This week, we’re diving into the process of how to set goals for your next season of training and racing. We start with identifying your purpose, which is ultimately the fuel that powers the engine of any endurance journey. We then drill into choosing different levels of outcome goals, identifying the process goals that it will take to achieve your outcome goals, mapping out goal achievement strategies, and overcoming barriers to achieving your goals. We sprinkle in some insights from our own goal-mapping journeys, as well as cover additional fun topics including: optimizing training during travel, how to approach choppy triathlon swims or windy bike courses, how culture breeds success, connections between the mind and heart in endurance sports, and a whole lot more. Check this one out and go set some goals for 2025!
Coaching & Training Insights
Katie - a couple more insights from my season closer
Importance of getting in and out of transition quickly - and stop at the bathrooms first! Most people spend way too much time in transition and wait on very long lines by hitting the bathrooms last
Also -- if you have extra time, go somewhere quiet, get out of the cold/wind, breathe deeply (before warming up). I sat in my car for 15-20’ after setting up transition because it was cold and I didn’t want to waste energy just waiting around.
Importance of bilateral breathing - water can be choppy and if you can only breathe on one side, you may be in trouble
This swim was in a bay and was completely calm during my practice swim the day before; it was crazy windy and 3 foot waves during. Needed to breathe on just one side throughout
Related - goal of triathlon swim prep: Make the swim a non-event
Given how choppy it was, my swim was not going to be fast. My mantra was “I am experienced” and the goal was to just move forward, sight well (which is hard when the wind is pushing you everywhere), and not stress out.
Racing can often create conditions where you can’t really express your swim fitness, and when that happens, the goal is to just be steady and keep moving forward.
Also, remind yourself that everyone has to deal with the same conditions!
On bike fitting - calling myself out for riding the TT bike like a roadie
Have had a lot of upper back pain/ scapula area
Didn’t experience it at all during the race when I was 98% in aero (pretty flat course)
Pretty sure it’s from riding my TT bike like a roadie, which is often what you have to do when riding in really hilly terrain but I’ve made a bad habit of it
Next season goal -- focus on staying in aero OR riding road bike
Thoughts on optimizing training during travel
Travel is stressful on the body, so focus on Z1/2 and less is more. This is especially true if using gear that is not familiar, such as a hotel spin bike or rental bike. A millimeter goes a mile with bike fitting and smashing threshold intervals on a bike that doesn’t fit you right is a recipe for disaster
Walking a lot counts as activity, so modify runs/bikes down if walking a lot and focus on swim/strength if you are able
Look up local tri club websites to see if they post any routes for biking, running, or OWS. You can also use the Strava heatmap to figure out where people are running/riding near you.
Many pools/gyms have day passes. Plan in advance where you are going to go and figure out hours/day pass rates as part of your travel prep to reduce friction when you get to your destination
My travel essentials:
Skinny long band and mini band for strength work
Snacks and LMNT!
Bike shorts if you think you can ride
Result: successful trip to Chicago and rec for the Lakefront Trail!
Finally, following up on our “levels” discussion from two weeks ago -- want to shout out to one of my athletes who started with me as a brand-new no experience triathlete in the winter, crushed it at 3 sprints this year, signed up for 1 sprint and 2 OLY next year, and has her sights set on a 70.3 the year after that and eventually (in life) an IM. So cool to see it paying off to follow the process!
Jim:
Reflecting on nearly a decade of coaching the Dartmouth Triathlon Club, the number one takeaway is culture sets the tone for success. The culture is welcoming and supportive to all levels of ability, accessible practices and necessary gear, and very process oriented (which we’ll get into further in our main topic). As a result, the club has grown to one of the biggest and successful clubs on campus and is probably one of the largest triathlon collegiate clubs in the country. From this culture, depth of participation and process oriented focus, the program continues to turn out overall and age group winners at local, regional and national events.
Even with a small subset of athletes this weekend at Buzzards Bay, we had the overall men’s and women’s winner and 1st & 3rd in the men’s and women’s collegiate division, along with podiums in the duathlon and our alumni in age group.
Which is to say, if you are building a program, create a safe, welcoming culture, give them support to grow and show up daily. From this, your peeps will be able to live up to their potential and rise to the top.
