselves but can feed off others in a positive way. Healthy competition relies on the brain to balance the physical, chemical, and mental efforts used during training and racing.
Unhealthy competition is much more common. This is based on a “no pain, no gain” approach, where emotions can overshadow logic and common sense. With unhealthy competition, we can’t face the fact that someone out there is more fit than we are, and, as if we can just turn on a switch to go faster than anyone else, we work ourselves into a rage to beat that person. It’s more than a game, it’s an obsession. It’s like the bully we all knew in grade school, always looking for a fight. As mature adults, we should know better. Likewise, as intelligent endurance athletes, we want the best out of our bodies, and a well-planned strategy helps provide that, with a brain that also balances emotions.
Humans are naturally not only competitive, but very successful competitors. It’s how we evolved so successfully as a species. So in a sense, we all have that built-in competitiveness. Those most successful can control it. In training and racing, like all other aspects of life, harnessing that attribute can make us better athletes.
The training cycle can always be modified as various factors present themselves. For example, if an unexpected busy work schedule suddenly affects your training, or if an unfortunate bike crash slows your aerobic base building period, modifications are easily made. Or, if your MAF Tests are exceptionally good, or not progressing as well due to poor diet, adjustments can easily be made.
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An important part of your diary can be the early winter, when you plan your training cycle for the next twelve months. You can also highlight specific races.
