“Three quick guidelines for mid-season assessment that athletes and coaches can apply to their own situation.”
Coming off the Drake Relays, which is a big early-mid season meet for us, I got to thinking about a very important, but under-appreciated aspect of coaching: the mid-season check-in. We talk a lot about pre-season goal-setting and planning, as well as post-season evaluation and reflection. However, most of the time we’re somewhere in the middle, navigating the ups and downs of the season as it unfolds in all its untidy glory. With most high school and college athletes also in that mid-season period, I thought I would provide three quick guidelines for mid-season assessment that athletes and coaches can apply to their own situation.
Take an honest accounting of the situation
This is pretty easy to do when things are going well. When a runner PRs or exceeds expectations, we recognize this and level up our goals accordingly, to continually challenge ourselves. When things are not going well, however, I see coaches and athletes putting the blinders on to the reality that is apparent to an objective observer. You can’t fix anything if you haven’t recognized and accepted it, so this is an important first step. The next step is, of course setting forth the changes and adaptations that may alter the course of the season for the better.
Don’t spend too much time either too high or too low
It can be difficult to remain level-headed after an especially good or bad race, and indeed it’s important to allow yourself to feel the emotions that go along with those experiences. However, there’s little value in to spending too much time dwelling on what already happened (either good or bad) mid-way through the season. Celebrate too long, or beat yourself up for too long, and you can become distracted from the important pieces of the process of continuing to improve throughout the remainder of the season.
Be reflective, not reflexive
While it is important to examine your progress throughout the season, resist the urge to respond dramatically to any one race or workout. There’s normal physiological and psychological variability in each person, such that some days are better than others. Reacting too strongly to one or two days of training or racing can lead you to change course too dramatically, where a small tweak to the training or the simple passage of a few days may suffice to put you back on course.
Finally, don’t forget to enjoy each day along the way. Too often we look forward to the season, and look back fondly upon it, without noting and embracing the unique challenges and opportunities present in each day of training and racing.
Chris Lundstrom is the head coach of Minnesota Distance Elite – formerly Team USA Minnesota – which includes some of the top distance runners in the USA, including Annie Frisbie, Dakotah Lindwurm and Joel Reichow.