And a corollary to this point: Steve Magness talks about this a lot when he was coaching the University of Houston running team, he did a simple analysis of performance and practice attendance. There was a direct correlation between the two: the students who went to the most practices did the best in competition. It’s as simple as showing up even if that is for an exercise snack. Just keep showing up and good things will happen.
Related to our discussion of season planning, it’s important to read up on the type of course you have an interest in racing. There are some courses that I call “plus” courses such as Maine 70.3 is a 70.3+ course meaning that it’s harder than your average 70.3. The White Mountain Tri Olympic and Half are other examples of “plus” courses. If you are a beginner, these courses may not be the best choice for your first triathlons. And for experienced triathletes, they are good choices to get an extra training stimulus on race day. For example, the White Mountain Half is a good training day for an Ironman.
And on the other end, there are favorable courses for beginners at various levels: Aside from the swim, Buzzards is a nice beginner sprint race. Patriot Half is a good first time 70.3 course. We are always happy to help you choose a race course - just reach out!
I’ve been re-discovering the value of foam rolling and light strength before bed a few nights a week. This consists of foam rolling mostly my quad and glutes and a little bit of my back. Light strength, if I haven’t done strength training that day, is half crunches and pike planks (inspiration from David Roche) and a few push ups. But it can be anything that lightly activates your body and uses muscles. From a blood sugar perspective, you can reduce your glucose levels significantly post meals with a walk or light strength. This will result in less spikes in energy and tends to set me up for a good night sleep. And I wake up less tight and feel more activated in the morning.
Leading with the heart vs the head
I recently listened to a Rich Roll podcast that hit different (as the young kids say). It’s an interview with Kimberly Snyder who just released a book The Hidden Power of the Five Heart. (Free audiobook with Spotify Premium.)
The book premise is that the heart is much more than just a muscle. It is a sensory organ and an information encoding and processing center, with an extensive nervous system that effectively acts like a brain aka “heart brain.”
The heart is able to learn, remember and make decisions independent of the brain.
It has 40,000 neurons and talks to the brain more than the brain talks to the heart.
It has an energy field 100X greater than the brain.
All humans are emitting this energy and we are highly attuned creatures to the energy others are emitting. In sum, the heart, in conjunction with our brain, has a central role in emotional experience.
This book isn’t woo woo, it’s based on science. Part of the book is based on research from the HeartMath Institute. They have shown that when you experience positive emotions, you gain coherence or synchronicity with your heart rhythm and balance in your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. The key here is the positive signals are being sent from your heart to your brain.
Here is Kimberly’s podcast with a doctor from the institute which provides a good overview of the book, too.
Given we are an athletic psychology podcast now, I started to think through various race and training scenarios where overthinking, or leading from my ego brain was sometimes counterproductive and coming from the heart was the antidote.
For example:
When I go into a race, I’m often very focused on my goals, my race, my experience. It’s a “me” mindset. But as we have talked about before on this podcast, especially for long distance racing or training, the sooner you go from a me - ego centric mindset to a we -community centered mindset, your day becomes more rewarding, sustainable and connected to yourself and those around you. The me centric mindset is coming from the ego/brain and the “we” is coming from my heart and gut. I literally feel the difference in my body. When I’m connected into the “we”, I feel warm and energetic in my heart and gut. Connection is “we” and attachment is “me.”
As I worked through the heart/gut vs brain feeling, I found so many more examples:
When I express gratitude, I feel it in my heart/gut.
When I think about process, I feel it in my heart/gut. An outcome's focus is coming more from my brain (and usually wrapped up in some ego.)
When my brain starts to spin out of control before a race, I often go to gratitude: gratitude for the opportunity to train, to have a body that is healthy. For the race director, staff and volunteers who make the race happen. For my family and friends who support the expression of my true, authentic self. For me, I can feel gratitude in my heart.
As we talked about in Episode 47, vulnerability to race is from the heart. Fear of failing comes from my brain.
My endurance drive, the drive to be the best I can be, my internal peace and connectedness, comes from my heart.
This extends to my training:
Trying to execute the intention of the workout, especially under adverse conditions where I know it’s not going to be exact, is from the heart.
