Refocus Your Training

Several of my previous posts have had a common thread running through them, fun. This has been a fun year for me; The Polar Bear Plunge, Bataan, The Color Run, The Eurekan, which saw me complete my first triathlon and century ride, and several other events. Everything has been fun but I have a serious side too. A part of me that is competitive; maybe not in the sense of being the overall winner, rather one that wants to see how far I can push my personal limits. Can I hit my pace goals and can I hit my distance goals?

I have an upcoming 5k race September 1st which I set a time goal for. I was having so much fun I did not train as well and as hard as I might need to reach it. Now it is to late to worry about it so I will not. I will simply run it and give it all I have. If I hit my goal, great! If not then the goal will stand, waiting to be properly trained for and reached.

I started racing 5k’s for one reason, to improve upon my true passion of distance running. And that brings me to my real shift in focus away from being all about fun and getting serious about endurance. I will need it for two events this fall, a 100k run that will serve as a last long training run for my second event, a 24 hour endurance run. My pace will have to be over 1 minute per mile faster than I averaged on my longest run to date and I will have to do it for 10 additional miles in order to hit my goal of 110 miles.

Those are my goals. In black and white for the world to see. They are not dreams because I am training for them. Training AND having fun but the fun is no longer the focus.

What are your goals? Or, do you need to refocus and take time out from the intensity that comes with training to hit a difficult goal and begin to training for fun? By shifting your focus you can avoid burnout and enjoy your sport for a lifetime. Train happy.

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