by ZAP Endurance Head Coach Pete Rea
Each year here at ZAP Endurance begins the same way for resident athletes, by reflecting on the year concluded and then turning our attention to the coming year and beyond. As with most competitive athletes goals begin on paper as part 1 outcome goals / i.e. performance goals replete with PRs to target, places for National Championships, and the team based goals we have including Road Championships and Club Cross-Country. The path to these performance goals, however, are laden with a type of goal many have never considered: process goals.
Process goals, a concept put forth to our club years ago by Dr. Robert Swoap of Warren Wilson College in Asheville, NC, are very much unlike outcome goals in that we all have 100 percent control them. For example, if an athlete has a goal of running a personal best time in the 5k in the coming year, he or she will need to first and foremost stay healthy to complete the required training necessary for this PR. How does an athlete stay healthy? How about a process goal of running “at least half of all weekly volume on non-paved surfaces.” That is a goal which can be controlled a.k.a. a process goal. “Sleep a minimum of 9 hours each night” is another process goal commonly put forth by the athletes here at ZAP or “ice legs daily after training runs.” In a nutshell process goals (aka action goals) are unequivocally within our power, making the outcome goals we all set much more likely to happen.
Once you have your goals in place (both outcome and process) the next order of business, and one which far too many athletes fail to address, is a detailed plan of attack with specific training phases and planned races for the coming year. Having this type of road map to your end-of-year goals will allow you to see success along the way. How might a year long plan look for a couple of athletes with widely ranging goals? Take a look below at an excerpt from one of my coaching clients. “Jon” is a 42 year old who had a year end goal of running a sub 3:00 hr marathon for the first time (his personal best prior to 2011 was 3:09.37 in 2017). Entering 2018 in complete health, we targeted a year which would allow him to see success throughout the year while minimizing the risk of injury.
1) January through April / First 14-16 weeks of the year (slowly build mileage from an average of 42.5 miles per week in 2010 to a goal high 40s / low 50s per week average in 2011), our plan included keeping five-six days per week during this “build-up” phase under 75-80 percent effort (based on Jon’s maximum heart rate). Jon ran 1-2 moderate fartleks on the alternate days or moderate sub threshold efforts to keep intensity in play. There was little to no racing during this period. (fartlek sessions during this build up period were all effort based and controlled typically workouts such as 1:00 – 2:00 – 3:00 – 4:00 – 4:00 – 3:00 – 2:00 – 1:00 ladder fartleks with 2:00 easy jog between each pick-up or a simple 7-8 mile run once per week where we began the final 5 miles moving slowly forward finishing at roughly goal marathon pace for the final 2-3 miles). In addition it was important for us to maintain Jon’s economy; we did so by adding accelerations (8-10 x 120 meters) after 2 runs each week.
2) May – Mid July / Weeks-17-26 After a successful first few months Jon and I transitioned his training into some more specific work for late spring and early summer – as per the plan. During this period we began introducing longer anaerobic threshold stimulus efforts such as 2 x 20-25 minutes, four-six mile tempo runs, and longer fartlek sessions at 85-88 percent effort. Long runs were increased at this point from 11-12 miles to the 15-17 miles range. Every third week we introduced a “planned” rest week by reducing his mileage 15-20 percent, including a day of complete rest and bringing the long run down to 13/14 miles as well. As with most of the athletes with whom I have worked, Jon actually felt stale during his “down” weeks, however, looking back at his year these weeks were critical to his success. This period saw racing every 2-3 weeks in lieu of a tempo effort for both a fitness check (also this allowed us to change the efforts for tempo runs based on improved fitness) and to begin honing his racing skills. We raced everything from a 2 mile race to a 25k and, not surprisingly, with a few months of aerobic conditioning work behind him ran lifetime bests of 5k, 8k and half marathon (1:23.44).
3) Mid July to Early November / Weeks 27-42 After a big downswing and recovery 10 days Jon and I began our specific marathon training with all of the expected elements including longer long runs (5 of over 20 miles), marathon tempo work and Transition into longer intervals with shorter recovery. Jon’s training during this build-up was detailed and specific including rest periods and touching on virtually every energy system (see my April 2013 column on the “perfect marathon build-up for all abilities”). In the end we stressed health above all else, knowing though that no great reward comes without risk. We raised Jon’s volume to its’ highest average ever, always making sure to toss in planned rest and a pull back every few weeks. In the end Jon did reach his goal. He ran 2:58.09. Critical to Jon’s success were not only setting reasonable and lofty goals, but making sure he possessed specific process goals he could implement. For Jon they included nightly sleep quantity, weekly massage therapy and even specific fluid intake to avoid dehydration (a major problem for him in the past).
4) Weeks 43-46 – Post Marathon Rest and Transition. The best advice ever given to me as a coach was done so by the late great Art Gulden (31 years as the coach at Bucknell University), who said “rest is not the absence of training, it is part of training.” As you conclude any targeted distance running goal, whether the goal is achieved or not – be certain to give yourself some recovery time to heal and regenerate both physically and mentally.
A few additional thoughts from the ZAP Endurance Group –
- Set optimistic yet realistic goals to begin the process. If your 10K best is 46:00, perhaps target a goal of 1:00 – 2:00 faster. A goal of 33:00 is likely a bit unrealistic unless you are a true beginner ran your 46:00 effort holding a 25 lb. weight.
- Do not expect early season/year race efforts to bring forth your best performances. If you are planning your year correctly with a Base Phase, Anaerobic Threshold focus, and economy work to finish, your early races will likely be “rust busters” and often will be sub par simply based on the fact that intensity should be kept to a minimum in early training phases.
- Reassess your goals and your map toward those goals occasionally with someone who knows more than you. Nothing is more powerful to a distance runner (or any athlete) than an objective eye. No one has the power to be fully objective about his or her own training.
- Avoid the “race all year” trap that many fall into. While road racing 52 weeks a year is enjoyable, improving performances is more enjoyable. Simply allowing yourself a three-four month lower intensity Base Phase period to begin each year (sans racing) will allow you to see higher peaks at the end of your year.
- Allow yourself a two-three week period of true rest following the end of your year following your primary goal race to reflect and begin planning your next stage of attack.
Good Luck!