Being a perfectionist about the workout is from the brain. Perfection is a fragile, ego driven mind state.
I see this a lot in TrainingPeaks comments; folks are very disappointed they didn’t hit the EXACT paces, reps, distance. So, as my therapist says, slow down and take a few breaths. If you tried your best, that’s coming from the heart and that’s a HUGE win.
I have lived both sides of this:
Did I fear that missing one workout and getting a red box would ruin the training plan and my race? That’s perfection, fear comes from my head.
Did I give my honest, whole effort the last six months of training? Did I do my best given all of my time and health constraints? If so, that came from the heart.
We’ve all heard about the flow state. In essence, that’s when the brain and heart are aligned. You can’t be in a flow state if you are just living in your mind.
So, I’m not saying to stop thinking but I am saying that the brain is really good at keeping us alive and inventing things like good training plans. And when you bring your heart more into the equation, you access something greater and deeper inside yourself. You align your full power to be you and connected with your family, friends and community.
And I leave you with this: You don’t say I love you with all my brain. You say I love you with all my heart.
Main Content
Katie: Intro - I work with a mindset coach who specializes in sport performance and psychology, and we’ve been doing some goal mapping in advance of next season. I’ve also been having a lot of conversations with my athletes on goals for next season. Today our goal is to talk more about how to set goals in training and racing.
- First point: returning to my psychology insight and shoutout to Brene Brown two weeks ago, want to flag that goal-setting is a pretty vulnerable thing to do! So kudos if you are doing it. Classic vulnerability = emotional exposure + risk + uncertainty. If you say “I want to win!” you are expressing a desire (emotion) + risk (what if it doesn’t happen?) + uncertainty (can’t know for sure if you will win). So kudos if you are doing it and having these conversations!
Goal-mapping process:
First thing to identify, before setting any race goals. What is your purpose?
Examples:
I really enjoy training, and racing gives structure to that training.
I use training and racing to stay connected with others and build community.
I love to learn and see progress.
Etc.
If you write this down, your purpose should be written at the very top of your worksheet - well above any goals.
Purpose should be aligned with values!
Next thing to identify: Outcome goal - results that you as an athlete hope to achieve; the outcome that you want to happen.
Examples: Break X hours in a 70.3; win age group; quality for Kona; finish an Ironman.
You can break this down further into sub-outcome goals:
A goal -- impressive: overall podium at race
B goal -- achievable: top 3 age group
C goal -- obvious: finish at X race; thank every volunteer; etc.
General guidelines on outcome goals:
Be as specific as possible! If you want to PR, by how much? If you want to run your longest mileage ever, how many miles?
Ask yourself, how come this goal now? (Or another: What is about this goal that’s important to you? What does this goal mean to you?)
Important to make sure that this goal is internally and not externally driven
Now, we transition to process goals -- steps you need to follow in order to achieve the goal. As coaches, we can help you identify process goals!
Key question - what would it look like to achieve that outcome? If you want to PR or win your age group in a tri, what data or metrics can tell you whether you are on track to make that happen?
Example: I am likely to improve my bike time at S2S if I can improve my FTP to a point where I can hit a certain NP on the bike, crush my fueling/hydration, get comfier staying in aero for even more of the ride, and follow a strength program targeting specific muscle groups.
Drilling down further: what will improving my FTP look like? What does my fueling/hydration strategy need to be?
Which translates right into: goal achievement strategies
What does it look like in practice to achieve that goal? Focus on the process! Break down into physical strategies (training, fueling, hydration, sleep, recovery) and mental strategies (mental work, etc.)
Some examples for me:
Physical: keep upping the carbs; more high-end bike and swim work; >8 hours in bed every night
Mental: selective data hiding; breathing/relaxation strategies;
Other examples: limiting drinking and/or late nights during specific prep phase, saying “no” to more things, starting therapy, start and end workouts with a mantra., etc.
Figure out the frequency that you can commit to following these strategies. Example - physical: >8 hours in bed at least 5x per week. Breathwork 1x per day 6 days per week. Etc. Write that out as part of a 7-day schedule.
Two final steps - (1) identify barriers to achieving your goals
Work, family, mindset, fueling, etc.
Then write down strategies you can use to approach these barriers, or consider modifying goal if barriers will be impossible to get around
For me: I hate getting in the pool for tough workouts and I struggle with the motivation to do it
Overcoming barrier: bring a friend to the pool! Makes it more fun and holds me accountable to getting the tough set done
(2) Identify need-to-haves to make your goals possible -- this can include gear, technique/skills, support network, and more.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help!
Example: If you want to win your AG or qualify for Kona in a flat race, you probably need a TT bike.
Second example: Honesty, trust, and direct communication with coach
Something to be aware of: The big outcome goals are there, and it can be important to acknowledge, but they should not be the focus. Consider both the process goals and the goal strategies as the most optimal to focus on, with the purpose being the gas that drives that car.
Final point: mid-season evaluations of goals are essential! It is OK to pivot. Always go back to your overarching purpose and ask yourself if you are in line with that purpose.
Story on me doing goal mapping -- preface by saying that this feels vulnerable!
I started out by saying my outcome goal for 2025 was to improve individual times in swim, bike, and run for S2S.
On further reflection, I realized that this goal was probably a little bit lacking on the ambition side:
I swam no more than 2x per week and did relatively few swim workouts in my last build
I got lost for 20’ on the bike - just don’t get lost and I save 20’
I walked up the stairs at the end of the run because I knew I had it in the bag!
Asked myself: would it actually be a big deal for me if I went 5 seconds faster on each of the disciplines? Probably not…
Jim knows this -- I have a tendency to say my stated goal out loud but usually pick something that’s pretty attainable/obvious, but everyone knows that I also probably have a ‘secret goal’ in the back of my mind
And I see this in athletes too - sometimes we don’t want to say our goals out loud because there’s less of a landing pad if we don’t achieve them; stakes feel higher by saying it out loud
I also have a tendency (along with many of my athletes) to say that I don’t really care about the outcome in the weeks leading up to the race → more padding the landing. But OF COURSE I care!!
Lesson: need to work on being okay with whatever the outcome is… still in progress!
Anyway, then I had to go back and think about what it was that I really wanted to do and what kind of goals scared me a little bit.
Turns out S2S is a fun race that I will do, but it’s going to be more of a B race for me next year
Building out my calendar with some other races and training objectives that are scarier - will share these once I have them fully figured out but I am excited about them!
Broader point: you might find that when you do the goal mapping exercise, you realize that your goals are different from what you thought that they were
Listener Questions
How should I approach racing if it’s windy out (especially on the bike)? Go harder into headwind and easier into tailwind, or maintain consistent effort?
Jim: I really struggle with wind so I feel this question! In high winds, my HR jumps up immediately and my watts tend to drift up and down wildly. When I’m faced with these conditions, I think about staying aero and envision that I’m cutting through the wind. I try to keep effort steady and disregard HR and watts and stay in the mental aero mindset. As we discussed a couple of podcasts ago, you can use the off season to practice an aero bike position either on your TT or road bike while going at Z1, easy Z2 watts. This takes a lot of practice and now is a low pressure time to do that.
And as part of your race prep, you should analyze where the prevailing winds are on course and incorporate this into your race plan. There are a lot of courses that have a headwind on the way out and a tailwind on the way back or vice versa. In those instances, we will plan to bike a little above our goal race watts/effort on the headwind section and use the tailwind section to bike below race watts and really focus on a tight but relaxed aero position. Think effort on the way out and speed on the way back. Speed is a mind set!
Challenge of the Week
Katie: This should go without saying, but map some goals! And ask your coach for help :)
Jim: A challenge I have set for myself starting this week is no social media before noon. It’s really tempting to dive into social media first thing in the morning to see what the world is presenting but I’ve found it’s anti-productive and anti-creativity. The dopamine hits will have to wait!
Gear Pick of the Week
Katie: XLAB Mini Bag as a sleek and small saddle bag option. And double plug for the sleep mask that I talked about previously!
Jim: 10 Pack 304 Stainless Steel Universal Quick Release Bike Wheel Skewer Springs Everyone loses their skewer springs. For $7, you can have a stash of 10.
Another pro tip: keep random bike odds and ends in your car. Bar plugs for Molly!